Even the GOP Knows the Bloom is Off the Sarah Palin Rose

Sarah Palin.

She was going to propel John McCain into the White House. She was going to revive the disintegrating Republican brand.
She was going to drive flocks of sheep people to join the GOP.
She was going to be a bigger political celebrity than "The One" or even, "That one."
She was going to out do Hillary's ceiling shattering.
She was going to be the iconic conservative supermom.
She was Bill Kristol and Rich Lowry's wet dream.(I know, very icky visual).

Hard to believe, but that was only seven weeks ago.

The Dems and Progressive community quickly recognized this pick for what it was: a cynical, desperate gimmick. But the Republicans defended their lipsticked pitbull with vigor.  And then came the Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews.  The left and much of the middle revised its estimation of the Palin choice; it wasn't just a stunt; it was a disastrous, dangerous move. 

Quietly, the GOP started to murmur about the choice. (The mock debates hadn't gone well; She's clueless.)  A few brave conservative souls (most notably, Andrew Sullivan) stuck their necks out to criticize McCain's judgment in elevating such an obviously unqualified person to such a potentially vital position. 

Becasue Palin did not dissolve into a puddle of gibberish at the VP debate, the Republicans rallied around their moosehunter a bit, insulating her further from those nasty media who might persist in thinking that the person in line for the number two spot in the country might be expected to answer a few unscripted questions from reporters.   Her handlers equipped her with a slew of rapid, inflammatory accusations, loaded them into the teleprompter and sent Sarah on the road to whip up the crowds.

And she did (and does) her job well.  Only the pitchforks and flaming torches are missing from her mobs audiences.  She levels redmeat zingers with aplomb and seems to relish casting out half-truths and lies about her opponents. But where does this leave the McCain campaign?  He did get a pitbull with lipstick; there's no denying that, but did she get him anything more?

Apparently not.  She energized the Democrats against her as much as she stirred up her own base. Additionally, several polls are now showing that the Palin pick made them less likely to support McCain. She has significantly turned off independent voters.

Uber-conservative and primary Palin promoter, Bill Kristol, now is at war with the McCain camp, primarily because the McCain staff feel that Kristol saddled the campaign with an albatross -- Sarah Palin.

Peggy Noonan writes today: We have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office.

Less than three weeks from election day and the McCain campaign has her encased in an impenetrable bubble.  Not only will she not face the media (a failing that should automatically disqualify her from hold the VP position), Palin's Secret Service has started preventing reporters from leaving the press section to interview people in her crowds. Campaign staffers have also been locking journalists into a restricted press area in order to prevent them from writing “negative things.”  Today, we learn that an NBC affiliate in Maine declined an interview with Palin because her staff insisted that they get to pick the reporter.   

And the bubble works both ways. Her campaign staff now is shielding her from the news to keep their little delicate Alaskan flower from getting too depressed. (Wait, I thought she was a steely frontierswoman?)

Palin isn't allowed to talk to the press.  Her supporters can't talk to the press.  And she's not allowed to view the news.  This is America? 

Even with these draconian measures, Palin still screws it up.  Like yesterday, when she said she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country -- implying that there were some parts of the United States she viewed as not pro-America.  Her explanation of that gaffe was even worse than the verbal misstep itself.

If Senator Obama does win the election, there will be lots of gorey postmortems on the McCain campaign.  I suspect some will try to shield Palin from blame (there are those lunatics who think she needs to just get ready for a run in 2012.)  No doubt the financial crisis will have played a major role in blocking his run for the White House.  His herky-jerky campaign that never found a consistent message also will be a significant factor.  But no one should underestimate the contribution that Sarah Palin will have made to destroying any McCain hopes of winning this thing.

Sometimes when you pick a pit bull with lipstick, all you get is a barking, slobbery attack dog and a pot of red face paint. 

Comments

[Elizabeth]

Awesome article. It's so hard to believe that anyone can take her seriously. Referenced it in John McCain's Secret Diary: http://republican-talk.com