Eugene Robinson hit it out of the park in today's Washington Post. The McCain/Palin ticket can be summed up in his piece that highlights "The Cynicism Express" and the non-existent record that Sarah Palin has and shows that there is no way to determine if she could be President in case something happened to McCain. He runs through her hypocrisy on earmarks and her push for the bridge to nowhere. He doesn't mention the current scandal and her need to hire an attorney to defend her in case impeachment rears it's ugly head in the Alaska State House, because this is more about McCain than anything.
From The Washington Post:
McCain's political calculation in choosing Palin is obvious. Social conservatives, who had been unexcited by his candidacy, are ecstatic that he has picked a running mate who staunchly opposes abortion, favors the teaching of "intelligent design" in the public schools and generally embraces the agenda of the religious right.
I have my doubts about the other objective of McCain's gambit: to win the votes of blue-collar women who supported Hillary Clinton. For one thing, these voters disagree sharply with Palin on most of the issues. For another, initial indications are that many women were insulted at the notion that they would automatically swoon over any candidate who happened to have two "X" chromosomes. Republicans tend to have a comically simplistic view of how "identity politics" works. They should recall how African Americans reacted when Clarence Thomas was named to the Supreme Court.
Whatever the political impact, so much for the John McCain we thought we knew. In choosing Palin, he cynically did the kind of thing that his party is always accusing Democrats of doing: He selected a running mate based on her potential ability to appeal to targeted segments of the electorate rather than for her honestly assessed ability to lead the nation should the occasion arise.
The other thing we learned about McCain is that he is willing to take an enormous gamble based on limited information. He only met Palin once before summoning her for a final interview. He realized he needed to shake up the presidential race, and that's what he did. But we are reminded, if we did not realize it before, that the three things not to expect from a McCain presidency are caution, prudence and a willingness to always put the nation's interests above his own.
The pick was short-sighted and as we have heard, decided on in nearly an instant. There was no vetting, only the desire to upset Obama's momentum and to pick up voters based on a failed system of thinking. Not only are his targeted voters (Hillary supporters) in disagreement with Palin, he might just lose Alaska in the process. How tragic would that be for the GOP this come November?
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