Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last week, the buzz around the nation is the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s Vice-Presidential candidate. Overnight we learned much more about a heretofore semi-obscure governor that we knew about most of the other 49 governors combined. (If only we knew less about Martin O’Malley, particularly his love of spending other peoples’ money.)
Unfortunately, a lot of what we’ve learned about Mrs. Palin is of the tabloid variety, particularly about her 17-year-old daughter who’s unmarried and five months pregnant. Conversely, Governor Palin is a working mother, part of a two-income family who has four other children, one being a son who’s set to ship out to Iraq with his Army unit and another son who was born just months ago with Down’s Syndrome, plus two more daughters. That alone would keep most mothers’ hands full, but she’s like most moms who handle the tasks with aplomb and love.
But the pick has struck a chord among millions of women who can sympathize with the Palin story of juggling work, family, and having a husband who also works. While Palin’s not a prototypical soccer mom, it’s only because there’s not much of a soccer season up in Alaska – instead, she’s a hockey mom. (As she quipped last night, “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bill? Lipstick.”)
Yesterday, Michelle Malkin chimed in on the controversy with a piece called “Waking up the sleeping giant.” In it, she pointed out as I did above that the Palin pick seems to be a hit with women. (It’s also swept the messiah Obama off the front pages, meanwhile people are now asking “Joe who?”) And it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few women around here with this shirt (it’s gotta be flying off the shelves. Can I at least get a commission?) The reaction among those I’ve spoken with about the pick is just as enthusiastic – it may have saved John McCain’s bacon in this race.
Speaking of folks wanting commissions, I also got this e-mail from the Obama camapign (yes, I get e-mail from both sides.) In it, Obama spokesman David Plouffe assured me that:
In the next 36 hours, the McCain campaign will be pouring millions of dollars — if not tens of millions — into negative attack ads against Barack Obama.
Before John McCain accepts the Republican nomination on Thursday, his campaign has to spend every last dollar of primary funds they’ve raked in from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.
Just yesterday, they aired a new negative ad in 14 swing states. His campaign manager even admitted that all McCain has to rely on is attacks, saying that for them, “This election is not about issues.”
He doesn’t want Americans to notice that the Republican platform is the most extreme we’ve ever seen — opposing stem cell research, denying a woman’s right to choose no matter what the circumstance, and continuing to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq.
With so much at stake, we can’t allow another election to be determined by petty and divisive political tactics.
After that, it was blah blah blah send us money. But what David Plouffe doesn’t let readers know is that the reason McCain is spending money on these commercials is because John McCain cannot use the money after he’s nominated. As of tomorrow, any checks McCain gets from contributors (which may be from “special interests and PAC’s” but are more likely from the general public) would have to be returned because John McCain has stuck by his pledge to use public financing for his election campaign – unlike Barack Obama, who’s done what he does best and thrown public financing of his campaign under the bus.
Seems to me that politics comes before promises to Barack Obama, but that tends to be true with Democrats once they reach a certain level. It’s just something else to keep in mind when you watch the debates and the thirty-second commercials sure to come – especially with the real special interest money which is paying for Barack Obama’s spots.
