McCain’s Harriet Miers
August 29, 2008 at 6:26 pm | In Uncategorized | 6 CommentsI tend to agree with Mike’s comments in the previous post. McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin feels like a desperate and very risky move He will undoubtedly swing some women voters (and will be sure to let us know about every last one of them) but won’t it just look like blatant pandering to most of them? The choice was so out of left field that I think the whole narrative will be “McCain picked a woman because he needs that demographic” and I think voters don’t like a gimmick and they hate feeling manipulated.
She will excite many evangelicals, not because she is their ideal choice (her first veto as governor was to protect gay employee benefits), but because they are desperate for something to get excited about. However, I think she will really turn off NeoCons because she is so lacking in executive experience and because, like McCain, she has a history of bucking against the Republican establishment.
That last piece might appeal to independants but will it be enough to counter the very issues that thrill evangelicals– her virulently pro-life stance and creation science beliefs?
But the real danger she represents for McCain is that this choice takes his most effective attack off the table. McCain’s strongest showing against Obama in polls has always been on issues related to experience and yet, with this choice, he is clearly stating that he does not think experience is necessary to be a good president. How does he now attack Obama on his lack of experience when Palin has considerably less than he does? And, if he can’t do that, hasn’t he ultimately done more harm to is campaign than any good Palin can add?
It seems to me McCain traded his “experience” advantage to try and gain on Obama’s “change” advantage. However, as Russ brilliantly pointed out, that is ceding the argument because he is now playing in Obama’s field instead of drawing Obama into his. If independants are more influenced by the “change” meme than the “experience” one, why would they go for change-lite when they can have Obama? I can’t see how this gamble will pay off for him.
In the end, it seems to me that Sarah Palin can be summed up and dismissed in a simple sound bite, eg “McCain’s Harriet Miers” or, as DemFromCT refers to her on Kos, the “creationist cheerleader.” I particularly like that one because it combines her extreme conservative beliefs with the fact that she was a beauty queen and implies that she is a vapid lightweight (all in two words).
My guess is she makes a big splash now and effectively mutes Obama’s election bump but she does not wear well and ends up being a liability. History will not be kind to McCain’s choice.
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I haven’t seen her yet on TV, so it’s really early for me to say. Maybe she has an amazing charisma that will click with people who want a leader they can have a beer with. But I seriously doubt it. I too think that after the hoopla, when independents look at the 2 tickets, putting Palin in will look like too much of a risk. Our 2 guys look like the professionals here.
I’m only a little sad Romney wasn’t picked b/c i wanted him to go down in flames on this wreck with McCain.
I hope Karen is reading this blog, b/c i am curious to hear from her if she has any palin insights.
Comment by Troy — August 29, 2008 #
I can’t say much as I hardly know a thing about this person, but from the little I know and the bit more that I’ve been told today, it seems clear that once the shock has evaporated and these two right-wing cranks start mouthing off around the country, the difference between the tickets will be clearer and clearer. What’s unnerving, however, is that the electorate seems to get dumber and dumber every four years. At this point, someone need only not be dead, or photographed having sex with dead minors, to be eligible for office. How did this person get elected governor of a state? Admittedly, it’s a small state, and full of nutcakes, but the fact of the matter is that the office matters, just as though she were governor of California or Texas. Tentatively, it seems likely to say that reasonable people would conclude that Sarah Palin is an atavistic throwback and a peculiarly weird negation of her own political achievement–she espouses the values and politics of people who would rather those of her gender couldn’t even vote, let alone hold office. But there’s no standard of ability, knowledge, training, integrity or common sense that appears to be too low for American voters to embrace. Maybe she will be a Dan Quayle or Harriet Miers. But it won’t be funny if they win the election because Hillary demos and a lot of others decide they can’t vote for the black guy.
Comment by Rob Lowe — August 29, 2008 #
You mean to tell me that, as long as all the minors I have had sex with were alive at the time, I can run for office? Why wasn’t I the VP pick?!?!?!?
Comment by Peter — August 30, 2008 #
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