Posted on 02/22/2009 9:52:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
...it was not intentional. In fact, quite the contrary. It happened when the press and networks covering the Democratic convention puffed up the likely defection of Hillary supporters -- inspiring McCain to name Palin as his running mate.
Barack Obama might very well have won anyway, by a very narrow margin, but I believe that the true turning point in the fall campaign -- though rarely noted -- actually came in late-summer, at the Democratic convention in Denver. No, it was not the general good vibes about Obama, the ringing speeches by Teddy, Michelle, Bill, and by the candidate himself.
Rather, it was the electronic media's overblown coverage of the allegedly widespread threat by female Hillary delegates, and other Clinton fans, to bolt Obama in favor of McCain.
As you recall, the dissidents, known as "PUMAS," got massive face time on TV and, it was said, they represented just the tip of the iceberg. And it was said (by commentators, not just by the new pro-Hillary media stars), that women, particularly older ones and suburban/blue-collar types who had voted for Hillary in the primaries, would likely abandon the Democrats in November.
There was no firm evidence for this, of course - and few pundits, on TV and in print, seemed to notice that the same few disgruntled Hillary delegates appeared on all of the shows. No matter. Obama's possible defeat because of the possible defections was widely predicted.
Why did this matter, since the mass defections never happened? Especially since here and elsewhere at liberal political blogs no one ever took the threats seriously?
Because John McCain and his people bought it, hook, line and sinker. This explains the sudden rise of Sarah Palin to the top of their VP list. They saw an opening - which really wasn't there - and went completely overboard. Not only did a female VP suddenly look like a great idea, but one who would have extra appeal to the particular type of Hillary primary voters so hyped by the media.
So the preposterous media coverage of the (few) unhappy Hillary-ites at the Dem convention - which was aimed not at helping Obama but maintaining interest in the affair and the coming campaign - inspired McCain to select as his running mate someone who would virtually destroy his campaign (as I make clear in my new book on the campaign, "Why Obama Won").
Recall that after months of trailing, McCain came out of his convention with a bump that led to at least a tie with Obama in the polls -- then he plummeted very quickly as the truth about Palin seeped out. A week after the GOP convention ended, polls were already showing (as many of us, if not most MSM pundits, had predicted) that, if anything, women thought LESS of Palin than did men.
Imagine if McCain had picked even a neutral figure such as a Pawlenty or, say, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Yes, Obama likely still would have won (he ran a fine campaign and the economy collapsed) -- but if he did, it would have been in a real nail biter. And Tina Fey would not have been named entertainer of the year, and we wouldn't have had that turkey slaughtering video to enjoy.
This is man the lifeboats level BS.
And I just knew right then and there we were going to get nailed.
McCain’s campaign was about as potent as limp wood pre-Palin.
What a crock. E&P is completely irrelevant.
Good...they have every reason to fear her. She will be their undoing.
GO SARAH GO!
Let the MSM, the DNC, and the RINOs take their best shots. Sarah will come out of it all the better positioned to help us take back our country as a result.
But look on the bright side. The Democrats have nothing. Really. They have no philosopy, they have no candidates. They booted Hillary Clinton because she couldn't beat McCain. They organize off George Soros dollars. They do nothing for themselves.
We can beat them. And it won't be as hard as it looks.
John McCain sunk his own campaign. It had NOTHING to do with Sarah. If anything, she HELPED his campaign.
>> Because John McCain and his people bought it, hook, line and sinker.
Rewriting ‘the strategy’ to fit the outcome.
Not entirely.
The weekend before the election, our local GOP HQ had a lot of PUMA supporters pouring in, asking how they could help. Many were on the phones with everyone else in the GOTV effort.
My understanding is that the impact of the PUMAs was either oversold or blunted by the GOP voters who didn't like McCain and either stayed home or voted for a third party candidate. I read that about 16-17 percent of the Hillary voters ended up voting for McCain/Palin, but that support obviously wasn't enough to make a crucial difference.
People actually get paid for writing this kind of nonsense?
Democrats on the Republican Party -
42% think it should look to McCain for the future. Twelve percent (12%) of Democratic voters see Palin as a future role model, and 40% aren’t sure what’s best for their rivals.
“Unaffiliated” voters on the Republican Party -
46% of unaffiliated voters say follow Sarah Palin, while 26% like McCain. Just five percent (5%) give the nod to Bush, and 22% are not sure which way the party should go.
Favorabiltiy -
“Again, the party differences are enormous, although Democrats clearly like McCain more than Palin while for GOP voters the opposite is true.”
“Palin fares better with unaffiliated voters, too. For McCain, unaffiliateds break 10% Very Favorable and eight percent (8%) Very Unfavorable. But 35% of unaffiliated voters have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin, compared to 15% who have a Very Unfavorable view.”
So if we believe Rasmussen's polling to be true, Democrats do not want us to follow the person who polls best with Independents.
Now do we really need an answer as to why Obama’s liberal attack dog media desperately want to veer us away from her?
McCain and Palin were edging closer, were narrowing, with unprecedented passion for the Governor...when the orchestrated financial "colapse" occured.....case closed.....
and the Rat media didn't just fall in love with their messiah at the convention....THEY COVERED HIM FOR TWO YEARS AND TOOK A HUGE ENTOURAGE TO IRAQ WELL BEFORE THE CONVENTION1
they knew what their marching orders were.....
may God have mercy on their souls for this diabolical arrogant idiot we have now....
Gregg,
You’re full of condensed monkey malarkey, I think.
McCain destroyed the campaign. Palin kept him from being thoroughly embarrassed on election night. It was only as “close” as it was because of her.
I still honestly believe that woman was a Democrat plant sent to make us all look nuts and put McCain on the spot.
Either way his response was pathetic.
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