McCain chooses his vice presidential running mate: 44 year old Alaska Governor (and staunch conservative) Sarah Palin. Last night I wrote that Palin would be the smartest move Mac could make, but that he would probably go with Tim 'No Jaw' Pawlenty of Minnesota.I was half right. Or, half wrong, depending on how you want to look at it.
Either way, point is: the McCain campaign is smart. Republicans (destructive policies aside) have appeared to be smarter campaigners for decades, but this certainly proves it. In a year in which the Republican Party has almost no chance of political survival, McCain had to do something to shake up the race.
Palin does just that.
Is it desperate? Incredibly. However, it's the best move he could have made for several reasons:
1) Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. There are still plenty of Hillary supporters out there who aren't quite ready to hold hands with Obama backers and sing kumbaya. Choosing the 44 year old female Palin is clearly meant to not only snag female voters, but specifically disaffected Hillary supporters. Obama is currently running well-ahead among women and a Democrat cannot win the presidency without substantial female support. Just ask John Kerry.
2) Ethics! She's supposedly very ethical-at least as ethical as a Republican politician can be nowadays-and McCain of 2000 was big on ethics reform. Is Mac trying to get a little of his old mojo back?
3) Change. Up until now, Obama has embodied change, freshness, and progress. Had McCain picked a stiff like Romney or Pawlenty (i.e., a middle aged man), the GOP ticket would have appeared incredibly boring in the face of the Obama juggernaut. Now, though, placing a female in contention ensures that one way or another, history will be made come November.
4) The Republican Convention. Honestly, was anyone initially planning on watching this? Now, though, everyone-and I mean EVERYONE-will want to at least see Palin's convention speech. A Rasmussen poll out this morning showed that upwards of 60% of the country couldn't offer an opinion of the Alaska governor. A lot of curious voters-once again, especially women-will tune, injecting some much needed enthusiasm into the convention
Bottom line: Palin is a smart gamble. McCain/Palin may still lose big (after all, Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and staunchly pro-life; policies hardly appealing to many American women), but it's safe to say that McCain's chances of pulling off an upset victory increased this morning.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25970882/
3 comments:
If anything, McCain and the Republican strategists were smart in stealing the headlines with this left-field pick.
Hillary supporters (the who were voting primarily on gender) may be swayed but this is the thinnest veiled attempt at energizing his campaign.
Let's be clear. Palin, whomever she is, is no Hillary and come the VP debates, Americans will see (in stark contrast) that she's no Biden.
And how dare she give a speech with a ponytail in her head? Did she just get back from jogging?
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