Palin-McCain Ticket: Surviving for Now on Celebrity
Filed under: John McCain, Journalism, Presidential Campaign 2008, Sarah Palin
What does Sarah Palin add to Sen. John McCain’s bid to serve the third term of George W. Bush?
Celebrity!
Republicans, when you think of the top ten people in America who you would like to be president, you don’t think of Sarah Palin. If you are an independent and you have to list ten folks from the GOP who would be an acceptable president or VP, you don’t think of Sarah Palin.
Let’s face it, the nation’s acceptance level of John McCain and what he’s promising was tepid. But what a gimmick – let’s pander to PUMAs and Karl Rove’s Fundies and bring onto the ticket an 18-month small state governor who may be under an ethics investigation but is a smokin’ hot babe with firearms. To her credit, she can deliver a speech. She can sling the BS and half-truths – and outright lies – with a winning smile.
Red state America, you are being taken.
And, what of the media, the watchdogs patrolling our political perimeter? The fourth estate began to sound the alarm but has rolled over after taking some shots from the firebrands at the Republican National Convention. No Edward R. Murrows here. Just because the Godawful GOP creates a strawman to deflect the public vetting of an unknown wishing to be VP, they fold like a chair in the church basement after a bean dinner.
With all the Palin-McCain talk of ‘Country First,’ I’d like to ask my Red fellow citizens – the same ones who proclaim, “I vote the person not the party” – what does Sarah Palin have to offer this country other than her current 15 minutes of fame? She didn’t kill the ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ Congress did. She didn’t sell the state of Alaska’s jet on E-Bay, it was sold at a loss by an aircraft broker. She didn’t cut staff in the Governor’s Residence, she re-assigned the cook to constituent affairs in the Office of the Governor. She didn’t wage a one-woman battle against Washington pork, she hired a lobbyist and reaped a $27 million porkfest for Wasilla, Alaska. Friends, Sarah Palin is full of shit.
But, what we do have in Sarah Palin is grade-A celebrity – at least for the next 57 days. Generally, presidential candidates and their wing persons separate after the convention. McCain is so lackluster he’s still clinging to Palin. What McCain is really clinging to is the marginal, yet politically powerful right-wing, prosperity gospel preaching, bigoted, incurious, judgmental dopes who, when micro-targeted, have been known to elect an empty suit as president.
One and a half weeks in to the Sarah Palin era and all of the ridiculous attack lines on Barack Obama – experience and celebrity – have a real irony in John McCain’s most important decision of the campaign.
It’s a good point. But have no fear, it will wear off pretty soon.
Especially if she continues playing the roll of attack dog.
Palin has one speech that she keeps repeating. The McCain campaign wants to keep her away from the real press. She gave a speech today where she demonstrated her ignorance on national economic matters. Once the debates begin, the honeymoon will be over.
They say she will be on ABC…gotta check when. I hope that they don’t give her a list of prepared questions…the American people need to hear her genuine thoughts…like they do when Biden is on the air.