Posted on 09/05/2008 2:33:30 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Nobody was more surprised by John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate than the people who run Barack Obama's campaign. "I can honestly say that we weren't prepared for that," says David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist. "I mean, her name wasn't on anybody's list. It was a surprise to a lot of Republicans as well."
Their shock was evident in their initial, clumsy reaction, a hard-hitting two-sentence statement from Obama spokesman Bill Burton that included this zinger: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." Eighty-six minutes later, the campaign corrected course, issuing a second statement from both Obama and his running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden: "While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward, Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign."
Later that afternoon, Obama, almost apologetically, explained the discrepancy: "You know campaigns start getting these hair triggers, and the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments." The do-si-do by the campaign reflects its initial uncertainty on how to deal with Palin, a rare moment of unsure footing for the usually flawlessly managed 19-month-old operation.
The dilemma the campaign has about the sudden emergence of this political superstar comes down to this: it can't possibly ignore her, but going after her directly could easily backfire. If anything, the past week has shown that Palin wears a similar coat of Teflon as Obama. Just as many of Obama's opponents suddenly found themselves accused of playing the race card, many of Palin's supporters have been quick to accuse Dems of outrageous sexism in the frontal assault on Palin's record and family.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
ha ha ha ha ha ah ah
Stop it, you're killin' me
I am waiting for cover #8 for Obama...Time is dying...and anti-Americanism is the reason...die Time, die!
"Clumsy." Oh, that's the new, PC, way to say: "this is how we further piss off every single person that ever lived in a small town, by talking down to and belittling the stupid, in-bred hicks."
If the campaign were flawless, they’d keep Michelle in a cave in Afghanistan till after the election.
I gues the elite media is not laughing any more...
Obama doesn’t need a coat of teflon with the media shield of in-the-bag “news sources” like TIME surrounding him.
Sarah Palin, of course, is on her own. And she can handle it.
“...her name wasn’t on anybody’s list...”
I could have sworn she was mentioned at about the same time that Pawlenty was.
— Jane
I absolultely LOVED it when they showed Axelrod’s bleary-eyed baggy disheveled puff face on the plane the day after Sarah’s speech - “Whaaa whaaa, she’s MEAN!!! Whaa”. Then, BHOmessiah the next day in the sun looked like he was ticked (so lovely) - “So she wants to play like the boys, fine”. His arrogant machismo is SO going to trip him up - I can’t WAIT for him to step in it. I’d LOVE to see her debate BHO directly!
Give that man the nuclear button!/s
What did Afghanistan do to us to deserve that?
I don’t think running around like a headless chicken qualifies as a strategy.
Speaking of which, isn't the notion of a man saying that Palin is ‘playing like the guys’ a bit patronizing toward women and how they should act?
Perhaps even a little misogynistic? Hmm...
I guess the Obama camp hasn't paid for a Rush 24/7 membership. Seems to me that at least they'd want to know what the enemy is up to.. Rush mentioned Palin way back in February ... in fact today he replayed his comments on her from back then.
Don’t pay any attention to the person behind the curtain....
Specifically said the pipeline is not under construction (did she claim it was) and may not start for another 10 years and
the Dems really wrote the ethics legislation and have been working on it long before Sarah became Governor.
Dem spin???
Obama keeps forgetting two things. First off he is running against John McCain. Second it is Governor Palin to you, Obamanation.
Yeah, the Time article sounds like the W. Post discussing its home town Redskins, or the Boston Globe discussing the Red Sox.
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