Kudo’s to John McCain and his camp. They’ve managed to redefine the race and steal Obama’s post-convention bump by saying one name: Sarah Palin. Dropping that bomb gave the entire media establishment a collective case of amnesia. Joseph who? Let me compare and contrast the Obama and McCain picks for veep.
On the left (that’s Obama in case you didn’t know), we have an old white guy best known for insulting Obama by calling him things like “intelligent” and “articulate”… with an implied “for a black guy” inserted by the Jackson-Sharpton race-pimps. He’s a hatchet man who openly lies, but does so with such fervor that pundits don’t call him on it, they just sit back and say “oooh, deeeaaamn!” We’re talking about a candidate who didn’t merely dodge the draft as others in politics are accused of doing, but zigged, zagged, bobbed and weaved his way out of it with five academic deferments and finally getting classified as ineligible. Folks… meet Joe Biden.
On the right… and I mean “right” in all possible ways… we have Sarah Palin. She’s a 44 year old mother of 5. 5! The the left-wing pro-choice crowd, having five children is considered Felony Uterus Abuse. It gets better - her latest child, who she bore while serving as governor at the age of 42, was born with Downs Syndrome. I italicize born because on the left, it’s less of a right and more of a duty to abort a child who is being born less-than-perfect. Once you get past that, the obvious smacks you in the face; Palin is a she. A woman. A babe, at that. While Biden is the prototypical pastey old white guy - the kind who as Vice President you’d need an entire secret service detail to follow in case he totters over and breaks his hip - Palin is a young, fit and sassy red head. She’s got the whole naughty librarian vibe. If you thought Condi looked good in knee-high boots and power dresses, wait until the Vice President Palin rolls into the Kingdom of Saud in a red dress and stillettos. Allah ahkbar indeed. Looks aside, Palin is a Washinton Outsider - something no other candidate in this race can begin to claim with a straight face. In an America that perceives total corruption inside the beltway, Palin is a change agent. In her home state of Alaska, she took on her own Republican establishment and forced reform before she even took the reigns as Governor. I could go on all day, but Wikipedia has a bio of her which in its objectivity still favors her. The point I want to make is that she is solid VP material.
But what does it mean? Sarah Palin is a woman. This has happened before - Geraldine Ferraro was chosen by Walter Mondale has his veep pick in the 1984 Presidental election. Ferraro was a controversial figure in politics, and the polemic ticket wasn’t enough to overcome the Reagan juggernaut. This time, there isn’t a popular incumbent to run against. The Democrats are seen as the party of the status-quo, and have reigned over one of the most unpopular congresses in history (if not the). By the time the Dems went into convention, McCain was even if not ahead of Obama in most polls. The six-point bump Obama received from the Convention was erased and buried nearly overnight. The choice of Sarah Palin plays on the weakness of the Democratic ticket: she is a Washington outsider, where Biden is an insider. She has served as an executive, where Obama/Biden have only ever been legislators. She is a maverick where Obama/Biden have always found themselves nearer the head of the herd. Lastly, if I haven’t harped on it enough, Palin is a woman. Biden is a man who denied a woman the veep slot after already having been denied the party nomination. Make no mistake - the Clinton contingent will see Palin as their chance for validation in having supported a woman. Independent voters will see actual change where Obama/Biden have only ever promised change. And the truly progressive minded will see a woman who the lesser of a heartbeat or a term away from the Oval Office.
As a politician, Palin is golden. As a candidate for the Office of the Vice President and a running mate, she is perfect. McCain finally did something right (and I mean that in all definitions of the word “right’).
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