You Can't Be Me, I'm a Rock Star

Aren't you fed up with that presumptuous candidate who can't work without a teleprompter and turns down offers for town halls? Yeah, that one.

The Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees will spend most of the day in Lancaster County… Originally scheduled to be a townhall-style event where audience members could ask questions, campaign organizers changed today's appearance to a rally after it was announced Palin, the governor of Alaska, would attend. No audience interaction is expected to take place.

"Coming off the convention, there's this almost rock star sort of an enthusiasm which is out there," said Dave Dumeyer, chairman of the local GOP. "You try to maximize that the best you can. A townhall-style meeting matches McCain's personal style, but with her on the ticket, the throngs just want to hear her, just want to see her."

The Obama flack in the next graf says it, but I'll have to agree: Coming after two months of ads mocking Obama for offering substance, it's rich to hear Team McCain tittering about the "throngs" who "just want to see" their ticket.

There's a positive case for the McCain people to make about this strategy. If McCain believes that total Democratic control of Washington would tempt civilizational collapse, and that the co-author of Why Courage Matters can save us, then anything he could do to bring victory, he should do. Select a likeable lightweight who cuts into Obama's support from white women and independents? Cut! Print! The problem is that McCain won't admit he's doing that, and we're told that Palin really is a hyper-competent hockey mom reformer who destroyed the Bridge to Nowhere with one well-timed karate chop.

It's having the effect of making Obama seem stronger, actually. His interview with Bill O'Reilly was more adroit than you'd expect after all the spin about him being an empty suit who crumples when the teleprompter breaks.

We don't know if he's experiencing the typical slump that hits after a rival's convention or a long-term screwing, but this suggests that the zombie who showed up at Saddleback has been replaced by an actual politician. "I don't like payin' taxes. You think I like writin' a check?"

Comments

[sixstring]

"I don't like payin' taxes. You think I like writin' a check?"

I can't watch the video. Can somone please tell me if the next word out of Obama's mouth is "...but?"

[John]

If I were a liberal politician I would go on O'Reilly every night. O'Reilly is a moron. Obama did look good on O'Reilly. He is about 100 times smarter and charming than O'Reilly. You really can't ask for a better situation than a national audience and a complete baffoon like O'Reilly argueing for the other side.

[The Extispicator]

Sixstring,

No. It was, "That's what your ass is for. You write the checks, I'll spend 'em. That's how it works, Bitch!"

[albo]

Lancaster County is the buckle of the bible belt in PA and the single most Republican county in the state.

It's not like there's a need to take Q and A and convert any swing voters in the audience--the base just wants to see her. So don't get all smarmy.

[The Angry Optimist]

Select a likeable lightweight who cuts into Obama's support from white women and independents? Cut! Print! The problem is that McCain won't admit he's doing that

Uhh...what? you actually want him to say this?

Obama's pick made him look weak, and everyone knows it. He didn't come out and say that, though.

[Episiarch]

His interview with Bill O'Reilly was more adroit than you'd expect after all the spin about him being an empty suit who crumples when the teleprompter breaks

It's not hard to be moderately adroit when you're talking with a retard who won't let you finish a sentence, but point taken.

[John]

I don't see how getting in a cat fight with the other party's VP nominee really helps Obama. Long term, it may help the Dems to discredit and destroy Palin because she is such a threat to them over the next 10 or 15 years. Short term is does Obama no good. He is running against McCain. Palin's job was to solidify the base. She has done that. Nothing Obama says is going to change that. I don't think many people outside the base are going to vote based on the VP on the ticket. The more Obama wrestles in the mud with Palin, the more he looks petty and McCain looks like a grown up.

It is a Democratic year. Stop talking about the other side. Start talking about yourself and what you are going to do. The "empty suit" charge stuck and hurt him so bad because he hadn't fleshed himself out very much. Attacking Palin doesn't do that.

Palin is like a piece of red meat in front of a dog. The Democrats just can't resist going after her no matter how little good it does them.

[The Angry Optimist]

I agree with John. Must be the crack talking. But this piece by David is weak.

[sv]

John,

Sound analysis. I have nothing to add right now except this little endorsement. 🙂

[Andrew]

I wish Bill Buckley were alive and well enough to quiz Obama on the old "Firing Line." That would have been interesting to see. Heck, put O'Reilly on, too.

[jkp]

I dunno, David -- I was pretty darned unimpressed with BHO's response to O'Reilly's questions regarding Iraq and the surge. He really had nothing there.

[Mo]

Obama's pick made him look weak, and everyone knows it. He didn't come out and say that, though.

So picking a guy whose strengths complement your weaknesses makes you look weak? I have to say, as much as I dislike Bush and Cheney, his pick of Cheney was spot on.

Any successful CEO will tell you that they key to success is not being afraid of hiring someone smarter than you or that knows more than you. That's basically what the president is. If McCain were to do the same he'd pick a Romney (the self-hating northeast elite), a Forbes or a Gramm to shore up his weakness on economic issues. Instead he chose to play identity politics and claims it's for her experience. Not that I expect a politician to do anything but sell you a shit sandwich and say that it's peanut butter.

[jkp]

That said, it's kind of funny to see that the REASON staff has more or less split into opposing camps focused on the candidates for whom they have more contempt.

[ed]

this almost rock star sort of an enthusiasm

I don't get the "rock star" bit. Why would any party flack want his candidate to be compared with a self-centered, vapid, self-righteous entertainer? Is it because they respect rock stars? We all know that most journalists adore (if not outright worship) celebrities, and secretly harbor a wish to be one themselves some day. So I suppose it's a projection of some sort. Or not.

[jkp]

Mo:

I strongly question BHO's judgment on picking Biden.

I know exactly what JMC was going for with Palin. I am not saying that she is the most qualified person to be Vice President, but it was a completely political pick, and so far it's working out for him.

Why on earth would BHO pick Biden? Not for any political gain. No, that means that BHO picked ol' Xerox because he actually values the guy's counsel.

That's simply a bad idea. Biden has been wrong on almost every foreign policy issue since 1972. In addition, the fellow couldn't even accomplish the bare minimum that even Dan Quayle could achieve: graduation from law school without receiving an "F".

The fact that BHO couldn't see through Biden's bullshit really speaks volumes about BHO's poor judgment. He needed Hillary, and failing that he needed someone who had real knowledge or experience of foreign affairs. Instead, he picked Xerox. Not a good sign.

[Seward]

I don't think it is a terrible idea to spend some time on knocking down Palin, particularly since she appears to be a large part of the "bump" coming out of the convention. The question then becomes how much time you do spend on her.

[Travis]

"I wish Bill Buckley were alive and well enough to quiz Obama on the old "Firing Line." That would have been interesting to see. Heck, put O'Reilly on, too."

Add a drunk Jack Keoruac in the mix & you'd have some good television.

[The Angry Optimist]

So picking a guy whose strengths complement your weaknesses makes you look weak?

Obama separated himself from the rest of the pack by mainly talking about Iraq, which is a foreign-policy endeavor. How can you champion yourself as insightful when it comes to foreign policy and then turn about and pick someone who is widely seen as "shoring up your foreign policy weaknesses"?

[Mo]

jkp,

I'm not a fan of Biden as a person, but I do like the signal. It shows self-awareness and a willingness to shore up weaknesses. Biden's not going to have an effect on foreign policy, that's the SoS's job. Name one meaningful policy decision Al Gore made as VP. Biden is Obama's Gore.

Jesus Christ O'Reilly is intellectually dishonest. This interview is far worse than part one.

[zeiner the lurker]

Lancaster County is the buckle of the bible belt in PA and the single most Republican county in the state.

It's not like there's a need to take Q and A and convert any swing voters in the audience--the base just wants to see her. So don't get all smarmy.

Economically, I agree it is a pretty conservative place but it it becoming much more socially liberal. Lancaster County is growing pretty rapidly and a lot of non-religious people are moving into the area. Good schools, suburbs,a a mid-size city, and low cost of living makes it a very attractive place for young professionals starting out and young parents with kids.

I still think that Lancaster County will go for McCain but, I think it's going to be closer than most people think.

[wildly hopeful for a change]

Is there any chance that the reason they are keeping Palin quite is due to fear she'll make seriously libertarian gaffees?

[joe]

They don't want Palin to go off script, because they're afraid she'll call him Macaca.

His interview with Bill O'Reilly was more adroit than you'd expect after all the spin about him being an empty suit who crumples when the teleprompter breaks.

The Republicans have done a good job of setting very high expectations for Palin, and very low ones for Obama. Please, can we have some more comments about what a terrible speaker he is, and how McCain's going to clean his clock? Keep 'em coming, right up through the debates. Thanks.

The "crumples when the teleprompter breaks" charge was always a bit of Rovian strategery that began with the Hillary campaign. You don't attack your opponents weaknesses - the voters already know his weaknesses - you attack him on his strengths. Hence, the judge with the long record of helping children is a child molestor, the war hero with the distinguished record is a coward, and the best political communicator since Clinton is 1) all rhetoric and no substance and 2) only good at prepared speeches.

This is generally a good strategy. It forces your opponent to make the case that he is strong in an area that he would otherwise be riding on. The problem here is that while you can only argue that you aren't a child molestor or that the events in your military record didn't happen, without being able to definitively proove it, you can disprove the accusation that you're lousy at debates, town halls, and interviews. People can't go back and watch what happened on the river, or what happened at those youth events, but they can watch with their own eyes as you do well at non-scripted events, and put forward substantive policy proposals.

[Abdul]

They don't want Palin to go off script, because they're afraid she'll call him Macaca.

What's Macaca in Yu'pik?

[Josh]

It's having the effect of making Obama seem stronger, actually.

Sweet merciful crap.

[Perry]

This whole election cycle is some weird twilight zone experience now. People who crapped on Obama for being a celebrity defend Palin's new celebrity status; people who want to be inclusive and be 'postracial' by backing a half black newcomer are all over a Palin for being a woman newcomer, thus not being postsexist I guess?; Experience now evidently doesn't matter, except when it does; the people in power now want change, just as bad as the people who aren't in power.

Its fantastic lunacy. Hopefully someone thats not Oliver Stone will make a fantastic movie about it one day.

[joe]

Speaking of fantasic lunacy, that new Spike Lee WW2/black history/supernatural movie looks promising.

[Joshua Corning]

rather then constantly telling us how awesome Obama is why can't Weigel show us?

[Excel Macro VB]

Obama is not an empty suit.
A real man. A Lincoln.

[prolefeed]

Slightly off-topic, but here is a list of the books Palin tried to have banned. I don't know whether to hate Republicans when they are all obnoxiously culture-warry like this, or to be profoundly grateful that they've inadvertently given me plenty of really good books to read for the next couple of years.

***

The books that Sarah Palin tried to have banned from the Wasilla Public Library, according to the official minutes of the Library Board. When she was unsuccessful at having these books banned, she tried to have the librarian fired.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Blubber by Judy Blume
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Christine by Stephen King
Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Cujo by Stephen King
Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Decameron by Boccaccio
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Fallen Angels by Walter Myers
Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland
Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Forever by Judy Blume
Grendel by John Champlin Gardner
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Have to Go by Robert Munsch
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Impressions edited by Jack Booth
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma Klein
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
My House by Nikki Giovanni
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara
Night Chills by Dean Koontz
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective
Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
Separate Peace by John Knowles
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Bastard by John Jakes
The Catcher in the Rye b y J.D. Salinger
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Devil's Alternative by Frederick Forsyth
The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder
The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks
The Living Bible by William C. Bower
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders
The Shining by Stephen King
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume
& nbsp;To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster
Editorial Staff
Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween
Symbols by Edna Barth

[John]

Joe,

Who is saying that McCain is going to kill Obama in the debates? I think he will but I am a partisian. I don't get the vibe at all.

It doesn't matter if Obama wins the debate on points. He has got to look like a normal guy who can relate to normal people. That is why Palin hurt him so badly. She made Obama into the other. Into someone that normal people can't relate. McCain's speech helped in that to. For all of its flaws, it made McCain look normal and humble. Obama has got to start looking the same way, or he is going to get killed. I don't care how many great points he makes about universal healthcare. Whining about Palin isn't going to do it for him.

[Episiarch]

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

What a great book. Man, if that list is true, she really had it out for...Judy fucking Blume?

[Neu Mejican]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

Anytime someone brings up Palin, the Democrats need to post the above article.

Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy.

Or some other policy based analysis.

Independents actually look at the policy proposals. We will decide the election.

[eXCEL]

Keep believing your bad logic. Your assumptions are flawed.
Fighting terrorists in Iraq requires strike teams, and good intelligence. It does not require occupation.

A strong government in Iraq is the best response to Iranian influence. The surge did not accomplish this. I believe that only the threat of leaving will cause the necessary political reconciliation needed to strengthen and stabilize Iraq against Iranian influence.

Our occupation only serves to recruit new terrorists against the United States.

Moreover, ending our dependence on the products of the middle east may also be an effective tactic. The less we meddle in their affairs to pursue our oil interests, the less we stay on their minds.

Your assumptions are incorrect, thus while the form of your logic is correct, your argument is truly a house of cards.

[Neu Mejican]

prolefeed | September 9, 2008, 2:01pm | #
Slightly off-topic, but here is a list of the books Palin tried to have banned.

You've been punked.

I'll repeat the quote of the day (again)...

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers," - Thomas Pynchon.

[John]

http://volokh.com/posts/1220725447.shtml

According to Volokh that list is a complete hoax.

[Brian24]

prolefeed,

Sorry to disappoint you, but that's a fake list that's been making the internet rounds. It was cut and pasted from a list of "books that have been banned in the USA."

http://www.snopes.com/politics/palin/bannedbooks.asp

It is a Democratic year. Stop talking about the other side. Start talking about yourself and what you are going to do.

I don't recall any election in my lifetime that was won without ripping the other side apart (verbally). Kerry's biggest mistake was exactly this. I genuinely hope Obama doesn't make the same mistake (and I don't think he will).

[Brian24]

eXCEL,

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Well put.

[Pro Libertate]

Hoax.

[BDB]

Like I said before, Palin brings everything obnoxious about Obama onto the Republican ticket--including ridiculous internet rumors.

[John]

Brian24,

Kerry was relentless negative against Bush. I am not sure exactly what you wanted him to do. Ripping the other guy's number 2 gets you no where, especially if you are a new guy running on change. Obama is not the incumbant. Once more the incumbant isn't running. He needs to give people a reason to vote for him. He needs to show people he is one of them and relates to them. Going after Palin is a dead end.

[BDB]

Kerry (and Dukakis) never responded to attacks, said they were above it all, etc., and it killed them.

Must be a Massachusetts thing.

[Brian24]

John,

Are you talking about Obama, or about other Democrats? I haven't heard Obama himself say anything at all about Palin except in a very veiled manner. If he has said something I would agree; in fact, I'd say that a presidential candidate shouldn't say anything about the VP candidate on the other side; it smacks of coming down a level.

But I think the attacks on Palin have been from other Democrats, and I fully support that.

[joshua corning]

Why isn't Weigel attributing the library book burning list to the Democrat CORE like he did all the crazy Obama rumors with the Republican CORE?

Hell why isn't he making like 20 posts about it?

[Neu Mejican]

If he has said something I would agree; in fact, I'd say that a presidential candidate shouldn't say anything about the VP candidate on the other side; it smacks of coming down a level.

Obama has made this mistake a couple of times.

1) Comparing her executive experience to his own.
2) Talking about how small Alaska's population is.
3) Responding to her attack about community organizing.

[Brian24]

Why isn't Weigel attributing the library book burning list to the Democrat CORE like he did all the crazy Obama rumors with the Republican CORE?

Probably because, whereas the Obama rumor was being pushed by a couple of specific, identifiable people, the book list is just a general email rumor.

[Brian24]

Neu Mejican,

Do you have quotes?

Anyway, if he's done the first two, I agree, it's a tactical mistake. However, the third item is not the same thing--defending oneself against an unfair attack is wise, and would that Kerry had done the same.

[joshua corning]

Probably because, whereas the Obama rumor was being pushed by a couple of specific, identifiable people, the book list is just a general email rumor.

You got to be shitting me.

Didn't Obama call the rumors about him specifically email rumors.

I sure hope you were being sarcastic.

[Orange Line Special]

It's rich to hear Weigel whine about people not being able to ask questions, when AFAIK the only person he's asked a question of is someone without any power whatsoever, LarrySinclair.

As for O'Reilly, I didn't see it but I'm absolutely positive he didn't ask the ProsecutorialStyle questions that I would have.

Reason's subscribers might want to suggest that Reason tries doing real reporting occcasionally instead of simply trying to sell books and shill for BHO.

[R C Dean]

Slightly off-topic, but here is a list of the books Palin tried to have banned.

prolefeed, a mea culpa is in order on your part. Admit to being taken in, and perhaps your credibility will not be impugned forevermore when you post on these boards.

the book list is just a general email rumor.

I believe it started as a post at the Obama website, that was taken down after a day or two. It wasn't posted by an official paid Obama staffer, though, just some deranged fanboy.

[Brian24]

Josh,

Ok, after looking back at past posts, you're right, my memory of them was faulty.

I did run into his old post where he wrote "Why do I keep following this story? One, because I think conspiracies are fun!" I think that gets closer to the truth; the book thing is a pretty lame conspiracy when compared to "Obama is really a foreign-born Muslim who is bent on revenge against Whitey!"

Anyway, I apologize for my previous hasty statement.

[joe]

BDB | September 9, 2008, 2:22pm | #

Like I said before, Palin brings everything obnoxious about Obama onto the Republican ticket--including ridiculous internet rumors.'

SCARY WHITE CHURCH! SCARY WHITE CHURCH!

😉

[joe]

"Sarah Palin tried to ban these books" is not nearly as interesting as "Barack Obama did coke and had gay sex with me in a limo."

Heck, it's not even as interesting as "Barack Obama faked his birth certificate."

[BDB]

Yes, including the church, which is only scary to really liberal Protestants and atheists. To people in most of the country, they know at least one pentecostal. They aren't particularly scary people.

[Brian24]

They aren't particularly scary people, except when they start talking about their religion.

Fixed.

Sorry. City atheist. I know some, but I still think their religion is weird.

[BDB]

Brian-

I do too, but it's not a particularly effective attack. I mean, we're talking about a country where Left Behind is a NYT best-seller.

Unlike urban black liberal churches (Rev. Wright), white evangelical/pentecostal churches really aren't that exotic, scary, or foreign.

[Brian24]

I agree with you BDB. Attacking a relatively mainstream church is a losing proposition in a presidential election.

[Smappy]

I actually liked O'Reilly in this interview. I haven't seen someone on national television take a stand against wealth redistribution in a long time.

[Pro Libertate]

I think it would be evil fun to put a Scientologist in the White House.

[Rev Hagee]

"I do too, but it's not a particularly effective attack. I mean, we're talking about a country where Left Behind is a NYT best-seller."

What? These people believe in stuff similar to David Koresh, except they are much more in your face and he just wanted to be left alone. They think that the end of world is going to happen like next week and we have to shape our foreign policy around it. That isn't mainstream and besides if anyone considers it mainstream then look at it like this, the people who believe in that nonsense already know who they are voting for, but it will scare the hell out of the swing voters.

[joe]

BDB, have you ever heard of "Charismatic Catholics?"

Sullly, what the's mattah with yah muthah? Is she aw right?

[BDB]

Joe-

Yes.

"Rev Hagee-"

Do you ever wonder why exactly people stereotype liberals as out-of-touch? You should.

[Erik in Maine]

The Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees will spend most of the day in Lancaster County... Originally scheduled to be a townhall-style event where audience members could ask questions, campaign organizers changed today's appearance to a rally after it was announced Palin, the governor of Alaska, would attend. No audience interaction is expected to take place.

They're scared to let Palin take questions from a friendly audience ...

Not good.

[ed]

prolefeed...Sorry to disappoint you, but that's a fake list

It was obviously phony just by the length of it. If she had really reviewed all those books she never would have had time to be Supermom. But then, it's on the internet, so how could it not be true? And if she's really Supermom, she can do anything, right? I'm so confused.

[TallDave]

It's having the effect of making Obama seem stronger, actually.

And so Weigel falls the rest of the way into the tank.

Yeah, having the top of the Dem ticket attack the bottom of the GOP ticket is working really well, just as well as attacking Palin's "inexperience" while claiming Obama has experience... because he's campaigning for President!

Hello, 10-point lead!

Select a likeable lightweight

Heh, I guess the Dems thought they had that market cornered.

[prolefeed]

Yeah, I got punked by a socialist who's a member of my reader's group, who sent everyone in the group an email with that hit piece lying about Palin banning books. Shortly after I made my earlier post here, someone else in the reader's group fired back with the Snopes piece rebutting it.

My bad. Feel a bit foolish. Thanks to all those who beat me to the punch correcting this lie.

(Note to self: NEVER fucking believe hit pieces before first thoroughly checking them out)

[joe]

Pay attention to TallDave's election analysis.

He sure nailed the part about the Wright story forcing Obama out of the race.

[Pro Libertate]

joe,

Except that I agree that Dave is on Obama crack if he thinks Palin's inexperience helps emphasize anything other than Obama's inexperience. McCain is rubbing his evil little hands together.

[joe]

Pro Libertate,

Au contraire. Prior to Palin's entry onto the scene, there was a wide gulf between Obama on the one hand, and McCain and Biden on the other.

Now, her inexperience and lack of preparedness makes Obama look like he belongs in the same category as them.

[joe]

For example, John McCain served on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees for something like a combined 30 years. Biden is the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. Barack Obama is Chair of one of the Armed Services Subcommittees, and wrote the timeline bill for withdrawing from Iraq.

Sarah Palin has been the governor of a state that's near Russia and Canada. For a little while. But she never dealt with the Russians or Canadians.

[joe]

Look at it this way: if you see a picture with Manny Ramirez, A-Rod and Mark Bellhorn standing with each other, you think "What's Mark Belhorn doing with those two sluggers?"

If you a picture of Manny, A-Rod, Bellhorn, and a 9th grader, you think "Look at that kid getting his picture taken with those pros."

[Voros McCracken]

"I don't think it is a terrible idea to spend some time on knocking down Palin"

I don't think so either, but with one important caveat:

You have to be able to succeed in doing so in the minds of people other than those who are already going to vote for you.

And since they started on day one and find themselves in the worst position they've been in yet in the campaign 10 days later, I think it's fair to say they've come up empty so far.

[TallDave]

Yeah, I got punked by a socialist who's a member of my reader's group, who sent everyone in the group an email with that hit piece lying about Palin banning books.

You'd think Dems learned their lesson after forging Bush Guard memos from 1971 on MS Word and feed them to Dan Rather, then having that little scheme blow up in their faces so spectacularly.

You would be wrong.

[TallDave]

Heck, after the book-banning lie and the fake-Trig-pregnancy lie and the Palin's-husband-affair-in-business-associate's-divorce-papers lie, at this point if anything real does come out no one will believe it.

No wonder women are flocking to Palin.

And the Fox News report documentary on Palin just got the highest FNC ratings ever.

[Pro Libertate]

Nice try, but I think the big issue in most voters' minds is the qualifications of the president. An experienced VP is nice and preferable, but if Palin's lack of experience is a problem, how much worse of a problem is Obama's similar lack? She'll only be important if McCain drops dead. Obama is running for the big chair. He lacks any obvious aptitude for the position (which he could prove by doing other stuff in the public eye), and we don't have much to judge him on. Words are worse than useless.

McCain, on the other hand, is maybe too experienced, though, of course, he lacks executive credentials as well. Still, he's seen more as a known quantity, though a bit wacky. So not picking some 50-year veteran of Washington doesn't really hurt him. Unless you think he's going to die next year.