Exactly, and it's a very bad idea letting McCain speak.
Exactly, and it's a very bad idea letting McCain speak.
We don't really know who made the decision, do we?
Palin would definately outshine them and, given the high levels of Palin-derangement-syndrome among the media, it would be come a media mass attack on Palin. And Palin becomes the story, not the candidates. I think Sarah is savvy enough to know this ... she is being a "team-player" by standing to the side, knowing Ryan will outshine Romney and probably say 80%+ of what Sarah would have said. To unseat Obama, the story coming out of the convention needs to be PAUL RYAN. He has the capability of capturing much of the conservative wing of the party, and his nomination puts the focus clearly on the budget and the economy - topics Obama is fleeing from.
Having McCain speak will make even Romney look good by comparison and give an A/B visual contrast to the "old tired" Republican party and the "new, engergetic, younger" republican party. The IMAGES of McCain vs. Romney/Ryan will convey a message (whether accurate or not) and Sarah being thrown into that equation muddies the visual message. Sarah is a pragmatist and a patriot and I think she believes freeing the country from Obama is the #1 goal; unusually for a politician, she is able to check her personal ambition for the good of the country.
Meantime, she will be strengthening the grassroots, especially in "flyover country" where she is hugely popular and too far away from NYC for the press to bother her.