[kabar]

Actually Palin did a good job of distancing McCain from the Bush administration. She did it repeatedly, perhaps overusing the word maverick. I thought she was particularly effective against Biden chastizing him for finger pointing and going back into the past instead of looking to the future and telling the American people what they will do for them now and in the future.

[econjack]

Using the word maverick may not be clear enough for most of the voting public. Indeed, I'd venture to say that most of the voting public would not understand what this means within the context of John McCain. If it's true that newspapers are written for a 12 year old comprehension level, I think TV should be aimed no higher, and perhaps lower. This means Palin and McCain both need to come out and say clearly:

The McCain-Palin policies represent a break in the business-as-usual method of running government in Washington. We recognize the blunders of the Bush policies and we have learned from them. We bring to the table a fresh start with polcies that lead us away from past errors into a new era of peace and economic growth and stability.

or something like that. The break with Bush must be clear and clean, regardless of how you feel about Bush's policies. Perception will be everything in this election.