I need some help here. I am thinking, can McCain switch his VP pick? Before the official nomination? After?
There is real danger here.
Real question, if you have the answer, please let me know. Otherwise, follow me for some speculation..
It is an understatement to say Sarah Palin was a shock. But does it make any sense?
The real problem is, a few weeks from now Republicans across the country are going to wake up and say, "I do not trust this person to be President."
Though McCain pretends, this isn't a game. Thinking Americans will consider the serious consequences.
For example, Biden is expected to use kid gloves when debating Palin.
Why? This is a serious job. Why not just elect a cute baby to the VP slot? Then Biden would really be a bully! But this isn't some figurehead position. This is a very real and very serious job, and it is ridiculous to "play nice" to a candidate for whatever reason. Only the strong survive.
And most of America realizes this. While Palin may be neat, or novel or cute or whatever, she is not Presidential and I don't think anybody could argue with credibility that she is ready to lead our nation, especially given the serious crises inherited from GWB.
That said, why Palin?
Here is my insidious guess:
Not only is Palin a distraction, she is a trap.
What if Democrats are expected to make a myriad of legitimate arguments related to experience? What if the GOP could turn these arguments back on Obama?
What if some Democrats step out of line and are seen as sexist?
These two realities could come about regardless of my next proposal, but the next proposal would be a master stroke in the game of politics.
What if they switch out their Veep after all this nastiness goes down? What if the GOP pretends that the sexist attitudes were too much, or Palin makes a public display of collapsing before the relentless media dogs?
I would say it would garner significant sympathy, create Democratic backlash and attacks against experience which would be applied against Obama, and make some of our party appear sexist, regardless of the merit to the argument Palin is an obvious political pander and reckless choice for Veep. It would also allow for a real VP candidate to step in, canceling out the glaring negatives.
Because, from my vantage point, Palin just does not make sense. There are women out there with better credentials, there are conservatives out there with better credentials, there are conservative women out there with better credentials.
But this could be the ultimate fake out. Or I am giving Republicans too much credit. Either way, it would be best for the Obama campaign to tread with care.