McCain's pick of Palin--oh God, another theory about it. Having hit as much as I could from blogs, the verdict is still out on whether she helps or hurts, although the one unanimous conclusion is that McCain's attack of experience vs inexperience just went out the window. The conservative reaction I've read reminded me, however, of 2004.
More particularly, it reminded me of my own reaction to Kerry picking Edwards. I was excited and relieved. A wooden and for me rather uninspiring Kerry had picked a populist, good looking VP who hailed from North Carolina, not the Northeast. Now, I thought, they'll really take it to Bush/Cheney! (Sigh.)
Here's what was in the Washington Post
Edwards, a boyishly handsome senator who was named by People magazine as the "sexiest politician" in 2000, is well-regarded inside the Democratic Party. Some Democrats say he has the campaign skills of Bill Clinton and the charm of a young John F. Kennedy.
He comes from humble origins . . . Many Democrats see Edwards as an antidote to Kerry's serious and stiff style. "This is a ticket that can excite, motivate
And Kerry's campaign produced an ad that said
One is a combat veteran with over 30 years of experience handling the toughest issues facing America. The other is the son of a mill worker, who all his life has stood up for ordinary people against powerful interests.
And the GOP said
the senator was an inexperienced leader unprepared to run the nation during a time of war and threat.
Here's Jonah Dunce Goldberg
Simply put, if Kerry really thought the war on terror was as big a deal as Bush does, there's no way he would pick John Edwards. Edwards is simply not qualified to be one heartbeat from the presidency in the world George Bush describes.
Admittedly this is scant research, but my gut tells me that we'll see a lot of excitement in the short term--a good looking woman, young, a fresh face, lots of speculation that somehow she counters negatives for McCain or will lure voters (Edwards was supposed to lure North Carolina voters) and then--no results. In terms of electoral success, McCain/Palin is Kerry/Edwards.