Canonneer, way up in the thread. I think McCain/Palin lost their chance to go postal on Obama. It was the Palin debate. They will never again get that many people watching an UNFILTERED presentation. She had a huge chunk of the electorate watching, and she didn’t even mention how much money O got from Fannie Mae, didn’t once tag the Dems with the blame for it all. Instead, she talked only about “predatory lenders.” That’s fine, but it doesn’t make anyone vote Republican, because as everyone “knows” the Republicans are the party of “big business,” a reality that shifted many years ago but most don’t recognize.
McCain has his debates to go, but I think the viewership will now drop substantially, and he just isn’t tempermentally capable of ripping Obama a new one. Yes, McCain is famous for his “anger,” but that’s situational. He can’t bring it when he needs it.
The Palin selection almost pushed it the other way, but the MSM and their 24×7 smear campaign was too much, plus those truly dreadful interviews she did. I think that, more than anything, will be what lost the election in the end. She validated the smear campaign by seeming empty and befuddled.
The thing about Palin is that she’s not a political geek. She doesn’t sit around pondering issues (like we do around here) or reading Heritage Foundation white papers. But what she is, very clearly, is someone who just gets things done. Her talents are immediate and local. Indeed she’s a perfect type to be a governor.
The McCain campaign hasn’t been able to translate that talent of hers into a defineable role, partly because the VP office is such a non-entity to begin with. As I’ve said before, I think McCain has to target the people responsible for the economic mess — Wall Street, Democrats, Republicans, naming names as he goes — and repeat ad nauseum that these people WILL GO TO JAIL. Palin can be his point-person on this.
If McCain doesn’t mention Obama’s complicity in Fannie Mae at their next debate, then I give up. I’ve mostly given up already. We have little left to hope for.
