Posted on 08/29/2008 7:25:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin was a bold move.
Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty may have made more sense from a strategic point of view. Palin was such an unexpected and historic choice that it totally big foots the media train around Obama's nomination train. No one is talking about Obama's speech and nomination. It's as if last night didn't happen.
Palin has strong social conservative credentials, is the darling of the evangelical and pro-life movement, and, is a woman. That is much more than enough to re-energize the right-wing, bring out the Republican faithful, and, wedge more than a few votes. Palin is also being re-packaged as a moderate environmentalist and "smart" on oil and energy. Nothing that laugh at when the price of gas is going up and the country is facing choices on drilling.
Palin's resume is paper-thin but she doesn't undermine McCain's experience argument. She neutralizes it. Bay Buchanan and Amy Holmes are already on CNN promoting Palin as "a new Republican" for independent women.
Palin should be handled with respect. If Democrats mock the experience of the Republican's first female vice presidential nominee—the day after McCain placed an ad to congratulate Obama?—it becomes "fairytale" part deux. Many women will probably become just as uncomfortable seeing Palin's qualifications debated as many blacks were uncomfortable when Obama's experience was knocked. Republicans and conservative puindits are already accusing the Democrats of sexism and connecting this to the horrible, sexist treatment of Hillary Clinton. It's a smart move because Clinton attracted many Republican women in the primaries.
Sarah Palin has just as much "experience" as Virginia's gay-baiting first term Gov. Tim Kaine or the clueless Republican lite first term Sen. Claire McCaskill. Both were promoted as serious vice presidential options by the Obama campaign and the media. Oh, and championed by numerous "progressives" and readers of this blog. (Check comments.) If you want to criticize the Republican vice presidential nominee, go after her wingnut positions or her this-close relationship with the evangelicals and social conservatives. Criticizing Sarah Palin's perceived lack of experience will not be a winning argument.
“Queer eye for the straight voter?”
Palin really creates problems for them and they are flumoxxed.
Kind of wondering about the posters cited in that other HillaryFan thread.
In twelve years she will be about 75.
Very well thought out. What no one is pointing out today is this: Obama’s camp will say Palin has no experience. McCain pundits will counter that she has more experience, where it counts, than BHO. And Obama’s people, being Chicago street thugs who don’t know how to back away from a fight they can’t win, will keep going in that argument, comparing Obama’s experience to Governor Palin’s.
The result? Barrack Obama will effectively end up running for Vice President against Sarah Palin. Say hello to President John McCain.
Good analysis, indeed. Thanks for posting.
The left's fondness for using the term "wingnut" for right-wingers has puzzled me for a while, as the term refers to extremism yet does not indicate which direction that extremism goes - applying just as much to themselves as their opposition.
I suppose it is yet another indication of their tendency to "project".
He forgot to mention that Obama’s great speech was given on the gayest stage set in political history. As a matter of fact, it was so gay that both my state and local newspapers, which are left of Komsomolskaya Pravda, featured front page pictures of Obamessiah which were taken from behind the set, thus rendering it invisible.
Just heard the snake James Carville on CNN, attempt to ridicule Sarah Palin because of her pro-life social conservatism and support for Pat Buchanan in his run for President. BFD. Carville was also trying to make the case that McCain had only met Palin only once before he chose her as his running mate. 360 Cooper corrceted him and said they met twice. Again, BFD!
Meanwhile, the change agent Barack Obama decided to choose the consumate WashDC political insider in Joe Biden. 35 years in the Senate and a liberal socialist to his core values and beliefs.
This campaign has developed into a classic case of liberalism versus conservatism. Right versus wrong.
As long as Palin does not fade, Rodham ‘12 is neutralized. Best case would be McCain yielding the top spot in the incumbency to her in ‘12. Palin/Jindal 2012? That might be the ticket even if Odumbo wins in Nov.
I was flipping through the liberal CNN today just to gloat a little (is that bad?) and I thought they were going to have a stroke. Cafferty was so upset I thought any moment he would foam at the mouth. I mean he could barely control his anger. It was great.
The lefties lifted the term ‘wingnut’ from Free Republic where yours truly first used it nigh on 10 years ago!!
The McCain-Palin discussions go back over a year ... in July 2007 my cousin in Juneau told me the McCain runners had spent ten days in and about Alaska vetting Governor Palin.
Yeah, the messiah gets derailed easily by McCain. McCain is out-strategerizing him.
"Why would the Democrats say that Sarah Palin is too inexperienced to be Vice President? Is it because she is a first-term governor? Well, Barack Obama is a first-term Senator. But I guess the Democrats think he's more experienced than she is because he's male."
You want Clinton-supporting independents to come over, that's the way to express it.
Somebody help me with this ‘no experience’ thing.
What experience, other than being governors, did Carter and Clinton have? Jeez, at least Carter had run a farm; Clinton was always at the government teat.
Palin is the governor of Alaska, and from what I’ve read so far, has more experience and proven leadership, than Obama. I think the ‘no experience’ mantra is going to wear thin as Alaskans start chafing when they realize that ‘no experience’ = Alaska doesn’t matter.
I listen to the gays and what they say, but you really have to take it with a huge dose of penicillin. They are so horribly, horribly wrong on so many fundamental things, you can’t give them the same credence as people who are consistently right.
Hadn't looked at it that way. Funny as hell.
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