by Evie Stone

Good morning all! It's Wednesday, 6 days out, and still blizzing away in parts of the northeast (Mom, are your snow tires on yet?!). Luckily for the snowbound, they've got Barack Obama's 30-minute buy on CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, MSNBC, BET, and TV One to keep them warm before the resumption of Game 5. The New York Times obtained a one-minute trailer for tonight's infomercial spectacular from the campaign. Times reporter Jim Rutenberg describes it as "heavy in strings, flags, presidential imagery and some Americana." The special will also drop in live on a rally in Florida. Hold on to your hats, America! The McCain camp aims to pre-empt the TV bonanza with a 30-second ad reviving our favorite "Celeb" theme from over the summer.

Sarah Palin will give a policy address today in Toledo on America's energy future. Via the WSJ, the VP nominee won't break any new ground, sticking with campaign standbys of developing alternative energy and increasing domestic production of traditional sources. She will also aim to boost her own policy gravitas by reminding voters of her experience with energy policy issues.

Throughout the speech, Gov. Palin will talk about her qualifications to lead on this issue, citing her time as governor and when she served on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Alaska is home to 18.5% of the U.S. crude oil supply and boasts 13.4% of the country's crude oil production, according to the Energy Information Administration.

"Coming from the huge energy producing state and as the former regulator of our oil and gas industry, and chair of the nation's interstate oil and gas conservation commission, this is one of the missions that I cannot wait to get to work on," Gov. Palin said

Palin will also link U.S. energy independence to national security.

 

Speculation continues apace about Palin's future as a standard-bearer for the conservative movement. The New York Times sees signs (including today's speech) that Palin is "making sure that she is well positioned for the future." And Jonathan Martin reported last night that conservative leaders are planning a post-election meeting in the Virginia countryside to discuss the future of the conservative cause and its role in the GOP. Martin writes that Palin is expected to play a major role in re-empowering conservatives in the party: under a McCain presidency, VP Palin would be seen as conservatives' "conduit to power." And if McCain loses Tuesday, Palin could be groomed as a future leader of the movement. But the Virginia meeting won't just focus on choosing a figurehead:

Individuals aside, the broader aim of the session is to assess where the party and movement stand after what is virtually certain to be the second consecutive election in which Democrats make gains. The post-mortem will then lead way to a focus on what role conservatives play going forward both in the GOP and the political system ahead of the 2010 midterms

Few believe that the Republican party will respond to another brutal election by following a path of moderation, but conservatives are deeply dispirited and anxious to reassert the core values they believe have not always been followed by Bush, congressional leaders and their party's presidential nominee . Many on the right, both elites and the rank-and-file, see a rudderless party that is in dire need of new blood and old principles: small government, a robust national security and unapologetic social conservatism.

But what of Palin's Democratic counterpart, VP nominee Joe Biden? Why don't we ever hear about that guy? Glad you asked. Politico's Bill Nichols has a profile up this morning pairing a look at Biden's meandering speaking style and tendency toward what his running-mate described as "rhetorical flourishes" with a reminder of Biden's policy credentials and ability to connect with voters.

One senior Obama aide said the campaign hopes that Biden's weaknesses — his goofy asides and hyperbole — will work to his advantage in the long run. "It makes him real," said the aide. It's Biden as the dotty uncle you might not want to be cornered by after Thanksgiving dinner — but who you might want to go to for help if you were in a genuine jam.

Over at the Washiongton Post, Dana Milbank writes that that Biden's famed chattiness is being carefully managed in the final stretch of the election. He compares the tactic to "taking a proud lion into captivity":

Next stop, Kilwin's chocolate shop in the Villages, a sprawling central Florida retirement community, where the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee avoided anything that strayed from his assigned topic: ice cream.

"Look at this! Man, this is a dangerous place. Holy mackerel!" Biden said as he entered the ordinary-looking shop. He greeted the server. "I'm an ice cream guy. Is ice cream down that way? Could I get a sugar cone and chocolate chip?" He turned to a friend, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). "What you gonna have? It's on me — I'm the last of the big spenders from up north. . . . I'm getting plain old chocolate chip. That's plenty, God love ya." He greeted a woman named Bonita. "Hey, Bonita, I'm Joe. Not the plumber, Joe the Biden." He greeted a man who said his name is Jeff. "Hey, Jim, where you from?" He found a woman from his native Scranton. "I'll be darned."

But when a reporter shouted out a question about whether Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) should resign after his conviction on bribery-related charges, Biden said not a word.

Awww. Forget the RNC's gaffe clock. Free Joe!

And finally, NPR's irrepressible Robert Smith is at it again with a compendium of irrelevant campaign moments from the long, long, LONG road to November 4th, 2008. Lipstick? Paris Hilton? Flag Pins? Quoth Robert: "Each gem is guaranteed to be ridiculous, superficial and have nothing to do with the job of being President."