As of now, John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin to be his VP nominee has done him worlds of harm and no good. Like kids in a candy store, it's really tempting to be distracted as one thing after another is revealed about this - clearly, and I really don't care what the McCain campaign says - unvetted candidate. I guess it depends on what your definition of vetting is (in McCain's case a mere 15 minute discussion sufficed).
Never mind that John McCain himself may have over-played his only two cards of any help (POW, POW, POW and I'm a maverick). Speaking of maverick - did I just hear Fred Thompson say that McCain dated a stripper at one point? But, let's not get distracted by the maverick version of the same old stuff.
Sarah Palin is a gift for Democrats. The only question now is - how do we use this to maximal effect?
So, what should Democrats do, and what shouldn't we do.
Well, first, don't call for her to quit. She's probably not going to (although that would just be a gift that keeps on giving). There is the world as perceived by the GOP faithful, and the world as perceived by the rest of us. To the social conservatives, there is nothing wrong with Sarah Palin. Nothing at all, and even if there was, it wouldn't matter because she's so doctrinaire on their social issues. And if she does quit, that's great, because the right wing will be so angry they'll probably sit on their collective, prayerful hands in November.
Second, don't worry, there's probably more where all of this stuff has come from. Let the National Enquirer do its work - and enjoy the results. John McCain has managed to look silly all by himself. Sarah Palin has replaced the green baby/fat baby/giant baby/alien baby at the supermarket cash registers! What fun!
Don't go after Palin on her daughter's pregnancy. Of course it's a parenting issue too, and everybody knows that. It's uncomfortable, it's making the GOP squirm, and there's no sense making it worse and provoking backlash. Sensible people know that had Palin maybe supported the idea of birth control then her daughter might not be pregnant. Anybody see Tim Pawlenty on MSNBC till Chris Matthews (voluntarily) that a mother can't be held responsible for her "juvenile" daughter. So when is mom responsible then, when her daughter is an adult? No win for the Republicans here - they have absolutely no idea of what to say. Why help them?
In fact, the real meat here is this:
Palin loves earmarks - some reformer.
She clearly is not very knowledgable about government.
And, in what is bound to be the largest issue of all, she was - at one point along with her husband - an Alaskan seperatist.
People who saw her debate Tony Knowles when she ran for Governor say she can hold her own. So - Joe Biden needs to take it easy on her. Only attack if provoked, and use humor to make his points. If he debates that way, he can probably dispatch her in a matter of minutes.
But, the two most important things are these:
Attack John McCain. This move was irresponsible and overtly political. Palin clearly is not remotely qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. He made this decision, and he made it from his gut - without doing the appropriate research first. Hmmm... let's see, when ever has a President ignored the facts to go with his gut? Well, I hope Iraq rings a bell at the moment. McCain is more of the same.
Judgement? Nope. Maverick? Nope. Just a pure political play in the hopes of peeling disappointing Hillary Clinton voters from the Democratic fold while unifying an unexcited Republican base at the same time.
And speaking of Hillary Clinton voters, that's my final point. Make sure her base knows how Hillary feels about Sarah. They are polar opposites, and Clinton - I'm sure - will gamely let voters know.
In the end, Sarah Palin may not stay on the ticket, and she probably won't help McCain much. In fact, she'll likely hurt him in the long run. Either way, if Democrats play their cards right, Palin is the sort of gift that comes generationally. Let's not blow it.