Aug
29
Why this pick works
August 29, 2008 | 28 Comments
One only has to observe the enthusiasm in especially socially conservative circles to understand why McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin was a stroke of brilliance. Not only does the pick nudge conservative fence-setters into McCain’s camps, it turns tepid supportes into enthusiastic supporters. While one can argue that the selection won’t pull that many independent women into the camp – and I think it may – it doesn’t necessarily have to.
John McCain would likely have gotten 90 percent or so of the GOP vote anyway. Moving up his numbers to 95 percent is good in and of itself. But it’s not just attracting voters that makes a difference. On every website I have read people have commented about how they will actually contribute money to McCain’s campaign. Fence setters are now pulling out their cheque books. And if they’re not going to contribute, they’re now vastly more likely to knock on doors, make phone calls, and talk to their neighbors to convince them to vote for McCain.
The base has been energized, and it was the grassroots efforts in 2004 that got George Bush re-elected. McCain has not just solidified his base, he has energized it. For the first time this cycle, Republicans are actually enthused about this election, and they will do more than simply go to the polls on election day.
Once again, this was an absolutely brilliant selection.
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28 Comments so far
“One only has to observe the enthusiasm in especially socially conservative circles to understand why McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin was a stroke of brilliance.”
Or to note the consternation on leftist web sites, for example Vox Nova.
At a stroke McCain rallies a dispirited party, puts himself in a strong position to take advantage of fractures in the opposing party, brings youth to his ticket, captures the news cycle after Obama’s speech, upsets the Fall strategy of the Democrats and ensures greatly increased interest in the Republican convention. Not a bad day’s work. There are some very bright minds at the top of the McCain campaign.
You’re right, this doesn’t really change the percentages it increases turnout and enthusiasm. If they got to the voting booth most conservative would have picked McCain anyway. Problem in any election is how many will remember to show and vote. Obama’s supporters (whatever you think of their judgment) are enthusiastic. McCain’s support was tepid at best prior to today. Tepid support doesn’t bother going out in the rain. Tepid support doesn’t leave work early to vote. McCain’s support just became enthusiastic. This is a game changer. People will make the effort for this ticket.
It strikes me this also takes some interesting advantage of one of Obama’s strengths: That’s he’s been talked about as “the young black man who’s likely the next president” for so long. Because Obama has been campaigning for president to one extent or another for a year and a half, it’s no longer news that a young black man might be the next president. And to a great extent, he’s been trying to do the front-running thing and coast on inevitability despite the fact he’s never broken 50%.
However, it is very, very much a new thing that we have a young, pretty, mother-of-five as a vice presidential nominee. And because it’s new, it’s news.
Obama doesn’t have anything new left to do, and there’re only two months left till the election. If McCain and Palin are smart (and they certainly seem to be showing signs) they can stay new until the election.
Personally, I’m very, very impressed. I just made a political donation for the first time since the primary season in 2000.
“Personally, I’m very, very impressed. I just made a political donation for the first time since the primary season in 2000.”
I just kicked in some money myself, something I didn’t expect to be doing this time around. Obama is about to find out what happens in internet fund-raising when conservatives get excited. This is shaping up to be an immensely better election season from the conservative point of view than I imagined it possibly could have been.
CrankyProf and I followed suit this morning.
McCain made a mistake of picking Sarah Palin. But then again, he needs someone who could be malleable.
“McCain made a mistake of picking Sarah Palin.”
Why was this a mistake? Without the explanation, your comment is meaningless.
“[H]e needs someone who could be malleable.]
“Malleable” is an interesting choice of words.
A quick on-line search (because your comment isn’t worth going upstairs to retrieve one of my dictionaries) indicates that the word “malleable” means:
“1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure: a malleable metal.
2. Easily controlled or influenced; tractable.
3. Able to adjust to changing circumstances; adaptable: the malleable mind of the pragmatist.”
I assume that you didn’t mean this as a compliment, though paring up one of the most experienced lawmakers in Washington with a Washington outsider has the potential to turn a “malleable” Palin into a remarkable candidate for the 2016 race.
So… Palin is, in your furry little mind, “[e]asily controlled or influenced; tractable.” Perhaps you should read her bio since you clearly know nothing about her.
If this is the best you can do, you are out of your league.
“McCain made a mistake of picking Sarah Palin.”
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews1547.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080831/pl_afp/usvotemccainfinance_080831054124
I think McCain with the Palin pick has just “mistaked” himself into the White House.
Certainly the PUMAs are on-board. Obambi managed to alienate a chunk of his own party with his behavior.
Smell the schadenfreude!
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=26200
I’ve read plenty of Palin, so you don’t need to make ignorant assumptions of me.
Then why don’t you share your thoroughly researched analysis of Gov. Palin’s writings and explain why she is deficient?
I don’t have to explain in details for your own sake or whoever.
You could defend & write all you want on Palin.
I def. would’ve preferred Romney or Jindal. They both have more experience than Palin.
You guys do the research. I think you’ll know where I stand.
Pergolesi,
You are warped.
Your comment stream is like trying to understand the rules to “Calvin Ball”… only not as funny.
You don’t get to claim brilliant insights into politics without sharing them. To do so makes so makes you nothing more than a troll.
Oh yeah… “I’ve read plenty of Palin.”
I didn’t realize that she had written so much.
If you could drop us a reading list, that would be helpful. (I’ve recently finished “reading” the complete works of the CrankyCon and could do with a new project.)
Yeah, I do so love the, “you guys prove my point” method of argumentation. It really compels me to take the arguer seriously.
Oh, GVeg, you’ve never read Palin’s Discourses on the Arts and Science? Very troubling stuff.
Oy.
Heh, it’s amusing to read everyone here to take my comments so personally.
In the past, Palin being a mayor of 7,000 residents in a small town does not impress me at all.
This sweet heart needs some time & gain more experience as a politician before becoming the vice president of United States.
I would hate to see her fail at the White House.
The beauty queen needs to quit & should focus on her many children at home. Her youngest child will need a lot of care.
Jindal, Romney, Lieberman, or even Ron Paul would’ve been a better choice than the pretty face.
1) Just over a month ago Palin suggested she was not interested. “What is it exactly that the vice-president does all day?” she wondered.
-TimesOnline
(There’s more sources but I’ll just use one for now)
What was she thinking??? Why did she say this crap? Is she nuts??? It makes the campaign like a donkey’s ass.
No doubt the DNC will hammer on the “experience” factor. This is the strongest argument against her candidacy.
There are several points to be made in her favor here though:
1. Obama doesn’t get a free ride here. He has less than a single year of experience as a Senator and that entire time has been spent campaigning for President. He doesn’t know which committees he was assigned to- assignments that were crafted to enhance his “foreign policy credentials” and not usually open to freshmen Senators- because he has so little actual experience in Washington. That he has some limited experience in state legislating is in his favor but that he has NO experience in an executive office is strongly against him. I would argue that two years as a Governor, with no expectation that she would be anything else makes Palin more qualified than Obama for the Presidency. By extension, if she is more qualified for the highest office, she is qualified to be Vice President.
2. “Experience,” while helpful, is not a requirement for President. JFK is trotted out by the Dems on a regular basis and his “foreign policy experience” was extremely limited. (Not the best example I will grant considering that the USSR counted on this inexperience when they pushed into Cuba.) So too, Reagan had no experience in foreign policy. Nor had Clinton for that matter, though his experience as an executive was substantial. My point is that your definition, like that of the DNC is too narrow. Experience comes in many forms and foreign policy experience, while useful to a candidate for office, may be the least valuable experience of all. Lets face it, the world is a complicated, messed-up place. The facts and views of other peoples and nations is in a constant state of flux. What truly matters is the character and ability of the office-holder. So, a Reagan assembled a Cabinet of extremely competent advisers and then listened to them. Carter ignored his Cabinet to America’s general injury. GW either relied too heavily on a poorly chosen Cabinet or, like Carter, ignored a well chosen one. (This is an issue that we can only know by looking back on an Administration.) Palin is a textbook “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” candidate. She is not from a politically connected family, doesn’t have a lot of money, and had the required grit to strike for the highest office in her state without first “paying her dues” to the machine. That “experience” makes her every bit the match for Obama and puts her in as a serious contender for Biden or McCain.
3. Your view of her as a poor “candidate” because she has children is truly remarkable. We didn’t say that of Clinton when Chelsea was just a child. In fact, history is replete with examples of mail Heads of State who have small children. To suggest that a woman in the same place as a man should “bow out” because her “responsibility” requires that she sacrifice her career for her child when you wouldn’t place the same burden on a man says a great deal about your view of women.
4. Thomas Jefferson said of the Vice Presidency that it was the least desirable public post because it had no “role,” other than to wait for the President to die. (Not willing to wake up the wife to find the actual quote.) I think Palin’s quip is one shared by many Americans and is certainly one shared by many people that held the office. The fact is that the Vice President, as best I can tell, is NOT SUPPOSED TO DO ANYTHING. Americans are VERY uncomfortable with an active VP. Perhaps the most vocal VP has been Cheyney. That didn’t go all that well. So, it is hardly a foolish question to ask since the American people are greatly invested in electing the VP this time around but are unlikely to tolerate too much from the VP once she or he take office. (A warning for the Biden crowd since the GOP is likely to play up the GW-Cheyney/Obama-Biden similarity if Biden does more than smile and “look pretty.” Perhaps Biden’s experience should include some beauty-pageant work.)
In the end, nothing you have said suggests that Palin is a poor candidate. More importantly, you have built yourself up to be an “expert” on Palin. Pulling a single line off the internet and throwing out an ill thought-out remark about the role of women in family life hardly supports your claimed competency to be a voter, much less a worthy commentator on politics. If you cannot do better, just walk away.
Did you read that Palin’s 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant? It’s great that she didn’t get an abortion but she didn’t wait until marriage to have an intercourse? Let me tell you, that is not going to go well with hardcore Christians like myself.
“Hardcore Christians”
I’ll bite.
Claiming to be a “Christian” should certainly incline one to act like the Christ who intervened to save the prostitute from stoning. Thus, a Christian should be most concerned with shielding this young girl from unwarranted and unfair attacks.
She made a mistake. If this tars her in your eyes and nothing she does- like keeping her baby and marrying the father- will redeem her, then you aren’t much of a Christian.
But, this isn’t supposed to be about Palin’s children, it is supposed to be about Palin.
Cheyney’s daughter continues to live in a sinful, homosexual relationship. Yet, the self-described Christians in the GOP unreservedly voted for him as VP in 2000. Why, because they correctly separated the sins of the daughter from those of the father.
Does being a Christian permit us to visit the sins of the daughter on the mother or is it just that the parent is female this time?
Besides, the love and support of a mother who so WELL taught her daughter to respect the gifts of God, however inconvenient they appear to be, speaks well of Palin. If you are a Christian then your Christian charity should overcome your prejudice. If you can’t reach that place, then perhaps you should find a quiet place to pray and contemplate.
By the by… We are still waiting for a demonstration of your wide-ranging expertise on Palin’s fitness for office. Again, ripping a headline off of the web doesn’t get you there.
I never said I was an “expert” on Palin so don’t put words in my mouth. I’ve read a lot about her. As a fellow Republican, I have to.
Pat Buchanan didn’t think she was a good candidate….Now, he has to support McCain’s choice.
It’s great that you are loyal to the party but it doesn’t mean that one should not evaluate & have some sort of constructive criticism either. After all, the past years, the Republican party has been tainted w/ negative publicity. So, we better make sure, we don’t make the same mistakes again.
Moreover, why are you bringing up Obama & Biden? I don’t care about them & frankly, that’s not the issue here. It’s about Palin.
You can go on about the past individuals in politics but it does not apply to Palin nor McCain. You are trying way too hard to be an intellectual.
“Wanda: But you think you’re an intellectual, don’t you, ape?
Otto: Apes don’t read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto, they just don’t understand it!”
I’ll let others judge my intelligence. God knows few of us are good judges of our own capacities.
As for bringing up Obama and Biden… How dense are you? Really!!! Discussing a national ticket without discussing the competition is like discussing Superbowl prospects without discussing competing teams. If you seek to evaluate Palin as a VP candidate in a vacuum, you would be better to start your own blog- that way you can hit your balls into the sand-trap at your leisure.
Have fun.
Again though, you have not offered one iota of “constructive criticism.” I don’t think it is too much to ask for a guest commenter to back up their critique with some sort of argument, facts, references, or, at the very least, something of entertaining value.
Everyone will be reading about Palin.
I am shocked that McCain didn’t do a thorough background search on his pick.
We would’ve been better off with either Jindal or Romney. At least their kids are not having a kid before marriage.
(Check out what Stabat Mater is about)
If I am such an idiot to you & you are sooo much better than I am, why do you care so much that you have to write back to me? I’ve got my own opinions just like yourself. I have my own reasons about Palin as you already know but you seem to be not satisfied with my answers.
A side from Palin, answer me this: What’s your favorite color?
I think Pergelosi makes an excellent point. Why bother responding to him? And since he has shown no interest in responding in good faith to anyone here, I am hereby disinviting Pergelosi from further participation in this blog.
“Blue… No. Red…” Ahhhhggggg!!!!!!
Is this the place I get to point out that Ann Dunham — Barack Obama’s mother — got herself knocked up with little Barry when she was seventeen? Or that the father of little Barry was not only married, but was the father of an infant son by his wife — who was already pregnant with their second child?
Because…oh, irony.
If the Dems make too much hay with this, it could bite them right on their flabby, pasty butts.