The real point of Palin

[barking_iguana]

Yes, she's inexperienced in the extreme, abused her power to harass an ex-brother-in-law and anyone who wouldn't go along with the harassment. She's funded by big oil, who her husband is a muckety-muck for. She's vehemently anti-choice and thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.

And on the other side, yes, her being a woman might cramp Biden's style some and will appeal to to some who identify with her and her being young might blunt Obama's youthful appeal to a handful of young Republicans.

All in all, a very risky pick. Not one that should or would be made by a campaign that felt confidence in its chances.

But nobody's talking about where she might do McCain the most good—or the most harm. Alaska is an honorary part of the Mountain Time Zone. In fact, it's the epitome of what makes MST unique. Lots of undeveloped, unfarmable land and an economy largely based on extracting exhaustible natural resources.

That's the part of the country that feels least understood by the rest of the country and by Washington, and it's the part of the country where the federal government owns most of the land, some of which is nobody else wants and some of which is valuable. It has been heavily Republican since 1978, but Obama is doing better there than any Democrat has since then.

But Palin's not an unmixed asset for McCain in Montana, rural Nevada and Colorado, and Anglo New Mexico. While the Mountain West may appreciate having someone they think will understand them on the ticket, it's also the part of the country is that is most averse to trusting women with power. I imagine the McCain campaign is hoping that whatever she's got going for her that led Alaska to make her governor (the first woman governor in the region? I can't think of any others) will also work in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. I'm not so sure it will, we'll have to see.

Comments

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's an angle I hadn't considered, but I still feel we can take her easy in a fair fight. The question is, do we get a fair fight?

[stormlorde.livejournal.com]

Or maybe they have the simple and insulting view that the only reason Hillary got such support from women was because she was one, so all they have to do is troop out a woman, and a huge block of Democrats will vote for her regardless of her views and policies just because.

Be well.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

It was probably mainly to please the Jesus Freaks, who would have had an absolute fit had he picked the Mormon, and a minor fit had he picked the Jew. The question was which Fundie to pick.

(Tim Pawlenty is living roadkill who got where he is, I figure, mainly by having the DFL go through a fascinating weak period he had nothing to do with. After all, it was the DFL that brought Norm Coleman to prominence.)