Morning Brief: Palin shoots, scores in RNC speech

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Vice-presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska wowed convention-goers with a hard-hitting speech Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Calling herself “just your average hockey mom,” Palin described her roots in small-town America and delivered a withering attack on Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee. “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities,” she said in one of the speech’s many applause lines.

Wednesday capped a brutal series of news cycles for Palin, who has faced intense scrutiny in the press for everything from her qualifications to her daughter’s teenage pregnancy. Nonetheless, “a star was born last night,” Bill Kristol writes in a glowing review of Palin’s debut for the Weekly Standard. The Wall Street Journal‘s Peggy Noonan predicts, “She is either going to be magic or one of history’s accidents.” John Dickerson of Slate warns that Palin should make Democrats very nervous.

Global Economy

Rising costs are eating into oil companies’ profits. Poor guys.

Oil for October delivery is back up to $110 a barrel.

Americas

People are returning to New Orleans, but Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Hannah are growing stronger.

Crime has cut Mexico’s economic growth by 1 percent, according to its finance minister.

Argentina’s move to pay back $6.7 billion in debt is just the first step, experts say.

Asia

Thailand’s foreign minister has stepped down, but the prime minister insists he won’t resign. Instead, he hopes to use a referendum to defuse protests.

A leaked letter from the U.S. State Department is causing a ruckus in India.

Pakistan’s government is reading the riot act to U.S. Amb. Anne Patterson over what appears to be a botched raid in Pakistani territory.

“I will work to defeat the domestic Taliban insurgency and to ensure that Pakistani territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks,” vows presidential frontrunner Asif Ali Zardari in today’s Washington Post.

U.S. officials doubt that North Korea is really reassembling its reactor.

Middle East and Africa

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad urged the West to solve its dispute with Iran peacefully. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting Syria, warns that Iran is risking an Israeli attack.

Turkey’s president plans to visit Armenia this weekend.

Europe and the Caucasus

The Irish Republican Army is no longer a threat, according to an independent monitoring report.

Ukraine’s president accused the prime minister, his erstwhile ally, of plotting a “political and constitutional coup.”

BP has resolved its dispute with the partners in its Russian joint venture; CEO Robert Dudley will resign.

Today’s Agenda

U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, visiting Georgia, described Russia’s invasion of Georgia “illegitimate” and reiterated the United States’ strong support of Georgia’s NATO bid.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group meets in Vienna to discuss the U.S.-India nuclear agreement.

The Washington Post previews John McCain’s acceptance speech, which is tonight.