Friday, August 29, 2008

McCain's Busted Flush

The Republican nominee played the gender card today, a sure sign that he is holding a weak hand.

In picking Sarah Palin, Republican masterminds may be shrewdly reckoning to please the Religious Right while also peeling off some disaffected Hillary Clinton voters.

Wrong. Gov. Palin is no doubt a future political star, but Clinton Democrats would have to be far gone to be influenced by a woman on McCain's ticket who is a model for the pro-life, guns-for-everybody poster. Meanwhile, by selecting the recently seated 44-year-old governor of a small state to back up their aging candidate, Republicans are folding the Obama-is-inexperienced card, the red-phone call at 3 AM card, the no-foreign policy experience card and a whole deck of Obama-isn't-ready attacks.

Ironically, as the Democrats filled out their ticket with experience and judgment, the McCain team is opting for an attractive but ill-prepared and ludicrously inappropriate choice that will be seen as akin to George W. Bush nominating Harriet Meiers to the Supreme Court.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Exactly right. But the bar is set very low for her right now. She can easily exceed expectations.

Overall though, a puzzling choice. One that plays well to snowmobilers but loses the centrist independents.

Without Romney, Michigan should be a safe bet for Obama-Biden.