It’s all about Palin

By Contributor Archive

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on Sep 2 

Forget about John McCain, the RNC buzz is all about Sarah Palin.  With her speech less than 24 hours away (you know you’re counting down), speculation is flying about how Palin will fare.

Conventional wisdom says that the VP doesn’t do much for the ticket, but with the recent media frenzy, it seems that her success will make or break the McCain campaign (for now).  She set a very high bar for herself after giving a sensational speech Friday when McCain announced she would be his running mate.  So what does she have to do and what will you be looking for?

Comments

  • kristen

    I look forward to her speech. I think more people will be tuned in to her than any other.

  • Douglas Uhlinger

    Unless Govrnor Palin can dispel the scandal that surrounds her, she could walk on water to get to the convention and it would make no difference. She has to explain why she is currently under State investigation for firing a public official because that official would not bend to the demands of her relatives (and possibly directly by her) that the official fire her brother-in-law, a State trooper who was in the middle of a nasty divorce with her sister. If true, that is a crime for which she could serve jail time.

    She has to explain why, when she was mayor of a tiny town, just two years ago, she tried to fire the town librarian because the Governor did not like some of the books in the library.

    She has to explain how to reconcile her right-wing belief in teaching teenagers about abstinence-only and absolutely no birth control and the current plight of her daughter.

    She needs to explain what mother would thrust her pregnant teen-age daughter into the terrible intensity of the media spotlight because of political ambition.

    She needs to identify one executive decision she made about the Alaska National Guard, since her supporters tout this as foreign policy and military experience.

    She needs to explain why she claimed to have traveled in Ireland, in an attempt to bolster her foreign relations experience, when all she had was a stop-over at Shannon Airport.

    She needs to explain in detail why her experience as the mayor of a tiny Alaska town and a less-than-two year governor of a state with a tiny population will enable her to step into the Presidency should something happen to a rapidly aging John McCain.

    She needs to very specifically identify her connections with and whether she was a member of the right-wing organisation that believes Alaska should secede from the Union.

    None of this will be in her speech, but it will control her future, which, my friends, looks bleak indeed. I predict she will withdraw her candidacy within two weeks.

    • Steelydan

      Keith O.! We thought we knew ye!

    • Pdiddy

      wow douglas, biased much?!?! you want to put your money where your mouth is about palin withdrawing?

  • Gary Russell

    I’ll be looking for her speech to show more of the style and substance that led McCain to elect her.

    If she remains true to that, I think that she can hit one out of the park.

    It’ll be very interesting to see whether and how she addresses her family’s personal situation. I suspect that she will briefly (and clearly) mention it, then move on.

    I’m looking forward to hearing it.

  • German Observer

    What she has to do is quite obvious and that she will do so is pretty predictable – and I say this with out any personal judgement.

    First and foremost she will underline her social conservative positions. A hell lot will be about her anti-abortion-, anti-gun-control-, anti-same-sex-marriage-sttituedes etc. She will underpin that with her personal livestyle, painting herself as the all-american hockey mom, praising her family and displaying great patriotism. Some remarks will go to disappointed Hillary-voters. Some words will be about her executional experience and her straight-on-attitude, even taking on Republicans and corporations when needed for the sake of the country. And finally she will harshly criticize the media for their recent investigations, maybe even using the picture of the sharks.

    That is her job and she will do brilliant. She will perform very well and drive the convention wild, fiercly cheering about every sentence she says, esspecially in the parts about her values and her family. In the end the media will be stunned about her performance and the applause she will have received – declaring the discussion about her to be (almost) over.

    • Gary Russell

      I hope that you’re right, Herr G.O. !

      “about her executional experience”
      Cool! Don’t mess with the Barracuda!

      • German Observer

        And I hope, I am not, Mister G.R. :-)

        But seen with the eyes of a neutral observer it is in the logic of the game. She will easily do her main job to delight the convention (by the way: who would not, given a crowd that is so willed to be delightet). And as a result (and that is the second main purpose) the Media will stop arguing about McCains judgement and see her appointment as a brilliant move. The questions summarized by Douglas below will come up later again. Plus (hopefully) the severe one, if it doesn’t ridicules the slogan of country first to appoint her for just so obvious reasons of campaign-tactics.

        • Gary Russell

          How can you continually claim that you are a “neutral observer”, yet consistantly make statements should as “And I hope, I am not (right)”
          (referring to my agreeing with you that she will be brilliant).

          That, and other statements, show that you are about as neutral as Switzerland later proved to be during WW 2.

          Embrace your bias. Don’t hide behind false neutrality.

          • German Observer

            Oh Gary, I did not hide behind false neutrality, at least I didn’t intend to do. The one thing is the “guess-what-happens-next-game”, which requires a neutral standpoint. And from that angle I expect Palin’s speech to be a great success for the Republicans. The other thing is what I personaly hope would happen, which is quite the opposite. I thought that it was clear from my statement, which part expressed my “neutral” expectations, and which expressed my personal preferences.
            But to make it perfectly clear: measured by American standards you would classify me as liberal, maybe even ultra-liberal. Probably that is caused by the discussions, culture, style etc. we have over here. And that’s it, what makes American politics so fascinating to me, what you are discussing about, which arguments you hold to be noteworthy, which style you have, the election-system you established, the demographics to be considered etc. As an aside I am a living-room-strategist, who is sometimes engaged in the what-happens-next-game.

            But I better shut up for a while and leave you with your business as a silent obeserver in order not to offend you – as that certainly is the last thing I intend to do.

  • Brian Harrist

    I am so glad I caught your posting Alaina, as I was in the process of posting the following when I saw your had just been posted. Thought it might be redundant so I will simply use your posting to share my thoughts in a response..

    “Maverick” Mack and the Palin Pick.

    I am one of the McCain supporters who have been shocked, excited and scared since learning that McCain threw the “long-ball” with the Sarah Palin pick, my sentiments change from minute to minute. Since I am a member of the “base” that she has seemed to energize, I am not sure why I can’t seem to shake the uneasiness I am feeling. Has the media attack machine gotten to me? Have they planted seeds of doubt in my mind? The concern I have with the Palin pick is that McCain’s entire campaign now rests on the shoulders of a young smart attractive female Governor who has now been pushed into the deep end of the pool surrounded by sharks who are out for blood. Can she escape it, is the question I keep asking myself. Was it smart for McCain to take such a risk, was this needed, is this simply another example of the “Maverick” being a maverick?

    I am reminded of a scene from one of the worst movies and guilty pleasures ever made, Top Gun.

    Maverick: What’s your problem, Kazanski?

    Iceman: You’re everyone’s problem. That’s because every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe. I don’t like you because you’re dangerous.

    Maverick: That’s right! Ice… man. I am dangerous.