Could McCain's Extremist Running Mate, Palin, Help Obama?
Sen. Barack Obama is enjoying some of his highest numbers so far in the daily presidential tracking polls I frequently cite. Gallup has him up by 8 points today. Rasmussen by 5.
The question is whether this is a result of Obama's convention bounce, or Sen. John McCain's seemingly, shall we say, adventurous selection of an extremist running mate. Forget all the strikes against Gov. Sarah Palin—her now-renowned family troubles, her connections to Republican lobbyists, her ardent desire to slaughter animals ("Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and John McCain's vice presidential pick, is an enthusiastic hunter who has proposed legislation and cash incentives to encourage aerial wolf gunning, the controversial practice of shooting wolves from an aircraft."), and her widely-criticized appearance on a radio talk show ("The governor's appearance on KWHL's "The Bob and Mark Show" last week is plain and simple one of the most unprofessional, childish, and inexcusable performances I've ever seen from a politician.").
My concern is what impact the selection of Palin has on the performance of the Republican ticket among voters. Clearly she has accomplished what McCain could not: energizing Karl Rove's far right Christian evangelical base (as some people would call it, the Republican wing of the Republican Party). I initially thought choosing her was a stroke of brilliance by the McCain camp as she would serve to woo some of the disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters into the Republican fold—the independent soccer moms, working class voters and so on.
But in the intervening five days, so much has come out about her extreme political positions (on choice, on states rights, on hunting, on lobbying) it's difficult if not impossible to say if her promise to be a "servant of the heart", her unusual parenting style, her description of our soldiers' task in Iraq are helping or hurting her with this key demographic or not.
I like this analysis by the Globe & Mail:
"If there's one demographic group that holds the key to this election, it would be working-class white women. Mr. McCain calculated that the untested Ms. Palin, mother of five with a reputation for feistiness, would help nail down the social conservatives and impress working-class women. He nailed down the social conservatives with Ms. Palin's appointment. Working-class white women will be a harder crowd to impress."
Hang on to your baseball caps, folks. This is going to be a wild ride. Your thoughts, please?
Tags: presidential election 2008 | running mates | Barack Obama | John McCain | Sarah Palin
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Reader Comments
Anti-Palin
I think Palin being on the McCain ticket will help the Obama campaign. I had an open mind in the beginning when it was announced that she was selected as the choice for the VP position. In my opinion, things have been going downhill since then. I saw a horrifying picture yesterday. Palin was crouching beside a beautiful, sadly it was dead, caribou. There she was, next to this bloody-faced majestic animal, smiling in pride with her "achievement". As if this isn't enough, how can we vote for an individual or party that promotes the barbaric practice of aerial hunting. And what is this business of promoting drilling in one of the most beautiful parts of our country?! Palin says "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems — as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all." If she truly "knows that", she would consider that the answer is not to drill but to try to instigate change. The change I'm talking about is - influence car manufacturers NOT to build vehicles that get 9mpg; stop car manufacturers from promoting "buy a new XXX and get two years gas for only $2.99/gallon; yes, it may be unpopular, but what about increasing vehicle taxes for automobiles that are not environmentally friendly? And lastly, drilling will not solve ANY of America's energy problems - long term and that's what we should be thinking about. America, as a large contributor, needs to address the global effects our activities are having. What kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? We can't leave the problems that we are creating for them to solve.
I'll certainly be voting for Obama.
Why this woman
If McCain was looking for a woman, I can't believe he chose Palin, and he thinks that at a given point she is the right person to guide the nation
She has no international affairs experience, she actually supported the bridge to nowhere before opposing it, and she doesn’t have any environmental conscience.
I am disappointed of McCain.
A Woman
Seriously? Gallup polls have McCain up by 3. Leave the left wing hate-mongering at the door! Your liberal feminism is at stake, and you are scared! Why do you want to hate a conservative woman, just because she doesn't hate liberalism??? I thought you would be above that! Sarah Palin has been a favorite amongst the conservatives for quite some time. Ask Glenn Beck listeners, or the National Right to Life people! And no experience, she has had more executive experience than Obama, Biden, and McCain combined!!
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