Palin/McCain 08
>> Thursday, September 4, 2008
Palinpalooza has been the dominant story line since the announcement Friday. The question is exactly how this is supposed to play out over the long run. Palin was designed to boost the base and she has done that. The question is exactly how prominent she is going to be going forward. If the base is coming out to support Palin that means she has to stay prominent.
Palin has to stay prominent for a number of reasons. They way she burst on to the scene as an unknown has created a great deal of interest in her. Having her fade away after she burst so brightly onto the scene is not an option. She will be in the spotlight for the rest of the campaign or else the voters will become put off. She becomes the attraction and the media will make a big issue out of her being put in a bubble. Think about the reaction as McCain has become less and less accessible to the media. They have become less and less eager to ride his tire swing. Palin, as some one with many legitimate questions surrounding her ability, needs be accessible to the media.
There is a risk in having her so high profile. It makes McCain look less and less like someone we want as the President. He is no longer the draw and looks like the least of the four people on the ticket. If Palin is upstaging him in could start some major tensions. The right is not for McCain they are for Palin and McCain is without leverage when dealing with Palin. Palin has the base and she could probably push McCain around. Will McCain be able to deal with that or will he try to put her in her place and revive the schism.
Posts
3 comments:
Good post, Gaucho.
I'm not so sure the voters will be mad if Palin doesn't take the limelight. I think they can just trot Palin out every once in a while to give a speech or a couple of comments, and 90% of the people who liked her will continue to like her because she seems like a nice lady.
McCain's smart to keep her under wraps even though it goes against the whole Straight Talk Express idea - but that's been thrown by the wayside already.
Palin isn't the type of candidate who's going to help McCain reach out to independents, so he doesn't have much to gain by putting her in the spotlight but has much to lose by doing so.
Maybe not mad per se but more suspicious? I think it will strike many people as strange if they hide her away and bring her out only in very controlled environments. It just has strange optics.
I agree he has a great deal to lose by putting her out there but there is going to be some price to pay with the media as far has their love of access. It might not be too bad or it might be something they are counting on to fuel back lash.
I understand what you're saying here, but I think it's too early to say.
She's an experienced politician.
Post a Comment