The Plethora Virgin 3

Although at first glance the Palin choice looked idiotic. But now, we can see that she offers political capital, as well as her intelligence, her executive experience, and her speaking skills. She also represents and reinforces the fact that McCain is a maverick, because she is too. Contention 1: She tied down the evangelical vote She didn't abort her baby, she didn't abort her daughter's baby, she's very socially conservative. Basically she the religious right's wet dream. Since she has been nominated, McCain has closed in on Obama in swing states like Nevada and Ohio, and he has increased his lead in others, such as Virginia, where they are now tied (RCP). His donations are up from evangelical groups, and he now has their vote, something he didn't have securely before. This is very beneficial. Contention 2: She reinforces McCain's inexperience argument What? You say. Well Andrew Romano writes "But as I listened to my Democratic planemates discuss the new nominee, I became less and less sure that her inexperience would hurt McCain. Every time Team Obama calls Palin a rookie, it gives McCain another opportunity to question his rival's resume. The pick presents Democrats with a knotty challenge: how do you argue that a fresh, groundbreaking Washington outsider is too inexperienced to be a second fiddle while at the same time arguing that Obama--a fresh, groundbreaking Washington outsider himself--is ready to lead the free world? The truth is no one votes against a ticket topped by someone as experienced as McCain solely because the No. 2 isn't an old Washington hand as well. But plenty of folks are willing to reject a No. 1 because of a skimpy resume. Experience is an argument McCain wants to have--and Palin, oddly enough, helps him have it. Contention 3: She has wowed the political universe In her acceptance speech Palin says "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco." Yeah elitists, shut the hell up. She also shuts down Obama by saying "This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau...when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network. Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve. But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people. I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law. While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay. I also drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef--although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her. I came to office promising to control spending--by request if possible, and by veto if necessary." Contention 4: She was a successful governor A bad governor can be popular, but a bad governor cannot get 90+% approval ratings, within a year and a half of taking office. She has shown Alaska who she is, and they have approved her, and decided that she is great. Even outside Alaska, she had 60% favorable ratings, only a few unfavorables, and a lot of don't knows. While you may accuse my of appealing to the majority, that is not what I'm doing. I know that just because she is popular, it doesn't mean she's actually good, but overwhelming popularity, which she has cannot come to a weak governor. Evan Thomas writes "The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah." She fought against big oil, attacked the Republican establishment, and helped get Ted Stevens arrested. She has been trying to make Alaska's government work, and she's been successful. This is different from being president, but think about it. She went from being mayor of a small town to being governor of a whole state. Even with inexperience she has had huge success. She will bring this to the White House.