McCain cites need for experience, picks first-term governor as veep

[topaz]

Egad!  It's all over my friends page already.  Sarah Palin!  McCain picks Alaska governor to be his running mate!

Opinions are all over the map.  Myself, I think it was a very clever choice from a demographic point of view, and frankly a lot bolder than I would have expected from his campaign.  Apart from the simple fact that she's a woman, she's pro-life and has one child with Down syndrome; she's an evangelical, but not a Southern evangelical; she has Alaska credibility and supports drilling in ANWR.  She's almost tailor-made to draw back the moderate conservatives who have become disillusioned with the Republican Party in the last eight years.  Very shrewd indeed.

But my gut reaction says that it's a fatal mistake for McCain, who has been running almost exclusively on an "experience" platform for the last several months.  Choosing Palin pretty much annihilates that argument.  It seems to say that McCain no longer believes he can win experience, and is looking for a reverse wedge that he thinks will give him an advantage.

If that's the case, I think Obama and Biden have a clear path to victory.  They need to focus diligently but relentlessly on policy issues.  McCain and Palin are going to have an uphill battle persuading the public that they are a team prepared to lead the country, and that Palin will be ready to take over the top job if McCain keels over.  Unless Palin turns out to be a ringer on the debate box, I expect Biden to be able to eat her for dinner.

The game isn't over, not by a long shot --- but the McCain campaign just took a big fumble.

Comments

[dbang.livejournal.com]

Well there is certainly no way a *rational* person could support both Hillary's policies and McCain/Palin's. But I keep hearing these crazies on NPR who spent so many months building up the hate against Obama that now they can't let go, and the anti-Obama fervor has eaten their brains. "No way I'll vote for Obama, I'd rather vote for McCain" I hear them say on the radio. Oy.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Some of those people almost certainly will vote McCain/Palin out of spite. But some of them, for all their rhetoric, will come to their senses by Election Day, pull the lever for Obama, and go home to have a stiff drink.

The PUMA nutters make for great interviews but I think in the final analysis they are the fringe of the fringe. There are not enough of them to make the difference.

[harimad.livejournal.com]

"Amen to your Oy."

And I mostly agree with your analysis and aggravation with the Hilary crazies. I would add to it that they seem to be blaming Obama for the problems she had with other entities (such as the press) and for simple fact he won. In short, they feel cheated and are blaming him, both for things he is responsible for and things he is not.