Palin Options

[Robert]

Just wanted to point out I called Palin as VP over 4 months ago, for all the same reasons the decision was made now.
If McCain wins, I honestly believe this will be what puts him over the top.

Also you couldn't ask for better timing to make this announcement.
The DNC convention ended last night with a huge bang an there's not a single leading news story about it.
The news is 100% about Palin as VP.
Talk about stealing someones thunder.

I hope they win an McCain dies the next day.

[Robert]

Hamma.
I'm a little surprised people think Palin was some off the wall pick from left field.
While she was unknown, that's not necessarily a bad thing. There was issues with the other likely choices. On a personal level McCain would have preferred Lieberman or Ridge.
Lieberman would have helped with independent but not energized the base.
Ridge would have been identified with Bush, so a death sentence. Which is really to bad because he may have helped win Penn. which is one of the most important battle states.
Then you have all the people who lost the race. Just my personal opinion but as a rule I think they fail in the job as VP. What they said in the previous debates could be used to attack McCain ( ie. Biden condemning Obama for his lack of experience )
Palin has more pluses then minuses.
* Helps with his maverick image to independents.
* Helps solidify McCains support with the Repub base.
* Will help with the female vote
* Rated as one of the most popular governors in the US

Just look an see how much the Palin attacks have backfired, same as I thought they would.
The newest Rasmussen poll shows her only following Obama by 5 points about having enough experience to be president an she is only a VP. The same poll shows an unfair bias in the media regarding Palin which can only play in favor of McCain/Palin.
I think it says a lot when even the talking heads at MSNBC agree she did very well the other night. Even Chris Mathews said she hit it out of the park.
The 1st few days after the announcement as VP. everyone was saying it was a horrible pick.
Basically said it ensured McCain losing, game over. How quickly things can change.
Average of the popular 1 day polls shows 67% found her speech excellent, about the same percentage says they opinion of her improved.
Regardless of if they win or not, I guarantee you will be seeing a lot more of her over the next few years.



Shred:
If you think she was too sarcastic, I wonder what you thought of Biden's speech.
Plus that's kind of the job of VP, that way it allows the Pres to sit back an look/act more presidential an above the partisan bickering.



A question for anyone who watched the RNC tonight.
I never knew anything about Cindy McCain except for her family history regarding the Bud Distillery. Before tonight I never gave a 2nd thought to the popular view of her being a rich out of touch elitist. I was very impressed by the personal service she has been involved in over the course of her life. Huge difference between reality an the way she has been portrayed. Anyone with that kind of money can write a check, someone actually getting their hands dirty has my respect.
So I'm curious, was anyone else surprised and or impressed by the history shown about Cindy McCain.


I think McCain did very good tonight when you consider he's not a natural orator like Obama but I don't think it will be enough. Which is to bad because as a presidential candidate, he's really grown on me. Unfortunately. I think he will lose by a few points unless Obama fails over the next few months. What bothers me the most isn't the fact he might lose but some of the attacks he has come under. I've got no problem with someone calling him out or not voting for him over disagreements on policy. I'm disgusted with some of the attacks on someone, who in my humble opinion has shown the truest example of civic duty and pride in country more than any other presidential candidate in my lifetime.