Just to keep things focused.
I find it interesting that whereas Obama picked a running mate who complemented the shortcomings in his slate–someone with a good deal of experience in foreign relations, for instance–McCain chose someone who will appeal to disenfranchised voting bases from both sides: to women who will see an opportunity to put a female a heartbeat from the presidency (and with a president of McCain’s years, that takes on a serious reality) after Hillary’s campaign ended in flames, and to the conservative base who will embrace a bottom half of the ticket who is apparently somewhere to the right of John Wayne.
The easy answer, of course, is that women won’t support her because she’s anti-abortion. Except there happen to be plenty of women who are likewise anti-abortion–yes, even Democrats–and therefore won’t find that a turnoff.
Frankly, I think Palin was a nervy choice that could reap serious benefits. And the timing of the announcement knocked all the post-convention attention away from Obama and onto McCain, which will now build as they roll into the GOP convention.
Personally, I find the notion of an anti-abortion, pro-drilling, pro-creationism, anti-animal protection vice president to be nothing short of terrifying. Then again, anyone that the extreme right embraces is by definition terrifying.
PAD
• 
Would someone who’d vote for that ticket just because of its Veep candidate be a Palin Drone?
Ha ha, Michael. Me, I just can’t wait to see McCain’s responses to questions about Palin’s level of experience, vis a vis McCain’s criticism of Obama’s.
How good could this pick have been if McCain didn’t feel he could use it to blunt the Obama-love 4 hours before?
Here are the four thoughts that popped into my head this morning when I heard he’d picked Palin:
1. I don’t want to hear another word about Obama “lacking experience.”
2. Republicans have now embraced affirmative action.
3. Because, really, if they’d cared about McCain’s running mate being experienced enough to be president — and female — Christine Todd Whitman or Kay Bailey Hutchison would have been the pick.
4. Except, of course, both of them are pro-choice — the same thing that kept him from picking Tom Ridge.
As for the announcement stealing the thunder from Obama, the Democrats pretty much asked for that. They scheduled their primary to come directly before the Republican primary, I believe for the first time ever, so they had to know this would happen.
However, I still think that could end up working out for the Democrats. On Thursday John McCain will give his acceptance speech, which will probably be of the quality we’ve all come to expect from a John McCain speech. With only a week having passed, a lot of people will still remember Obama’s speech clearly and make comparisons.
Of course, that’s if Hurricane Gustav doesn’t force them to postpone the convention. And even if it doesn’t, a lot of people still won’t see McCain’ speech because there’s a big game at the same time and, let’s face it, we know which one will be more worth watching.
Well, at least it shores up ONE area for McCain The base will be energized by this nomination for sure. Palin’s stances are exactly what they’re looking for.
But whether she can attract other voters…well, I dunno…Depends on how she performs.
::Ha ha, Michael. Me, I just can’t wait to see McCain’s responses to questions about Palin’s level of experience, vis a vis McCain’s criticism of Obama’s.::
Oh, that’s easy. “She’s got more executive experience than myself, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama combined.”
Which, in retrospect, is a bit terrifying all around…
I’m still kind of boggled by the whole thing.
Either he just committed political suicide, or it will get him points. I have no idea which.
The response to that should be, “So, you’re going to consult her for executive level advice?”
Absolutely brilliant move. As PAD said took all the attention away from the Dems.
I dont find her inexperiance to be a problem at all. To me there is a big difference between Commander-In-Chief and Vice President.
Look at it this way. With McCain picking Palin he could very well have taken the inexperience card off the table for both parties. Obama should take the high road and drop it. of course he won’t and the more he brings it up, the more he actually shows America just how much experience he himself doesn,t have.
Oh, he’s not that stupid.
But I wouldn’t extend that to the media in general…
I just don’t think who the VP is really counts for much. I think that a lot of people, during this scene, obsess over trivial things – and I think the VP pick is for most people pretty trivial. The only people who care are those who know enough about politics not to be boondoggled by a VP pick.
Oh, it would be a brilliant pick, PAD, if it weren’t for the small matter of her being under investigation for abuse of power. It seems that, while the Ted Stevens indictment turned up a lot of dirt, a bit less attention was paid to the fact that Sarah Palin is being investigated for using her office to fire a police officer who ticked her off, right up to the point of firing the police commissioner who refused to fire the police officer and replacing him with a commissioner who would.
McCain’s nomination is good for Ted Stevens, seeing as how when this hits the mainstream media it’ll take the publicity away from his indiscretions, but I can’t think how it’s going to be good for McCain in any way except the short term.
Oh, and Palin called Hilary a “whiner” while Hilary was campaigning. Somehow, I don’t think she’s going to win that many points with disenfranchised Democratic voters.
There are two things I like about this lady:
1) her husband is described as a proud union member. that’s pretty refreshing.
2) she has first hand experience with children with disabilities as her youngest child has downs syndrome. so maybe she will be in favor of research that can help people.
I don’t like her being investigated for abuse of power, but in this country, we have a concept of being innocent until proven guilty, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt up til that point.
Apparently she has also wrangled with the oil companies, too. That’s amazing from a republican.
Jason M. Bryant said; “As for the announcement stealing the thunder from Obama, the Democrats pretty much asked for that. They scheduled their primary to come directly before the Republican primary, I believe for the first time ever, so they had to know this would happen.”
Actually, if I recall correctly, it is traditional that the party in power holds their convention second.
As for Palin, I’m a little worried. Not about her ability or anything, because I believe she’s grossly unqualified and that intelligent people will see that. There is plenty that will turn people off to her if they do even the barest amount of research – currently under investigation, supports hunting animals from helicopters, basically goes against everything Hillary Clinton stands for, etc. Not to mention the rumours that her youngest son is actually her grandchild via her sixteen-year-old daughter…
What worries me is the low-information voters, of whom there are a greater majority. The people who don’t watch 24-hour news networks or do any research to find out what a candidates views are or about the person themselves. The low-information voters will see “woman” and “young” and that’ll be all for them. They’ll see “Governor” and their minds will be made up.
Some will see only “hot” and think below the waist when hey enter the voting booth.
Conversely, many will see “woman” and decide to stay home on election day. Just as some will see only “black” when they look at Obama and do the same.
And the VP is important, especially considering McCain’s age and health issues. It’s often said that the Veep is one heartbeat away from the presidency, and in this case, it only becomes more obvious. And based on what I’ve heard from some people in Alaska, the last thing the Democrats should be doing right now is dismissing her…
On a side-note, anyone else think she has a voice like Julia Sweeney? I can’t be the only one who hears it…
~W. Raboin
Not stem-cell. Not when, according to McCain, life begins at conception.
Like I said in the other thread, McCain is so clueless he thinks farmwork is going to immigrants because Americans are refusing to pick lettuce for $50/hour, and Rove had to resort to denying a strawman to deny he insisted to Lieberman he take himself out of consideration. Someone told McCain to take Palin. She’ll be the republican hierarchy’s scapegoat when their candidate sinks in flames.
Sarah Palin is being investigated for using her office to fire a police officer who ticked her off, right up to the point of firing the police commissioner who refused to fire the police officer and replacing him with a commissioner who would.
Um, I don’t know if this will hurt her much once the facts get out–assuming the stuff I’ve seen online is true, this cop (her former brother in law)) was a poacher, tazered his own kid, and made death threats against a family member. Now, there’s 2 sides to every divorce story so let’s not jump to conclusions but I’m going to predict that this will not be a winning issue for Palin-bashers.
Not to mention the rumours that her youngest son is actually her grandchild via her sixteen-year-old daughter…
Um…what???
One thing is clear–the Obama team had no idea this was coming. Witness the clumsy statement they put our first that was so lame that Obama had to, once again, blame his staff and release a much more gracious one. They’re probably kicking themselves for all the time and money wasted on anti-Romney ads.
I think though, once you strip away all of the partisan claptrap, that this does give a potentially worrisome look at how McCain operates. He’s impulsive. A gambler, a guy who is willing to take big chances for potential big benefits. Much more of a Teddy Roosevelt than an FDR. The thing is, I’m not so sure that’s a good attribute in today’s world. It’s kind of heartbreaking to say it but when the stakes are this high we may not be able to afford a person to take the chance on someone who has the potential to be a great president, to take chances in the JFK mold. (I think Obama will not be as radical as both his friends and foes think–more sizzle than steak. Just being who he is will seem like accomplishment enough. But McCain may actually try to leave his mark via doing things and that way doth peril lie.)
As opposed to being forced to admit your gubernatorial staff carried out a vendetta against your ex-brother-in-law without your knowledge? Please.
And her alleged pro-theocracy connections?
(Thanks to Keith R.A. deCandido’s friendlist for the link.)
I think I’d much rather see Michael Palin in the spot. Debates would be good for a laugh, that’s for sure.
“No it isn’t!”
It is unrealistic to think that the Republican convention would have been re-scheduled. There are too many reservations that would have to be changed, a venue of the proper size most likely would not be available.
All the talk of changing the date was just talk to make the Republicans look more people friendly.
Palin’s experience with Down syndrome is relatively limited, as the child was just born in April of this year.
Two weeks ago, I think this would have been a brilliant move to capture the pro-Clinton voters. Now, after the speech Clinton gave supporting Obama, this pick just falls flat.
Not to mention the rumours that her youngest son is actually her grandchild via her sixteen-year-old daughter…
Um…what???
Rumours, mostly, but something that has been spreading. Here’s a link, although there are other sites that go into it further.
http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/sarah-palin/22236/the-fully-vetted-sarah-palin/
(Apologies for the long link, I haven’t fully figured out how tags work on this site.)
I’m not saying this is the case myself, but it’s something I’ve been seeing pop up on several blogs and forums in the last 24 hours.
It’s mostly coincidental and circumstantial evidence – Her daughter (Bristol) was away from school for seven months, presumably for mono; pictures at the time showGov. Palin not looking at all pregnant, even seven months along; Palin was giving a speech in Texas when her water broke, stayed for another thirty minutes to finish the speech, then got on a 12 hour commercial flight back to Alaska while in labor. There’s also a picture going around where Bristol Palin looks to be having a slightly protruding stomach.
Like I said, all rumours, all circumstantial. I’m not saying i believe them, but merely that it may come up if they spread further.
~W. Raboin
“Personally, I find the notion of an anti-abortion, pro-drilling, pro-creationism, anti-animal protection vice president to be nothing short of terrifying. Then again, anyone that the extreme right embraces is by definition terrifying.”
I don’t believe I’ve seen comment from any on the extreme right on the subject yet. The right itself has embraced the nomination, with a few disagreements here and there. But they’ve done this precisely because of the reasons you’ve listed (if we define “creationism” as “religious belief”, of course). Perhaps you should list some of her actual extreme right beliefs, if any, before you label her such. Unless we’re just going for an ‘all right is extreme right’ approach. Then carry on.
“I find it interesting that whereas Obama picked a running mate who complemented the shortcomings in his slate–someone with a good deal of experience in foreign relations,..”
As opposed to all of Obama’s other short comings such as thinking we should invade Pakistan, or thinking we have 57 states, or saying he voted against the war when he wasn’t even in the senate, or his utter lack of knowledge of the constitution. or his tendancies to associate with whack jobs and consider them close friends.
“The easy answer, of course, is that women won’t support her because she’s anti-abortion. Except there happen to be plenty of women who are likewise anti-abortion–yes, even Democrats–and therefore won’t find that a turnoff.”
At least half of the aborted pregancies involve female babies, so that would be pro-woman.
“Personally, I find the notion of an anti-abortion, pro-drilling, pro-creationism, anti-animal protection vice president to be nothing short of terrifying. Then again, anyone that the extreme right embraces is by definition terrifying.”
Pro-creation? You mean she believes that something as complex as the DNA molecule embedded with the code to make the human body, strongly suggests an intelligent designer? Horrifying! This truly is terrifying. I mean we all know that mater and energy are all that it is needed to create complex codes. Oh wait…Ðámņ those laws of physics!
I didn’t label her as extreme right. I said some of her positions are the same as those on the extreme right; the same base that has not rushed to embrace McCain because he’s seen as soft on some of their core issues…the very core issues that Palin has no problem with.
PAD
Will Raboin: Actually, if I recall correctly, it is traditional that the party in power holds their convention second.
You misunderstand. The order is normal, but the two conventions have never been back to back before. Usually there’s a few weeks in-between, which keeps the news from the second convention from stepping on the news from the first convention. That’s why the Democrats must have known they were taking a chance on this happening when they scheduled their convention to be immediately before the Republican convention.
I am amazed at the shamelessness of the pick. Given the perceived notion of sexism in the democratic campaign, they are going to have to be very careful in how they deal with her.
I think Hilary’s going to have say something.
I do hope that clip of Palin asking what the vice president does continues to make the rounds.
Absolutely brilliant pick. Stunningly brilliant. It’s a long way to go before the election, but unless the Repubs make some huge mistakes, it’s their’s to lose.
1) Palin’s inexperience is a nonissue. If the Left is foolish enough to bring it up, all that has to be said is Palin has more experience than Obama and she’s only the VP.
2) This pick has fired up everyone. It’s all people are talking about. The Repub convention began yesterday. Obama who?
3) The Clintons will continue to undercut Obama Bin Biden because they don’t want to wait another 8 years before making another try for the White House.
4) The Hillary message boards that I’ve been to are incredible. They are furious at Obama and are pledging support for McCain Palin. One even started a donation thread for the Republicans.
5) This pick and the resultant enthusiasm from conservatives exposes as a lie the idea that the right is anti-woman. Palin may very well be the first female VP. My belief is that the first female and non-white presidents will also be Republicans.
Summary – I see no downside to this pick. Sure, the left will go on the attack, but Palin was an inspired choice. People I know who were strongly thinking about voting third party are, today, excited about the Republican ticket. The McCain campaign said it took in $3 million yesterday alone. This thing is far from over, but what McCain did yesterday moved him a huge step closer to the White House.
I wish to apologize sincerely for using the phrase “Obama Bin Biden” above. Saw it on one message board yesterday. Thought it wasn’t very amusing then. (Person was actually a liberal pointing out how unfortunate Obama and Biden could be together.) Don’t know why I used it. Cheap, cheap shot on my part. Sorry to everyone here. I feel stupid for saying that. Please forgive me.
“3) The Clintons will continue to undercut Obama /Biden because they don’t want to wait another 8 years before making another try for the White House.”
That, I beleive, may be Obama’s worst fear. The Clinton mafia may have some weapons still in their arsenal and may be waiting for the right timing. What I don’t think Hillary was counting on was how much the news media, especially NBC, turned against her. Personally, I think Obama went with Biden to keep from getting completely railroaded by the Clintons at the convention. Someone with connections and giving him a vested interest in making sure things would go smoothly. Had Obama picked a Washington outsider, we might have seen a completely different convention.
Republicans in mufti.
The media’s been overhyping this “division.” The vast majority of CLinton supporters have been supporting her because of her IDEOLOGY, not her biology. That’s why the nomination race was so divisive—the political stances of Obama and Clinton were very close and the differences between them were face and gender.
Timothy Butler: “I see no downside to this pick.”
Nevertheless, there are some downsides. By choosing the inexperienced Palin, McCain has backed away from the “experience” argument that was the centerpiece of his candidacy.
Also, the ethics probe into Palin’s firing of her public safety commissioner is a wild-card. Could turn out to be nothing, could turn out to be a real problem.
As for those Clinton supporters who are swayed by McCain’s veep choice: I’m at a loss. The views expressed by McCain and Palin are in large measure the antithesis of those things Clinton supporters claim to care about so dearly. Obama’s positions are so close to Clinton’s that you can barely fit a piece of paper between them.
As for those who feel that with Clinton’s loss women have been once again denied, I ask: have blacks in this country suffered any less? Is there less reason to celebrate a black man breaking the glass ceiling? If one oppressed group makes progress, is that not good for *all* oppressed groups?
Rudy: Pro-creation? You mean she believes that something as complex as the DNA molecule embedded with the code to make the human body, strongly suggests an intelligent designer? Horrifying!
Luigi Novi: Well no, not horrifying, just ignorant of biological, and science in general.
Meh. I don’t think so. The surrounding circumstances are so nasty (brother-ln-law tasering his kid, etc.) that a lot of the public is going to cheer that.
In a national leader? Yeah, I find that kind of ignorance of science horrifying. Particularly since one of the areas where the US is a leader is in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Rejecting the unifying principle of biology is not something I want in a leader who wants to maintain US leadership in that area.
mufti?
Timothy, a lot of your points seem backwards.
Experience being a non-issue is a *bad* thing for McCain. Obama isn’t the one who has been talking about the need for experience, McCain is. Suddenly he can’t talk about that anymore. Obama is losing a weapon he’s never used that would be pointed at the VP pick. McCain is losing his most prominent weapon against the Presidential opponent. That’s definitely in Obama’s favor.
I’m not sure that taking attention away from Obama is a good thing for McCain. A lot of people are of the opinion that if the election is a referendum on Obama, then Obama loses. If attention focuses on McCain, then his connection to Bush makes him lose. This pick shifts attention to McCain and she is *heavily* reflective of the Bush party line. If people start thinking of her as “Miss Ðìçk Cheney 2008”, McCain is dead.
I’d also like to point out that there is more than one potential scandal with Palin.
For example, he’s heavily distorting the facts about telling Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on the bridge to nowhere. By the time she took office in 2007, almost all the money for the bridge had been reallocated to other projects. She was faced with a $400 million price tag and only $30 million available funds. She didn’t turn the project down, she just made its cancellation official. In 2006 she actually voiced her *support* of the bridge project.
That bit of misleading rhetoric may not catch fire in the media. The thing with the attempt to fire her brother-in-law might turn out vindicating her. The fact that she said Hillary Clinton was “whining” might not ever get the attention of the PUMAs. Maybe none of these these will come back to haunt her, but since she only had a week of vetting by the McCain people, she’s a little more risky than she might seem.
Jason Bryant: You misunderstand. The order is normal, but the two conventions have never been back to back before. Usually there’s a few weeks in-between, which keeps the news from the second convention from stepping on the news from the first convention. That’s why the Democrats must have known they were taking a chance on this happening when they scheduled their convention to be immediately before the Republican convention.
Usually, that is the case, but with the long Democratic primary, they had to schedule their convention later than usual. And -I assume, with just over two months left until the general election- the Republicans didn’t want to wait several weeks to hold their own. It would have been breaking tradition to hold their before the Democrats, and even then they would have had to compete with the primary for coverage.
I’m not saying your wrong, and I honestly don’t know which scheduled their convention first (I assume it was the Democrats, due to the aforementioned tradition) but that’s my understanding for why the events are so close together.
~W. Raboin
Will, there was no particular need to schedule the DNC convention later than usual. The Olympics are always the same year as the convention, this was nothing unusual. In 2004, the convention was in late July. They easily could have had it in late July this year.
My point was, and still is, the Democratic party was not at all surprised by McCain stealing their thunder on Friday. They knew it was a possibility when they scheduled their convention.
Pro-creation? You mean she believes that something as complex as the DNA molecule embedded with the code to make the human body, strongly suggests an intelligent designer? Horrifying! This truly is terrifying. I mean we all know that mater and energy are all that it is needed to create complex codes. Oh wait…Ðámņ those laws of physics!
Rudy, you really, REALLY do not want to get into this issue citing “those laws of physics”. There are at least two science teachers on this very thread who are very familiar with both creationist arguments and those selfsame laws. I’d quit while you’re already behind on this.
In terms of Ms. Palin, I like the suggestion I read this morning that just as McCain bought ad time for right after Obama’s speech, the Obama camp should buy time for right after Palin’s, and have Hillary rebut her claims one after another, then endorse Obama again. That’ll certainly go a long way towards knocking out the “disaffected Hillary supporters” factor.
TWL
I love how within an hour of her speech there were articles online about how the union that her husband is such a proud member of in no way, shape or form supports her or McCain. And how she’d actually been for that bridge-to-nowhere she said she was against.
And the way she slid “nine eleven” into the speech a few times was priceless, too.
Also pretty much immediately spawned the VPILF acronym.
I do hope that clip of Palin asking what the vice president does continues to make the rounds.
“As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.”
Yeah, not wanting the VP slot unless it was promised that she would do more than wait for the president to stop breathing is really gonna hurt her. We want our vice presidents to think of the job as, in the words of John Nance Garner, 32nd Vice President under FDR, as “not worth a warm bucket of spit.” (reporters are thought to have changed the spelling of the last word for print.
The attacks on Palin so far have been pretty weak. Obama sees that, though it may take his dimmer followers a while to pick up on that. The best course is to let her have the next few days and wait for her to make a slip–which is inevitable in this kind of pressure cooker. Or look for something stronger to criticize her on than the fact that she was mayor of a small town. Then try to make that mistake her defining moment. The nice thing about new faces is that people tend to project into them their own ideas of what they hope for. The bad thing is that it’s just as easy to make a bad first impression and it’s hard to overcome it.
It’s mostly coincidental and circumstantial evidence – Her daughter (Bristol) was away from school for seven months, presumably for mono; pictures at the time showGov. Palin not looking at all pregnant, even seven months along; Palin was giving a speech in Texas when her water broke, stayed for another thirty minutes to finish the speech, then got on a 12 hour commercial flight back to Alaska while in labor. There’s also a picture going around where Bristol Palin looks to be having a slightly protruding stomach.
Palin’s experience with Down syndrome is relatively limited, as the child was just born in April of this year.
Seriously, if this is the level of discourse we can expect for the next few months…
“I just don’t think who the VP is really counts for much.”
I don’t think it counts for much normally. I mean, rednecks with rifles aside, Obama’s unlikely to need a chain of succession. It’s a lot more likely that a 72 year old will pop his clogs.
You know we could have a TV series about the idea? Is Geena Davies doing anything right now?
Also pretty much immediately spawned the VPILF acronym.
Better her than the current VP. Brr.
And Bill, I think it’s a question of what that video clip (along with one or two others I’m forgetting at the moment) imply. She may well be pretty sharp, but so far it looks like it won’t be a stretch for her to wind up pigeonholed as the female Dan Quayle, with Biden more than happy to play the Lloyd Bentsen role.
The best way to handle this is to address it in terms of McCain’s judgment, not Palin herself. News stories are coming out now that McCain met Palin a total of ONE time, for less than an hour, before making the offer. Is that sober, reasoned judgment — or is it a hot-headed gamble?
That, IMO, is the way to play this on the Democratic side. Make it about questioning McCain, not Palin.
(Oh, and I love the Charlie Black quote that’s already up about her learning foreign policy: “She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long.” Yikes!)
TWL
Well, remember who wound up as VP….
Yes, that works out better. And focussing on McCain in general: how he’s less moderate than his reputation, how he flip flops, how his reactions are more 20th Century than 21st Century, so forth.
Good point, Roger (who wound up as VP), but that was due almost entirely to the incredible ineptness of the Dukakis campaign. Whatever you might think about Obama vs. McCain, Obama’s campaign is anything but inept.
roger Tang: “Meh. I don’t think so. The surrounding circumstances are so nasty (brother-ln-law tasering his kid, etc.) that a lot of the public is going to cheer that.”
I think you’re wrong. I think there are a lot of moving parts here. If Palin is deposed in the process of this investigation (which is a possibility), and says something untrue under oath — even if it’s not relevant to the investigation — the Republicans have a real problem. After all, that was their B.S. rationale for going after Bill Clinton: not that he had an affair, but that he lied under oath about it.
I agree with Tim Lynch: choosing Palin was quite the gamble. It may not pay off.
Tim Lynch: “That’ll certainly go a long way towards knocking out the “disaffected Hillary supporters” factor.”
Ms. Clinton did and said everything right at the convention — having her stop the roll call vote and move that Obama be nominated by acclimation was a great move — yet many of Ms. Clinton’s supporters are still steaming. I’m beginning to doubt anything Ms. Clinton could say would make much difference. About the only things that might bring them back into the fold are some time for them to cool off, and a chance to hear McCain and Palin stake out their conservative and decidely un-Clinton-like positions in the debates.
Palin is to Clinton as Bizarro is to Superman.
Bill Mulligan: The best course is to let her have the next few days and wait for her to make a slip–which is inevitable in this kind of pressure cooker.
I think you’re right. A lot of us are talking about her experience right now, but that’s just because we’re flabbergasted that McCain would pick her after what he’s said about Obama.
Waiting for the other guy to slip up seems to be the best strategy in general. Democrats have been trying for months to point out that McCain lives a very afluent lifestyle. Nobody paid any attention to their ads on his $500 shoes. Then McCain said something about houses and the media went wild. Everything is worth 100 times as much when the opponent says it about himself.
Or herself.
(side note: My spell checker just told me that there are two ‘b’s in ‘flabbergasted’. I’m flabbergasted that my spell checker recognizes ‘flabbergasted’. It doesn’t even recognize ‘Palin’.)