Washblog

My first thought was... she's pretty and she has a nice smile.  That'll get her some votes right there.

It'll also lose her some...

Her youth and inexperience -- along with anti-choice, anti-environment, pro-oil stances and, apparently, ethical challenges. It does look a bit like McCain's desperate.

by noemie maxwell on Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 02:58:01 PM PST

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is to try and capture Clinton PUMAs that might still exist.

That's the wrong reason for such an important pick.

My guess is the top choices decided they didn't want to be on a losing ticket.

On The Road To 2008: Countdown to the next opportunity to change the direction of America

by Daniel K on Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 04:42:37 PM PST

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  Sure seems to me like he is shooting himself, his campaign and his party in the foot.  It's an almost too transparent effort on McCain's part.  But hey, so be it - let him and them shoot themselves in the foot as many times as they can stand it.

  The Obama movement is a 'movement' and it reflects the larger will of the people.  I don't believe the media reporting on polls that show the candidates are close in numbers in popularity.  What I see and feel around me tells me the mood of the country is quite different and we have already seen and heard the next President of the United States in Obama's acceptance speech last night at the DNC.

  Enough!!!!!!!!   Did you hear Obama say Enough?  

'Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? ~ Abraham Lincoln

by Lietta Ruger on Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 05:40:59 PM PST

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I read somewhere earlier this morning that the Republican Party knows a losing fight when it sees one. Rather than waste a lot of effort squandering whatever remains of a previously positive conservative reputation by making silly defenses of a silly candidate, they have conceded.

They are putting Sarah on the ticket to appease Social Conservatives ... or demonstrate/prove to those S.C.'s that an electoral base needs to be wider and more tolerant than the position where the religious right has McCain tethered.

The Dem convention was extremely powerful and effective. Given the gifted rhetorical abilities of all those prominent speakers who set the table and complemented Obama's special oratorical skill, this contest is a speechifying mismatch.

Make no mistake, the election won't be decided by we Internet intellects who can't get through the day without our own or someone else's analysis that is less than ten minutes old. It will be decided by blocks of voters prompted by rhetoric that capitalizes on outrage more than anger.

The Dem's have a tremendous opportunity with that national outrage just ripe for the picking while Repubs don't have much if anything to rile the nation against the Democrats.

No Republican of prominence can compete with any of the Democratic top-tier orators. Furthermore, Republicans do not have a single position that can be proclaimed and proven as a superior or better alternative to what Democrats are describing and promoting.

Going along with McCain's choice seems to be either an extraordinary demonstration of Republican strategic helplessness or worse.

Perhaps having been unable to field a more universally popular candidate able to combine all the varied conservative concerns, they have conceded. They are leaving all the principal decisions to McCain himself.

Or ... from the pool of stupidity where most available political consultants and spinners swim Republicans netted only from the shallowest end of that pool.

Regarding McCain ... about the second or third time he revealed his mysogynistic (sp?) tendencies combined with such silliness as "Bomb Bomb Iran" and his inability to communicate real humor, I realized that Johnny guns is nothing more than the bottom-tier type officer that most veterans knew at one time or another during their careers;

the kind of officer who thought his collar insignia made him a Patton by osmosis but in reality was not capable of remaining competent as a leader of men or squadrons once out of his cockpit and flight suit.

I've said before that conceding the POW time to Johnny Guns in no way concedes that such an experience alone makes him the equivalent of this country's actual military commanders who rose to the top mostly on their own merits.

From a Commander-in-Chief standpoint based on military background, experience in war, strategy, tactics and an appreciation of the value of diplomacy, McCain truthfully is closer to George Bush on the skill level than he is to Wesley Clark, Colin Powell, Tommy Franks or even those currently serving in the JCS.

Arthur
What they inwardly imagine is the only thing they'll accept.

by Arthur Ruger on Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 11:43:20 AM PST

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I've been wondering about how the Palin pick came about and what the strategy behind it might be. Here's what I guess happened:

McCain had his short list of VPs, and he saw the downside of every one of them. Ridge and Lieberman would have angered the pro-life right wing. Romney would have reinforced the image of a rich guy with multiple homes--that, and McCain couldn't stand the guy. Pawlenty might have brought Minnesota with him or at least made it more competetive, forcing the Obama-Biden campaign to expend more resources in the state. But then McCain saw what was happening at the Dem convention.

McCain had been using an "experience" strategy that had failed among Hillary Democrats but that he hoped might work elsewhere. In fact, one could argue that the strategy was working, because the race had been tightening all summer. Then McCain saw the Democratic "experience" candidate and her husband get behind Obama. He saw the Democrats hammering him with the "same old same old" argument and getting lots of attention for it.

McCain made a decision--an impulsive one designed to come back at the "same old same old" argument. He also picked a woman who could shore up the right-wing vote. The polls had indicated that McCain had more of his base behind him than Obama had his. According to the Rovian theory of politics, this is how you win elections--you get more of yours out than your opponent gets his out. McCain also saw an opportunity to peel off some percentage of Hillary voters. I'm sure he was told that choosing Palin involved significant risk, but risk is something that energizes craps- player McCain. Besides, with the suprise pick of maverick Palin, he gets to shed the "same old same old" charge and become a reborn maverick--something that can only be an asset in a "change" election.

Will this work? I wouldn't underestimate the capactity of people to act in ways that seem irrational to us. What seems irrational to us can seem quite rational to others. McCain's choice might well shore up the right-wing base. It might well peel off some Hillary voters. But this choice won't help McCain in other ways.

Among Latino voters, Obama is doing very well--better than Kerry did. I don't see how Palin helps with Latino voters, and Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada are very much within Obama's reach. I don't see how Palin helps with "moderate" Republicans who were thinking about crossing over to Obama. And Palin is the kind of choice that could help Obama-Biden shore up support among their base.

VP debates don't win elections, but the Biden-Palin debate will generate unprecedented interest. The moderator will be Gwen Ifill, who is no Bob Schieffer. The questions will be pointed, and she will test the knowledge of both candidates. The risk for the McCain campaign is tremendous.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't underestimate the Republicans. It's always a mistake to underestimate--or overestimate--your opponent. Sarah Palin will undoubtedly appeal to many voters. But that doesn't mean McCain will be elected President. My guess is that more surprises are to come.

by DWE on Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 12:48:19 PM PST

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covered.

You have to see these: Dr. Zaius. "How to put lipstick on a Neoconservative Beauty Queen.

Arthur
What they inwardly imagine is the only thing they'll accept.

by Arthur Ruger on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 08:50:16 AM PST

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