This is about as bone-headed a pick as McCain could have made. Palin delivers virtually nothing to the ticket, and kills the argument about Obama’s lack of experience (which was really the only resonant argument McCain could have made).

Actually, I still think it was his best pick out of several really bad choices. It was also his riskiest pick. Kelly O’Donnell actually admitted on MSNBC that she was researching her on Wikipedia right before she found out about the pick.

I would agree with Kevin that it’s a good but risky pick. 

I imagine McCain thinks that by choosing Palin, he’ll draw the PUMAs (roar).  It’ll be fun to watch the PUMAs (roar) tap-dance around Palin’s right-wing views on, well, everything, while insisting that she’s no different than Hillary.  The cognitive dissonance just may make their little heads explode.

But what does she bring? The theory that she brings in female voters falls flat on its face when you consider her rabidly anti-choice positions; she’s only appealing to women who would vote GOP in any case.

She doesn’t have the policy chops to go up against Biden in a debate. Biden may have to tone it down a bit, but he’ll still run circles around her.

Worst of all, she absolutely kills McCain’s only resonant argument - that Obama lacks experience.

As for her political judgment, I’d say that agreeing to be on McCain’s ticket shows either a massive naivety or a blinding ambition on her part.

OK, I repeated myself there

You have to ask, though - how was she vetted with the current brother-in-law / cabinet member scandal being laid out for the public?

If this is the politically smart choice for McCain, I think it was an accident.  It looks more like panic in action, to me.

If by “tone it down a bit,” you mean that Biden can just show up in his jammies and throw paper airplanes and still destroy her in the veep debate, then yes.

My bet is that Hillary becomes the Palin terminator. She can take the hard shots that might look bullying if “the boys” took them.

My bet is that Hillary becomes the Palin terminator. She can take the hard shots that might look bullying if “the boys” took them.

I was thinking the same thing.

Someone on an Yglesias thread called her “Dan Quayle with tits.” Heh.

Ripley and Tom, I completely agree with y’all that she’s a bad pick from an experience angle, etc. She does undercut McBush’s experience argument. If she were a man with the exact same biography, I would be howling with glee and making my reservations for the Obama inaugural.

But let’s not underestimate the gender factor, and I don’t mean the PUMA assholes. They are irrelevant. But a female candidate will appeal to a lot of rational women, and there are plenty of women who don’t consider Roe v. Wade the final word on women’s rights. And for those who do think it’s important but perhaps not their #1 issue, the fact that Palin has a son with Down’s Syndrome may allow them to excuse her stance on it. It also cuts into the (true!) charge that McCain is a sexist asshole.

I’m not saying for a moment that people who analyze the candidates fairly should be budged by this. But let’s not forget that it’s mostly about optics and phony narratives—you know, the kind that put a faux cowboy in the White House for 8 years.

The media to some extent forsook their infatuation for faux maverick McCain because Obama came along—and he genuinely is a different sort of candidate, not solely because of his race, but partly so. Now Palin gives these same people—the media figures who are so often gullible and wrong—an excuse to re-evaluate McCain and latch onto a novelty candidate who has a uterus and hunts moose in Alaska. This will shake things up some.

To pick up on the theme I posted on the other thread, once everyone gets over the “Oh WOW, what a bold and exciting pick by the Maverick” and starts taking a hard look at her and her (lack of) credentials or experience and the political baggage she already does have, the reaction will become a little more sober.  (“What, you mean one of MY staffers told the Commissioner to fire my SOB BIL? How could that possibly have anything to do with me?”)

If McCain was determined to choose a woman, I’m glad he picked this far-rightwingnut.  She wants to teach Creationism in public schools!  I think she will be too scary for most people to stomach.

I’m hoping you’re right, Marindenver. It doesn’t hurt either that the conversation with the staffer is on tape and that it sounds for all the world as if he’s pressuring the commissioner on behalf of Palin.

One other thing - am I the only one who thinks she looks like Megan Mullaly’s character from Will & Grace?

Let’s look at the other side of the gender issue:  How many men would refuse to vote McCain/Palin because she’s a woman?  I’m just curious what the gender-voters ratio looks like.

Frankly, Hillary set a pretty high bar for a female candidate to clear, and I think there will be a great deal of time spent comparing Palin to Hillary.  That doesn’t bode well for Palin, imo.

Watching her on TV now and I’m far less worried than I was before.  Zero gravitas, super dorky, way-low charisma and a voice that was torn out of a reject Coen brothers screenplay. Sounds like she’s running for high school president.

Also, now I’m 100% convinced that the experience angle can be played up and expanded upon.

Can you imagine the following people sitting across the table from Putin and holding their own?

Obama ... yes
McCain ... yes
Biden ... yes
Hillary ... yes
Palin ... fuck no

At this point, McCain could have picked Lincoln and it would have paled in comparison to the Dem ticket.

Palin is new, pretty and interesting to look at, but once she gets into the mix, we’ll see what she’s got and I’m bettin’ it aint much. Kay Bailey Hutchinson would have at least given us a target worthy of a few shots.

Can we nominate little Sasha as Secretary of Fun, please?

I figgered the Sadlies would come up wit sumtin ...

VPILF ...

Poopdeck Pappy has found his Olive Oyl.

Gotta hand it to McCain - he finally came up with the ultimate “fuck you” to Mittens.

My, a sports reporter & runner-up miss alaska.

At least he journalism Bachelors from
UI isn’t elite so she beats Barack on the education thing.

And after this Olympics it is clear that are greatest foreign policy challenge is in sports.  She’s a natch.

America land of competence in this challenging world.

Job one for Hillary , go savage this lightweight , and expose her for the extreme right fucktard that she appears to be.

IT just hit me - this whole PUMA thing has been a brilliant ratfuck, but not the way the GOP thought it would be. By convincing the GOP that there were “millions” of bitter women willing to vote for anything with a vagina, McCain picked Palin. Imagine McCain’s suprise when he finds out that there are like three actual PUMAs and they all work out of Howard Dean’s office!!

Brilliant!

IT just hit me - this whole PUMA thing has been a brilliant ratfuck, but not the way the GOP thought it would be. By convincing the GOP that there were “millions” of bitter women willing to vote for anything with a vagina, McCain picked Palin. Imagine McCain’s suprise when he finds out that there are like three actual PUMAs and they all work out of Howard Dean’s office!!

It’s not even 2PM and I think we have our comment of the day.

LOL, Tom, that would indeed be BRILLIANT! A similar thought had occurred to me, though not the ratfuck angle: There’s no doubt in my mind that the media vastly overplayed the PUMA story. McBush is definitely making a play for disgruntled women—including the vocal but small PUMA contingent. The only question is, will they fall for it. (The PUMAs will, of course—I mean will the non-PUMAs fall for it). I sure hope not. The more I think about it, the better I feel. Still, I wish he had picked someone really boring and lame like Graham, Mittens or Lieberman.

“Watching her on TV now and I’m far less worried than I was before.  Zero gravitas, super dorky, way-low charisma and a voice that was torn out of a reject Coen brothers screenplay. Sounds like she’s running for high school president.”

Time to run the 3:00 a.m. red phone ad again only with the voiceover suggesting that if something tragic did happen to McC here is who would be answering that phone.  “Is a self described “hockey mom” ready to meet that greatest challenge?”

It is like the script for a wacky comedy. One that wouldn’t get made only because it is too unlikely.  The old guy croaks and all the nukes, the aircraft carriers, the worlds largest economy fall into the hands of a beauty queen sports reporter.

Mr. McCain said as he introduced Ms. Palin to a crowd estimated by his campaign to be 15,000

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahaha!

I wasn’t watching the coverage but, come on!  15,000 people showing up to see McCain?  It is to laugh!

Yeah, uh-huh, there were 15-thousand people there. A-yup, and I’m a male model who is really, really, ridiculously good looking.

Double mocha orange frappucino anyone?

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built.”

She actually said that.

Yeah, uh-huh, there were 15-thousand people there. A-yup, and I’m a male model who is really, really, ridiculously good looking.

Well, I guess we know what happened to Will Bower.  He was hired as a McCain spokesman.

I think we can say there’s absolutely no doubt they’re trying to court Hillary supporters:

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built.”

“Fool me once and umm ... fool me twice ... WE WON’T GET FOOLED AGAAAIIINNNNN YEEEOOOOWWWRRRRRR!!! SMASH, SLAM, BANG!!!

“I wasn’t watching the coverage but, come on!  15,000 people showing up to see McCain?  It is to laugh!”

Wish I could remember where I saw this but yesterday I read that they were having to bus people in for the announcement as the only way to fill the theater.  And it definitely didn’t look like they got 15,000 to me!

Flowbee delivers the comedy gold, via Tbogg comments:

“Meanwhile over at Larry Johnson’s house of Crazy, Larry Johnson is saying that:

(a) Palin’s choice and inexperience will highlight Obama’s; and
(b)”she was commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard“

No, these are tears of joy… tears of joy…

From that Radar piece:

And user Gumshew trusts that, somewhere, her pantsuited queen of hearts is smiling: “What I really like about this choice is that Palins’ IDEALS are so much like Hillarys’. And, I would gesture to say HILLARY is very proud at this moment.”

HA HA HA HA HA!  Is that person retarded?

The Palin pick isn’t sitting too well with some Republicans ...

Quayle: Four years in the house, eight in the Senate
Obama: X years in the Illinois State Senate, four in the Senate
Palin: X years as mayor of Mayberry, AK, two years as governor of Alaska

Um, is the GOP sure they want to continue to play the experience card?

I’m waiting for Geraldine Ferraro to point out the obvious here: A man with Palin’s “experience” would NEVER have been picked for VP.  She only got the call because she is a woman.

Think I should hold my breath?

With luck, Katrina, Sarah Palin will deliver just as many votes for her ticket as Ferraro did for Mondale.