Palin Around

I have to admit, John McCain is not averse to taking creative risks with his campaign. He is also, I suspect, enjoying the sound of exploding liberal heads that has resulted from his selection of Gov. Palin as a running mate. He could have done the usual Republican thing, and chosen another doughy white-haired guy, but he didn't. Here's a chance to see if those Democrats who wanted a female nominee, no matter what, are _really_ committed to seeing a woman on the ballot, and voting for her if one appears. I suspect that, in the same way "black" trumped "woman" for the Democrats, "liberal" will trump "woman" in the election overall. Plus, the guy whose one heartbeat would be the only thing between Palin and the presidency has still promised to stay in Iraq for 100 years -- her selection does nothing to change that. But, in any case, maybe McCain figured he had nothing to lose, but possibly a lot to win, by selecting her. And she certainly provides considerable evidence that the Republicans don't hate women -- although, again, a conservative woman is not a "real" woman to a liberal, the same way Obama is not a "real" black to other blacks because (1) he's half African; and (2) he wasn't brought up in the ghetto victimization lifestyle and mentality. But Palin is definitely "in the face" of the Democrats on many counts, not the least of which is her large family and refusal to do the sensible thing and abort her Down Syndrome child, which any right-thinking liberal would have done without hesitation (even though they are all for "other-abled rights", which strikes me as a bit of a contradiction, but what do I know?). Palin is also no friend of the business-as-usual old-boy Republican club, and in that respect resonates perfectly with McCain's maverick reputation.

So what we wind up with is two tickets, each of which includes a "newbie" and a grizzled veteran insider -- except in reverse order. As depicted by at least one political cartoonist, the Democrat ticket replicates the situation in the current administration, where we have a half-wit figurehead and a sly, cynical regent -- not that Obama is a half-wit, except morally, of course. The Republican ticket is more along the lines of the Donald Trump-and-apprentice model, where they at least start out by understanding each other. This election is turning out to be much more interesting than anyone had any right to expect.