Palin: One Club in the Bag

Gov. Palin's speech last night was widely hailed by the right wing as a "grand slam." Pundits have called it one of the greatest political speeches ever. Not hardly. This was a boilerplate attack speech with a few clever applause lines that cater only to the base. There was absolutely nothing uplifting, visionary or concrete offered up. It has not prompted any national dialog, except for water cooler comments about some her more snarky moments.

And, even if you did think that is was a great, game-changing speech--don't credit Sarah Palin. Credit speechwriter Matthew Scully. Palin had two days to rehearse her speech, which was displayed for her in (sometimes) phonetic fashion on a teleprompter. Wow! She can read AND field dress a moose!

Here's the problem for McCain/Palin: after getting high marks for a well-written, well-rehearsed attack speech, what's next? I would be surprised if she can deliver much more than what she did last night. Basically, in the long run, all she adds to the McCain campaign is an attack dog with lipstick. She's a one-trick pony. Or, if you'll indulge me in a golf metaphor (even though I kind of hate golf), she has one club in her golf bag.

A good campaigning (golfing) team has lots of clubs to use for all types of situations. You need drivers for the long game, irons to chip onto the green, the putter to finish the deal--and you also need a nasty wedge to hack your way out of sand traps that you're bogged down in. Sarah Palin is one helluva sand wedge, which McCain needed because he had been stuck in the sand trap and going nowhere for quite a while. But you can't use her as a driver (outlining long range policy) or as a putter (stating the fine points and nuances)--because all she can do is chop away and leave huge divots all over the course. I'm betting that once the campaign wears on, her one club will become very tiresome, very quickly. How many times will CNN air the same, stale attack lines that cater to the base? Once we've heard them more than twice, they really start to wear thin. The real news will be her gaffes and her interactions with the press--if the McCain camp ever decides to let that happen.

Her only other club is the compelling story behind her and her family. 5 kids with weird names. Neat! A son going to Iraq. Touching! A stud husband snow machine racer. Cool! Well, after we've all googled the "Iron Dog" race and tried to find moose meat at the local grocery store, what's next? The big problem with a bizarre and compelling personal narrative is that once the public knows your story, they need more details to keep them interested. Its like watching a reality TV show--what's going to happen next week? I have a hunch from some of the rumblings and whisperings from Alaska that there is real Jerry Springer show potential for this extended family. And although juicy details coming out week after week might make great television--they make a terrible campaign strategy. The McCain camp, if there is any sense left there at all, needs to keep this club as far away from her hands as they can.

Give her the sand wedge, point her in a safe direction, and hope that there are still a few voters willing to listen after the rest of us have long tuned out her hacking away.