McCain’s Angle

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McCAIN’S ANGLE….I should add, in case it wasn’t clear from my previous posts, that I certainly understand the political calculation behind John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Their thinking is that she’s a hard-right conservative who appeals to the base (David Brody was just on CNN telling us that Christian conservative leaders were high-fiving each other over the Palin pick), but not a famous hard-right conservative who’s going to scare off independents. Soccer moms will like her. She’s inexperienced, but no one can hold that against her this year — and anyway, her lack of a track record also means she doesn’t bring a lot of baggage to the campaign. She’s got great anti-corruption cred. She’s young and vibrant and has an attractive family. Joe Biden will have a hard time going on the attack against a woman. She’s unknown, but frankly, to most low-information voters (i.e., to most voters), all VP picks are unknown.

So sure, I get it. And who knows? Politically speaking, it could turn out to be an inspired choice. Frankly, I doubt it, and I suspect her weaknesses will become clearer as everyone gets over their initial shock and starts thinking this through a little harder. But you never know.

As for mooseburgers, I’ll bet I’d like ’em too if I ever got a chance to try one. Anyone know where I can score one in Southern California?

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