Note to John McCain's staff: absolutely no one is buying your claims that y'all thoroughly vetted Gov. Palin. I understand that you have to make that claim in public but you know and we know that y'all really, really screwed up. Yes, she has a compelling personal story. Yes, she has electrified your base. Yes, she has generated a lot of curiosity and interest in the Republican Party. And yes, her presence alone will undoubtedly add some votes to your tally.
But her compelling personal story (and the skeletons that y'all didn't dig deeply enough to find) have been and will continue to dominate the news and step on any positive message that you are going to try to put out. Of course, you may have already run out of positive talking points about John McCain. Yes, we've heard that he's a former POW.
And your "Straight Talk Express" has just become the set for a really bad reality TV show. Of course, that might be a good thing if folks aren't buying "brand Republican" this year and you don't want to focus on message--that is, when you select a message to go with--if you can find one that isn't more complicated by Palin's addition to the ticket.
By the way, Gov. Palin isn't a true "maverick"--she's a redneck (and as former Tennessee resident I REALLY do NOT mean that in an insulting way) that may come with her own version of Jeremiah Wright, strange views on the inseparability of God and politics, and a bunch of secessionist friends. And the picture that is emerging of her past leadership roles reveals not a "reformer," but one who is prone to petty jealousy, obsessions over subordinate's loyalty and a vindictive streak a mile wide. She's also in deep with Ted Stevens and his earmarks--had you heard that his name will be in the news a lot these next two months, tied to a corruption scandal? Oh, and as it turns out, there's a chance that she really wasn't "Miss Congeniality" in her beauty pageant.
The public vetting of her past episodes and her upcoming gaffes will make your campaign look like amateur hour, all day, every day. You can send out McCain to a town hall meeting in one state, and Palin in another. Who will get the press coverage? If McCain does a great job and stays on message and Palin gaffes, guess who makes CNN? This will be the majority of your unpaid air time, and y'all will have to stay in full-time reaction mode (what the Governor meant to say was. . .)
So, the question is, who is really driving the train now? Is it still McCain/Palin? Or is it now Palin/McCain?
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