Sarah Palin used as a scapegoat:did she really cost McCain the election?

[Afro-European]

PHOENIX — As a top adviser in Senator John McCain’s now-imploded campaign tells the story, it was bad enough that Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska unwittingly scheduled, and then took, a prank telephone call from a Canadian comedian posing as the president of France. Far worse, the adviser said, she failed to inform her ticketmate about her rogue diplomacy.
As a senior adviser in the Palin campaign tells the story, the charge is absurd. The call had been on Ms. Palin’s schedule for three days and she should not have been faulted if the McCain campaign was too clueless to notice.
Whatever the truth, one thing is certain. Ms. Palin, who laughingly told the prankster that she could be president “maybe in eight years,” was the catalyst for a civil war between her campaign and Mr. McCain’s that raged from mid-September up until moments before Mr. McCain’s concession speech on Tuesday night. By then, Ms. Palin was in only infrequent contact with Mr. McCain, top advisers said.
“I think it was a difficult relationship,” said one top McCain campaign official, who, like almost all others interviewed, asked to remain anonymous. “McCain talked to her occasionally.”
But Mr. McCain’s advisers also described him as admiring of Ms. Palin’s political skills. He was aware of the infighting, they said, but it is unclear how much he was inclined or able to stop it.
The tensions and their increasingly public airing provide a revealing coda to the ill-fated McCain-Palin ticket, hinting at the mounting turmoil of a campaign that was described even by many Republicans as incoherent, negative and badly run.
For her part, Ms. Palin told reporters in Arizona on Wednesday morning that “there is absolutely no diva in me.”
Later in the day, she refused to address the strife within the campaigns. “I have absolutely no intention of engaging in any of the negativity because this has been all positive for me,” she said, adding that it was time to savor President-elect Barack Obama’s victory and “not let the pettiness or maybe internal workings of a campaign erode any of the recognition of this historic moment.”
As the ticketmate with a potentially brighter political future, Ms. Palin has more at stake going forward than Mr. McCain, whose aides now have an interest in blaming outside factors for their loss, making Ms. Palin a tempting target. And even as the votes from the election were still being counted, there were new recriminations, with Mr. McCain’s aides suggesting that a Palin aide had leaked damaging information about them to reporters.
The tensions were described in interviews with top aides to the two campaigns who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be seen as disloyal to Mr. McCain’s effort at a difficult time.
Finger-pointing at the end of a losing campaign is traditional and to a large degree predictable, as Mr. McCain himself acknowledged in a prescient interview in July.
“Every book I’ve read about a campaign is that the one that won, it was a perfect and beautifully run campaign with geniuses running it and incredible messaging, etcetera,” Mr. McCain said then. “And always the one that lost, ‘Oh, completely screwed up, too much infighting, bad people, etcetera.’ So if I win, I believe that historians will say, ‘Way to go, he fine-tuned that campaign, and he got the right people in the right place and as the campaign grew, he gave them more responsibility.’ If I lose,” people will say, “ ‘That campaign, always in disarray.’ ”
The disputes between the campaigns centered in large part on the Republican National Committee’s $150,000 wardrobe for Ms. Palin and her family, but also on what McCain advisers considered Ms. Palin’s lack of preparation for her disastrous interview with Katie Couric of CBS News and her refusal to take advice from Mr. McCain’s campaign.
But behind those episodes may be a greater subtext: anger within the McCain camp that Ms. Palin harbored political ambitions beyond 2008.
As late as Tuesday night, a McCain adviser said, Ms. Palin was pushing to deliver her own speech just before Mr. McCain’s concession speech, even though vice-presidential nominees do not traditionally speak on election night. But Ms. Palin met up with Mr. McCain with text in hand. She was told no by Mark Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers, and Steve Schmidt, Mr. McCain’s top strategist.
On Wednesday, two top McCain campaign advisers said that the clothing purchases for Ms. Palin and her family were a particular source of outrage for them. As they portrayed it, Ms. Palin had been advised by Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain aide, that she should buy three new suits for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September and three additional suits for the fall campaign. The budget for the clothes was anticipated to be from $20,000 to $25,000, the officials said.
Instead, in a public relations debacle undermining Ms. Palin’s image as an everywoman “hockey mom,” bills came in to the Republican National Committee for about $150,000, including charges of $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue. The bills included clothing for Ms. Palin’s family and purchases of shoes, luggage and jewelry, the advisers said. The advisers described the McCain campaign as incredulous about the shopping spree and said Republican National Committee lawyers were likely to go to Alaska to conduct an inventory and try to account for all that was spent.
Ms. Palin has defended her wardrobe as the idea of the Republican National Committee and said that she would give it back.
“Those clothes, they are not my property,” she said. “Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the R.N.C. purchased.”
Advisers in the McCain campaign, in suggesting that Palin advisers had been leaking damaging information about the McCain campaign to the news media, said they were particularly suspicious of Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s top foreign policy aide who had a central role in preparing Ms. Palin for the vice-presidential debate.
As a result, two senior members of the McCain campaign said on Wednesday that Mr. Scheunemann had been fired from the campaign in its final days. But Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, and Mr. Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers, said Wednesday that Mr. Scheunemann had in fact not been dismissed. Mr. Scheunemann, who picked up the phone in his office at McCain campaign headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, responded that “anybody who says I was fired is either lying or delusional or a whack job.”
Mr. Scheunemann was referring to widely disseminated criticism by Mr. McCain’s advisers in the final days of the campaign that Ms. Palin, as first reported in Politico, was a “whack job.”
Whatever the permutations, the advisers said they strongly believed that Mr. Scheunemann was disclosing, as one put it, “a constant stream of poison” to William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a columnist for The New York Times.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote a column on Oct. 13 calling on Mr. McCain to fire his campaign because it was “close to being out-and-out dysfunctional,” said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the campaign advisers were paranoid. Mr. Kristol has been a strong supporter of Ms. Palin.
“I wasn’t writing poison,” Mr. Kristol said. He added: “Randy Scheunemann is a friend of mine and I think he did a good job. I talked to him, but I talked to a lot of people at the campaign.”
The McCain camp was further upset about Ms. Palin’s interview with Ms. Couric, which was broadcast at a time when Ms. Palin was meeting with foreign leaders at the United Nations and trying to establish some foreign policy credentials. Ms. Palin’s wobbly and tongue-tied performance was mocked in an iconic impersonation on “Saturday Night Live” by Tina Fey.
Ms. Palin, who had prepared for and survived an initial interview with Charles Gibson of ABC News, did not have the time or focus to prepare for Ms. Couric, the McCain advisers said. “She did not say, ‘I will not prepare,’ ” a McCain adviser said. “She just didn’t have a bandwidth to do a mock interview session the way we had prepared before. She was just overloaded.”
One of the last straws for the McCain advisers came just days before the election when news broke that Ms. Palin had taken a call made by Marc-Antoine Audette. Mr. Audette and his fellow comedian Sebastien Trudel are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.
Ms. Palin appeared to believe that she was talking to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, even though the prankster had a flamboyant French accent and spoke to her in a more personal way than would be protocol in such a call. At one point, he told Ms. Palin that she would make a good president some day. “Maybe in eight years,” she replied

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06mccain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

[Thor]

I don't think so. First of all, it was McCain's election to win, not to lose. The determining factor was the economic crisis, had there been a terrorist attack instead of a market crash McCain would have been elected.

Palin is merely used as a scapegoat for people who don't like to admit that they preferred the undecent Obama over the very decent but boring McCain.

[Abbadon the Despoiler]

undecent Obama? how is that?

[Thor]

undecent Obama? how is that?
We have been over that enough already.

[Abbadon the Despoiler]

I guess so...

we shall see

[Breakfast in Vegas]

I don't think so. First of all, it was McCain's election to win, not to lose. The determining factor was the economic crisis, had there been a terrorist attack instead of a market crash McCain would have been elected.

Palin is merely used as a scapegoat for people who don't like to admit that they preferred the undecent Obama over the very decent but boring McCain.Although I think Obama would have won anyway, the financial crisis took the wind out of McCain's sails.

Palin was no help either. She probably didn't cost him votes since Republicans will vote Republican no matter what, but she certainly didn't win over any undecided votes.

[Thor]

Although I think Obama would have won anyway, the financial crisis took the wind out of McCain's sails.
I think that without the financial crisis this would have been more of a toss-up. In the popular vote this was a 53-46 win for Obama.


Palin was no help either. She probably didn't cost him votes since Republicans will vote Republican no matter what, but she certainly didn't win over any undecided votes.
McCain got quite a boost in the polls during the weeks following her nomination, but the winds started to turn a bit along with the campaign against her and her family, and then came the financial crisis that pretty much settled it all.

[Invisigoth]

She played a significant part in it. For one she scared the living hell out of many moderates. Also, there was an "opportunity cost" to picking her: he could have chosen someone who would have given him an edge in the economic discussion, Mittens, Whitman or anyone similar and instead of crashing and burning when it hit he would've been on top of the situation.

Incidentally these people probably would've also known that Africa is a continent and come with their own wardrobe rofl

[Breakfast in Vegas]

I think that without the financial crisis this would have been more of a toss-up. In the popular vote this was a 53-46 win for Obama.


McCain got quite a boost in the polls during the weeks following her nomination, but the winds started to turn a bit along with the campaign against her and her family, and then came the financial crisis that pretty much settled it all.Not to mention the fact that when people started to learn more about her, they realized she was a weak candidate.

[Thor]

She played a significant part in it. For one she scared the living hell out of many moderates. Also, there was an "opportunity cost" to picking her: he could have chosen someone who would have given him an edge in the economic discussion, Mittens, Whitman or anyone similar and instead of crashing and burning when it hit he would've been on top of the situation.

Incidentally these people probably would've also known that Africa is a continent and come with their own wardrobe rofl
Obama did not come with his own wardrobe either. A lot of people in the public eye have their clothes payed for, sponsored, or borrowed. People in broadcasting, politicians, athletes, corporate management etc.

If you have a vid of Palin saying anything like that, post it. If not it's nothing but slander.

In hindsight McCain should have picked an economic expert, however at the time McCain did steal a lot of Obama's thunder by picking a woman. It could just as well have worked out.


Not to mention the fact that when people started to learn more about her, they realized she was a weak candidate.
That was how media portrayed her.

I'm a fairly knowledgable guy, but if anyone did a 4 hour interview with me and cut it down to a few minutes there would probably be questions I provided less adequate answers for as well.

[CMNot]

She looked good, then opened her mouth. I have known a few women like this...

[Invisigoth]

if anyone did a 4 hour interview with me and cut it down to a few minutes there would probably be questions I provided less adequate answers for as well.

No doubt about that.

[Stonewall71]

By chossing her McCain showed he was a politian like any other because he prooved he would sell his soul to the Devil if it meant winning the Election.

Also the woman's radical fanatism and ignorance made Bush seem inteligent...

[Thor]

By chossing her McCain showed he was a politian like any other because he prooved he would sell his soul to the Devil if it meant winning the Election.

Also the woman's radical fanatism and ignorance made Bush seem inteligent...
You're almost at Invisigoth's level.

[Afro-European]

I don't think so. First of all, it was McCain's election to win, not to lose. The determining factor was the economic crisis, had there been a terrorist attack instead of a market crash McCain would have been elected.

I agree with you on that.McCain tied Obama and in some polls,he even started pulling ahead until september 15th,the day Wall Street made its first deepest dive.

[Stonewall71]

You're almost at Invisigoth's level.

and you near Hitler's

[Invisigoth]

and you near Hitler's

More like Jerry Falwell meets Henry Hays with a little splash of retardation.

[Creeper]

I do not believe that Palin cost McCain the gig. Nothing in his run went "perfect" ,,However , I have to lean on this article putting the "blame" per sea on other factors other than Palin.


Why John McCain lost the White House
Yesterday, 04:06 pm
Jeff Mason - Analysis Print Story
Republican John McCain lost Tuesday's presidential election because he could not overcome a hostile economic environment, distance himself from an unpopular president or convince voters he could lead them out of the crisis. Skip related content

McCain's attempts to portray Barack Obama as a tax-raising socialist with friends who were terrorists drove away moderate voters, who handed the Democrat a decisive victory on Tuesday.

An extremely unpopular Republican president coupled with a sputtering economy made for a tough political climate for McCain. Even if he had run a perfect campaign, it may not have been enough this year.

After eight years of Republican White House rule, the party had turned off racial minorities, young voters and more educated voters. The final blow was the large-scale defection of working class whites devastated by the economic crisis.

But the Arizona senator's response fell flat. He did not distance himself early or forcefully enough from President George W. Bush, party strategists said, and his lack of a coherent economic message loomed large as the issue trumped the Iraq war in voters' minds.

In a gracious concession speech late on Tuesday, the former Vietnam prisoner of war reflected on his campaign and took responsibility for its failures.

"I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election," he told supporters at a sombre post-election rally in Arizona. "We fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours."

Republican strategist John Feehery said McCain's association with Bush was a key stumbling block that could have been addressed more decisively.

"He did not break from Bush early on and he should have," Feehery said. "He hired a lot of Bush advisers and they were just as loyal to Bush as they were to McCain."

McCain added a line to his campaign speech in mid-October saying "I'm not George Bush" but it was too late.

The financial crisis that erupted in September was a turning point, reversing McCain's temporary lead in the polls. He never recovered.

"The economic meltdown restructured the entire race and made it difficult for McCain to compete for those undecided independent voters," said Republican strategist Scott Reed.

McCain's decision to suspend his campaign and return to Washington to broker a Wall Street bailout deal turned out to be a "strategic and tactical mistake," he said.

McCain asked for the first presidential debate to be postponed, but Obama calmly responded that the candidates could focus on more than one thing at a time -- forcing McCain to climb down. When the debate took place, Obama won.

TOUGH CLIMATE, ECONOMIC GAFFES

McCain wounded himself with other economic gaffes. He said the fundamentals of the U.S. economy were strong and then tried to paint the mistake as a defence of the American worker.

He championed himself as someone who largely opposed regulation in the financial industry but reversed course when banks started failing and the Wall Street crisis spread.

The financial crisis also put McCain's "maverick" image into a harsher light. Voters viewed Obama's response to the crisis as cool and McCain's as unsteady.

Aides said the economic and political conditions in the country severely hampered their candidate's electoral chances.

"It is highly doubtful that anyone will ever have to run in a worse political climate than the one John McCain had to run in this year," McCain's top strategist Steve Schmidt told reporters a few hours before polls closed.

Feehery faulted McCain for abiding by campaign finance laws and not making more of Obama's association with his controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright

What about Palin? McCain's last-minute choice of the Alaska governor ignited conservative voters but alienated independents, who viewed her as unprepared.

High-profile Republicans such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell rejected McCain partially because of Palin.

"McCain spent the entire summer drawing a contrast with Obama over experience and the Palin decision threw that out the window," said Reed. ""(But) you can't blame Palin for the loss. She energized the party and the base ..."

McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace said the Arizona senator got a rough deal from the media compared to Obama, who already enjoyed a massive financial advantage. The Democrat vastly outspent McCain in all the key swing states.

"No objective analysis suggests that the Obama team and the McCain team have received an equal amount or a fair amount of positive and negative scrutiny or coverage," she said.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20081105/tpl-uk-usa-election-mccain-81f3b62.html

[Breakfast in Vegas]

That was how media portrayed her.

I'm a fairly knowledgable guy, but if anyone did a 4 hour interview with me and cut it down to a few minutes there would probably be questions I provided less adequate answers for as well.Granted, and I give interviewees a lot of lee-way for this. Nonetheless, many of her comments made in the last month are cause for speculation on her overall intelligence/knowledge of important political issues, particularly those relating to international politics.

She was unworthy of being a VP or a VP candidate. Of the 4 candidates on the Dem/Rep ticket, she was by far the weakest.

[MacDaddy]

Get over it already. Put your big boy pants on and deal with it...

[Winger]

Granted, and I give interviewees a lot of lee-way for this. Nonetheless, many of her comments made in the last month are cause for speculation on her overall intelligence/knowledge of important political issues, particularly those relating to international politics.

She was unworthy of being a VP or a VP candidate. Of the 4 candidates on the Dem/Rep ticket, she was by far the weakest.

True, she was the weakest of the 4 but she alone didn't cost McCain the election. McCain and his campaign people did. Taking public financing, lack of unity of command in his campgain and mishandling the bailout were just a few things that killed him. Palin was the least of his problems.

[Breakfast in Vegas]

True, she was the weakest of the 4 but she alone didn't cost McCain the election. McCain and his campaign people did. Taking public financing, lack of unity of command in his campgain and mishandling the bailout were just a few things that killed him. Palin was the least of his problems.Moroever, a majority of people in key states trusted a Democratic candidate with putting the country back on the right track more than a Republican one.

[vryhpyammoadded]

Palin was simply a grab for the huge block of non RINO votes that made up the other half of the Republican party which I believe would not have shown up to vote with any of the other VP possibilities.
I also believe that her “perceived” image of bucking the system appealed to McCain who really did want to clobber entrenched corruption and ignorance in the Hill.

Palin was a Hail Mary play that McCain was cornered by eight years of trouble into playing and his only shot at winning but only if she didn’t fumble the ball and if Obama had made mistakes. He had no other choices. I believe any other choice would have lost half the republican base and given Obama an even bigger win and quite possibly a Democrat super majority to boot.

Personally, I think McCain did an amazing job pulling off this herculean task, coming out of the Republican train wreck alive and without a completely defeated and demoralized party. The man is g*d damn political machine and I hope he can apply those energies in pulling it all back together to its more center right position.

And people worried about his age…LOL

[Jobu]

Palin is the only thing that energized the GOP's base this year.

It was an anti-Bush (and therefore anti-GOP) vote from the start so it would have taken a miracle for McCain to win. Hell, he was chosen as the candidate because of his long history of poking his own party in the eye.

You'll find that a great majority of self-professed "independents" who say bad things about Palin were Obama supporters if not outright sycophants before she was even added to the ticket. Their claims that Palin turned them to Obama are largely BS.

[California Joe]

I can't stand Palin.

But throwing her under the bus is a bullsh*t thing to do. Of course this is all par for the course in political campaigns. John McCain described it pretty well. There's a whole lot of people pointing fingers at anyone other than them.

[Ordie]

McCain should have been more "democrat' to counter balance Sarah's social conservative base.

[SBL]

I'd like to say I called it. I don't think it's accurate nor fair to place the blame squarely on her shoulders, but Taking her on was a gamble from the start. Failing to deliver, she becomes the natural candidate for scapegoat.

I agree with a lot of people that feel she was unnecessarily divisive and controversial- playing the role of "pitbull-slash-hockey-mom" to the hilt. But I stand by my opinion that his campaign was just flat-out mismanaged. Everything from his ads to his speeches were just unbelievably bungled- and he came-off sounding like some tired, hollow, pawn of the Neocon right.
Of course, nobody in his camp would want to admit that, though.

[Lt. James Anderson]

Nope. What cost McCain this election is McCain. Of all the people I know who always vote Republican nobody even bothered to vote.

[Cornerstone]

The GOP picked Her anyway, that would explain the "him meeting her only once before" thing

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Nope. What cost McCain this election is McCain. Of all the people I know who always vote Republican nobody even bothered to vote.

That's exactly my opinion on this. The base was completely unenthusiastic about the guy. The instant they nominated him, I knew it was over....Dole vs Clinton part 2.

[khukuri]

Lol, one thing in politicals I always laugh at. WHy does it always have to be some ones fault. Some people believe that if everything is just done right then they would have won the election. Thats a very cynical view of the voters.

Although I view palin as scary, I think she brought more votes to mcCains campaign. Not the contrary.

The people who find her scary would have voted obama anyway, and the right wingers who find her equally scary would have voted republican anyway as well, they voted for bush last time...

[Breakfast in Vegas]

Of all the people I know who always vote Republican nobody even bothered to vote.Well good for them!

[Fargin]

As long as the political balance pendulates back and forth, we'll be alright.

[Lt. James Anderson]

That's exactly my opinion on this. The base was completely unenthusiastic about the guy. [b]The instant they nominated him, I knew it was over]/b]....Dole vs Clinton part 2.

Same here.

Obama even got Indiana (crazy!!!). That should tell you what horrible choice McCain was.

[Breakfast in Vegas]

Same here.

Obama even got Indiana (crazy!!!). That should tell you what horrible choice McCain was.Perhaps McCain was a poor choice, he was too sensible to be a Republican anyway. It was the party that failed.

GOP needs to start over and had better come up with some better talent that Sarah P.

[Jobu]

Lol, one thing in politicals I always laugh at. WHy does it always have to be some ones fault.

Because these professional campaign staffers want to find work again in the future. If they can spread all kinds of smears and lay the blame on Palin, it takes the heat off themselves.

[Kaplanr]

Same here.

Obama even got Indiana (crazy!!!). That should tell you what horrible choice McCain was.

You're thinking very very parochially. What if he'd chosen a guy like Tom Ridge or even Hagel? He then gets the opposite of the Hillary effect, he gets middle of the roaders who may be Democrats or Republicans who want the best guy with the best chance to accomplish something. Palin killedm it for people like me who weren't wedded to Obama (primarily because of the experience issue,) but also don't think he's Marx incarnate.


Perhaps McCain was a poor choice, he was too sensible to be a Republican anyway. It was the party that failed.

GOP needs to start over and had better come up with some better talent that Sarah P.

Then they shouldn't keep rallying around Guns, God and abortion as the most important things facing the country.

[4X4Driver]

Sarah Palin used as a scapegoat:did she really cost McCain the election?

In short...I think she definetely did.

[deagle]

why did he choose her anyway ?

both should've known what each other would do/say before they did anything. were they both that inept ??

[Kaplanr]

The problem with the Republican Party is that it's bereft of any philosophy of governing, and has been since the Contract with America. Boiled down to one example, it's Liddy Dole inferring that her opponent doesn't believe in God. They rely entirely on the Fear Factor.

[Jobu]

both should've known what each other would do/say before they did anything. were they both that inept ??


Kinda like Obama being unaware of Biden's "our enemies are going to test Obama*" gaffe?



* paraphrase

[Bia]

Palin is merely used as a scapegoat for people who don't like to admit that they preferred the undecent Obama over the very decent but boring McCain.Possibly some... but certainly not most.
She is exactly the reason why I turned away from McCain... said it here 20 times past 6 weeks.

To imply she's "used" as a scapegoat isnt accurate... she is... the scapegoat, for obvious reasons.

[Bia]

Kinda like Obama being unaware of Biden's "our enemies are going to test Obama*" gaffe?



* paraphraseThat wasnt a gaffe... it was spun into a gaffe by the repubs.
He was clear on what he said.

[Kilgor]

Palin was a inept hillbilly way out of league and with a stench of Bush to her, and people could smell it a mile away... (sorry for the wording)

America does not need "common " folk leading the nation, it needs highly educated and highly articulate moderates.

She even thought Africa was a country, not a continent. :roll:

The last thing America needed was another embarrassing public speaker, bible thumper and simpleton. Wasn't the last 8 years bad enough ?

[gaijinsamurai]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27578515#27578515

According to MSNBC, McCain aids have reported that Palin didn't know Africa is a continent, rather than a single country, and couldn't name the countries that make up North America or signed NAFTA. Sounds like there are some serious divisions between the two camps.

[budgie]

Perhaps McCain was a poor choice, he was too sensible to be a Republican anyway. It was the party that failed.

GOP needs to start over and had better come up with some better talent that Sarah P.

McCain might have been a poor choice as a candidate - that's open to debate on grounds of 'electability' (sp?) but he would still have made a solid President. Palin was a stupid choice in terms of swing voters who don't want a bible-thumping creationist in the Whitehouse, but a sensible one in terms of motivating the base who do want just that, so her pick is also debatable.

The real problem is that this time, after 8 years of the GOP in power and during hard economic times, the voters wanted a leadership change. It happens in every functioning democracy, one party can't hold on forever and they soon get blamed for everything that goes wrong on their watch. It was just the Democrats 'turn' this time.

Though Americans - a majority even - identify themselves as 'conservative' when asked whether they'd like "lower taxes" or "smaller govt" or other such catchphrases, they also look enviously at Canada and Europe and wish the govt would supply better healthcare options and education benefits. These ideas might be identified as 'liberal' in the culture wars but in an economic downswing they'll begin to look increasingly attractive - even if it means higher taxes.

I once predicted on these forums that there would probably never be a landslide victory in Presidential races again (barring some national catastrophe to drive it) because　the party faithful will always vote for their own side. That slim margin of swing voters would be the only ones really choosing in the election. In this climate 5% is as close to a landslide as one party can get.

[Hot Lips]

If not for Palin, McCain could have very well had my vote. My parents are at odds on this because they usually both vote Republican, but the thought of Palin getting so close to running the country was more than one of them could handled - the other was counting on nothing happening to McCain and Palin being insignificant. Several attorneys at our lawfirm who I know to be Republican's said the same thing - they found her "scary", "ill prepared", etc. I've heard it from enough people to whole heartedly believe she played a very significant role in the McCain campaigns loss.

[Violet Fashion by Mindy]

Surely there was a lot better candidates then Palin.

I think the GOP knew they would lose the election. McCain is getting on in years so give him a crack it so he can bow out of politics with respect and dignity and still say " had a shot", blood the next generation in the primary process and appoint a nobody as a running mate?

All so they can rebuild without the problems of the Bush Administration?

[Kilgor]

http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.2463269.0.palins_travels_journey_to_louis_vuitton_and_beyond.php

Louis Vuitton bags in a midst of the worst economic conditions since the great depression = fail

[Hot Lips]

http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.2463269.0.palins_travels_journey_to_louis_vuitton_and_beyond.php

louis vuitton bags in a midst of the worst economic conditions since the great depression = fail

wtf..........


but the straw that broke the clotheshorse's back might have been the $3000 (£1800) louis vuitton handbag for her six-year-old daughter, piper.

[Lusitania]

When looking at this election from a decentralized view, it would appear it was the economy that won the election for Obama. Lets try to actually weigh the factors, look at the polls and let them do the talking, and leave the fallacy-filled personal stories at home. After the economy went down, McCain's support also went down, further, when McCain suspended his campaign to deal with the economic crisis and "pass" the bailout bill, which later failed in Congress, his support went down even further. People associated the ruling party with the economy, and further, saw McCain as an extension of Bush economic politic (which in their minds, was the reason for this crisis as it were). Despite all of that, McCain still managed to get a large amount of the popular vote; so then, there is very little evidence supporting that McCain was a particular weak candidate, but instead, it would appear it was the economy that doomed his campaign.

How can one even begin the speculate the results of the election if the economy was doing well? The only information we have to go by is not someone's intuition about how the election would have gone (no offense to anyone, but that is quite simply a bit naive), but instead, the polls leading up to the failure of Lehman's, and the gradual decline of the economy.

[Thor]

Palin Denies $150,000 Clothing Tab: "That Is Not Who We Are"

PITTSBURGH - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are."

"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are.

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," said Palin, saying the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. Still, she has been wearing pricey clothes at campaign events this fall. She said they will be given back, auctioned off or sent to charity. Most of them, she said, haven't even left the belly of her campaign plane.

Thrust into the national spotlight as John McCain's running mate in late August from relative obscurity as governor of Alaska, Palin has found herself under the microscope ever since, accused of being inexperienced, a drag on the ticket and, most recently, the recipient of racks of expensive clothes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/palin-denies-150000-cloth_n_137408.html

[vinny_121_ND]

If not for Palin, McCain could have very well had my vote. My parents are at odds on this because they usually both vote Republican, but the thought of Palin getting so close to running the country was more than one of them could handled - the other was counting on nothing happening to McCain and Palin being insignificant. Several attorneys at our lawfirm who I know to be Republican's said the same thing - they found her "scary", "ill prepared", etc. I've heard it from enough people to whole heartedly believe she played a very significant role in the McCain campaigns loss.

I agree as well. The scary part I found was her views of abortion on the couric interview.

[Hollis]

I guess the part some of you just can not seem to grasp is that the RNC purchased that stuff. I can imagine a adviser saying, "We need to up scale Palin's country bumpkin appearance to that of a national candidate."


Also all the cloths that were purchased remained the property of the RNC.

Yes the purchases where exorbitant. But who really made it?

[California Joe]

wtf..........

Nice. Cause every booger eating 6 year old needs a purse like that to carry around their smoked char and beanie babies.

[California Joe]

I guess the part some of you just can not seem to grasp is that the RNC purchased that stuff. I can imagine a adviser saying, "We need to up scale Palin's country bumpkin appearance to that of a national candidate."


Also all the cloths that were purchased remained the property of the RNC.

Yes the purchases where exorbitant. But who really made it?

It's starting to look a little different than that Hollis, and a whole lot more like My Name is Earl meets The Price is Right.

[Kilgor]

I guess the part some of you just can not seem to grasp is that the RNC purchased that stuff. I can imagine a adviser saying, "We need to up scale Palin's country bumpkin appearance to that of a national candidate."


Also all the cloths that were purchased remained the property of the RNC.

Yes the purchases where exorbitant. But who really made it?

They should have started with what was coming out of her mouth.

[hsh2]

When looking at this election from a decentralized view, it would appear it was the economy that won the election for Obama. Lets try to actually weigh the factors, look at the polls and let them do the talking, and leave the fallacy-filled personal stories at home. After the economy went down, McCain's support also went down, further, when McCain suspended his campaign to deal with the economic crisis and "pass" the bailout bill, which later failed in Congress, his support went down even further. People associated the ruling party with the economy, and further, saw McCain as an extension of Bush economic politic (which in their minds, was the reason for this crisis as it were). Despite all of that, McCain still managed to get a large amount of the popular vote; so then, there is very little evidence supporting that McCain was a particular weak candidate, but instead, it would appear it was the economy that doomed his campaign.

How can one even begin the speculate the results of the election if the economy was doing well? The only information we have to go by is not someone's intuition about how the election would have gone (no offense to anyone, but that is quite simply a bit naive), but instead, the polls leading up to the failure of Lehman's, and the gradual decline of the economy.

Well said, completely agree.

[Hot Lips]

I guess the part some of you just can not seem to grasp is that the RNC purchased that stuff. I can imagine a adviser saying, "We need to up scale Palin's country bumpkin appearance to that of a national candidate."

Also all the cloths that were purchased remained the property of the RNC.

Yes the purchases where exorbitant. But who really made it?

Members of the RNC are now saying (which they didn't before because contradicting her in the middle of a campaign wouldn't have helped them win) is that she was instructed to get about 6 outfits with an estimated cost of $20-25K that would have been funded by a single donor.

Instead, she apparently went on a countrywide shopping spree and that the total may very well be over $150K because she got aids to put some purchases on their credit cards and their reimbursement requests are only now coming to light.

It's being reported that RNC attorneys may have to go to Alaska to inventory exactly what was purchased and recover what they can. I guess the clothes finally left the underbelly of her campaign plane if the have to do that.

[Hollis]

They should have started with what was coming out of her mouth.


Her handlers/advisers screwed up. If you can not trust your adviser, I guess we can safely say, your screwed. McCain's campaign, was just loaded with gaffs, errors and wtfs. Again he lost by 6 points, Kerry lost by 5 points, I think that is good to keep in mind. I think probably, the economy had the biggest whack on McCain, then probably health care issues.

[Skutatos]

Regardless of your opinion of Sarah Palin, these staffers' behaviour is unacceptable and quite frankly, disgusting. They are to blame just as much if not more than anyone else, they ran an absolutely horrid campaign. Its a wonder McCain got as many votes as he did to be honest.

[Hollis]

Members of the RNC are now saying (which they didn't before because contradicting her in the middle of a campaign wouldn't have helped them win) is that she was instructed to get about 6 outfits with an estimated cost of $20-25K that would have been funded by a single donor.



I am not sure if the comments now are more correct than those right after. I don't know anyone in the campaign to ask and with the massive CYA and scapegoating, I don't know if we will ever know right away.

[Hot Lips]

They would have been shooting themselves in the foot to call her out on it in the middle of the campaign. But, once they said all her purchases would be donated to charity they obligated themselves to put the purchases on record. Eventually we'll hear more. Hopefully those records will debunk the sterotypical "never give a woman a credit card" joke this has turned in to, but I fear that won't be the case.

It was careless on the part of everyone that contributed to it while campaigning in the middle of a financial crisis and did little to show people that they should be trusted with the country's financial well being, among other things.

[Nano]

When all is said and done those who look back and understand the situation will agree on one thing McCain was going to lose no matter what and he indeed did. McCain did his best given the cards he was handed. Palin is being scapegoated in order to salvage what little clout and honor McCain has left after throwing his lot in with the Carl Roves of the world. McCain knows it best than anyone he was the sacrificial lamb for our foreign/domestic policy to continue as unrestrained as possible.

[Skutatos]

You know, I can't help thinking what might have happened if he had chosen Lieberman...I think the outcome may have been different. He was always talking about how much of a moderate he was and then suddenly brings out someone who isn't.

[Kaplanr]

When all is said and done those who look back and understand the situation will agree on one thing McCain was going to lose no matter what and he indeed did. McCain did his best given the cards he was handed. Palin is being scapegoated in order to salvage what little clout and honor McCain has left after throwing his lot in with the Carl Roves of the world. McCain knows it best than anyone he was the sacrificial lamb for our foreign/domestic policy to continue as unrestrained as possible.

Disagree. I think if he'd stuck to his guns and then selected a VP for competence and not ideology (screw the base), he could have won. He could have taken the independents and the Reagan Democrats. I think his ideal choice could have been Tom Ridge or if he's going to stay with a woman, Christine Todd Whitman.

10 more years of retiring boomers, and a lot of red states are going to be populated by elite blue state retirees.

[Nano]

Disagree. I think if he'd stuck to his guns and then selected a VP for competence and not ideology (screw the base), he could have won. He could have taken the independents and the Reagan Democrats. I think his ideal choice could have been Tom Ridge or if he's going to stay with a woman, Christine Todd Whitman.

10 more years of retiring boomers, and a lot of red states are going to be populated by elite blue state retirees.

His margin of defeat may not have been as wide as it was perhaps, but without the evangelical base (Palin) behind him he would have risked it all to attempt and win over Democrats and Independents who would look at three things. He is a republican who was/is a staunch supporter for the war in Iraq. The third variable which culminates and compounds being a republican and Iraq war supporter the economy. I think he did the wise thing and did not risk a total blowout and instead opted on a vp choice someone could lay the blame on for the defeat.

[Horse Thief]

Yea they're pulling a bitchmove. They are the same morons who picked her but now all of a sudden she's the anti-christ for them.

[vinny_121_ND]

Yea they're pulling a bitchmove. They are the same morons who picked her but now all of a sudden she's the anti-christ for them.

:). When she was picked, I think the headlines read, "Who is Sarah Palin?" . What made her a better candidate over the rest of the republicans?

[Russian_dude]

His margin of defeat may not have been as wide as it was perhaps, but without the evangelical base (Palin) behind him he would have risked it all to attempt and win over Democrats and Independents who would look at three things. He is a republican who was/is a staunch supporter for the war in Iraq. The third variable which culminates and compounds being a republican and Iraq war supporter the economy. I think he did the wise thing and did not risk a total blowout and instead opted on a vp choice someone could lay the blame on for the defeat.

Oh yeah, like the religious right was not going to vote anyway for McCain. The old guy should have went with Lieberman and presented a very experienced/bypartisan-ish front. Instead he got so hillbilly from Alaska... Who also upstaged him among his own base.

[Jobu]

Oh yeah, like the religious right was not going to vote anyway for McCain.


Many didn't. They stayed home.

[vryhpyammoadded]

It was all about the numbers. Palin locked in about 40% of the non Rino Republicans who rejected McCain and greatly out numbered the 12-15% of disaffected moderate Dem’s and independents that “might” have come along. The problem is that that group is normally fickle and ****e to hyped up fear tactics by the non incumbant party.

McCain and his campaign managers were completely aware of this historical pattern and took the safe bet. Palin meant the difference between losing by the most embarrassing landslide in US political history and Party survival by simply losing at a normal level with the minority party status intact.

I still say it was a remarkable effort not to have lost by a lot more from the Democrat and lefts leveraging everything negative that’s happened and managing to lump it on McCain. Hell, I still meet dozens of people who actually believe the economy, the war and most their woes are his fault and that Obama and the Democrats are some sort of sainted saviors, devoid of sin, here to take us all to Utopia in a matter of months.

The Republicans moved like an agent and dodged several killing blows. Amazing…

Note: I work helping out a lot of poor and minorities who do think Obama will take them to the promised land.

[seraosha]

Throwing Palin under the bus for Mccains defeat is just sour grapes and is just more gloating by the chin-wiping media.

I wouldn't be that surprised if we see a rebranded Palin by 2012...polished, prepared, and more ready for the limelight of a national campaign.

[Johnny_H02]

.

Palin is merely used as a scapegoat for people who don't like to admit that they preferred the undecent Obama over the very decent but boring McCain.
I know... gawd I mean they might as well of elected Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb. I'm sure McCain being boring has everything to do with his not being elected and nothing to do with his negative self-mutilating divisive campaign, chosing a complete fvckwit as a running mate who didn't know that South Africa wasn't a part of the Country of Africa (Not even knowing Africa is a continent comprising of 50-odd Countries) among other idiotic slip-ups and complete lack of understanding of even the fundimentals for Christ sake she didn't even know which Countries comprised the Continent of North America and couldn't name the Countries which comprise NAFTA. This was going to be the VP? Yeah Boring ol'Grandpa McCain had everything to do with it.

[Jobu]

I know... gawd I mean they might as well of elected Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb. I'm sure McCain being boring has everything to do with his not being elected and nothing to do with his negative self-mutilating divisive campaign, chosing a complete fvckwit as a running mate who didn't know that South Africa wasn't a part of the Country of Africa (Not even knowing Africa is a continent comprising of 50-odd Countries) among other idiotic slip-ups and complete lack of understanding of even the fundimentals for Christ sake she didn't even know which Countries comprised the Continent of North America and couldn't name the Countries which comprise NAFTA. This was going to be the VP? Yeah Boring ol'Grandpa McCain had everything to do with it.



If you believe that nonsense, I've got a bridge to sell you.

Or do you also believe Obama thinks we have 57 states and Biden thinks FDR went on TV in 1929 to talk about the market crash?

[California Joe]

I believe I can fly.

[TR1]

Obama did not come with his own wardrobe either. A lot of people in the public eye have their clothes payed for, sponsored, or borrowed. People in broadcasting, politicians, athletes, corporate management etc.

If you have a vid of Palin saying anything like that, post it. If not it's nothing but slander.

In hindsight McCain should have picked an economic expert, however at the time McCain did steal a lot of Obama's thunder by picking a woman. It could just as well have worked out.


That was how media portrayed her.

I'm a fairly knowledgable guy, but if anyone did a 4 hour interview with me and cut it down to a few minutes there would probably be questions I provided less adequate answers for as well.Yeah, naming one newspaper is pretty tough.

[seraosha]

I believe I can fly.

Don't take the brown acid.

[California Joe]

No rain! No rain! No rain!

[Jobu]

Ugh. They win one election and suddenly the hippies are having flashbacks to their heyday.

[California Joe]

Seraosha started it.

I, much like the Prez elect, was about 7...And I have never met William Ayers.

[Andrew116]

Biden thinks FDR went on TV in 1929 to talk about the market crash?

Well there is record of that one...

[Johnny_H02]

If you believe that nonsense, I've got a bridge to sell you.

Or do you also believe Obama thinks we have 57 states and Biden thinks FDR went on TV in 1929 to talk about the market crash?

A few slip-ups by Politicians are bad across the board, having a woman who lacks even basic knowledge is far far more than that. If Sarah Palin hadn't of made a complete and utter fool of herself and it was only 1 or 2 slip-ups that were being over-hyped then I would gladly agree with you.

Nowhere did I say that Obama or Biden or any other politician are "Perfect" all have strengths and faults Palin & McCain included. However Palin showed her true colours and now Conservative pundits are saying "They weren't Conservative enough" or not "Far enough to the right" or "Dirty" enough. Don't you think that the combination of the McCain Campaign's divisive nature along with Sarah Palin's unequaled idiocy hurt his campaign exponentially? How can you deny such a thing?

[Jobu]

A few slip-ups by Politicians are bad across the board, having a woman who lacks even basic knowledge is far far more than that.



The bridge is in Arizona. I swear I'll give you a good price too.

[Johnny_H02]

The bridge is in Arizona. I swear I'll give you a good price too.
Are you sure its not in Alaska?

[seraosha]

Seraosha started it.

I, much like the Prez elect, was about 7...And I have never met William Ayers.

Dave's not here.
And I was 6 months old, so there man.

[Jobu]

Are you sure its not in Alaska?

Nah, Governor Palin that big jerk decided it wasn't worth all that money to build it.

She's so crazy being fiscally responsible like that and angering her own party. What an extremist.

[Johnny_H02]

Nah, Governor Palin that big jerk decided it wasn't worth all that money to build it.

She's so crazy being fiscally responsible like that and angering her own party. What an extremist.
No but having witchcraft rebuked by a witch-doctor on film and saying that she believes Jesus will come back during her life time might make her a worthy candidate p-).

[Jobu]

No but having witchcraft rebuked by a witch-doctor on film and saying that she believes Jesus will come back during her life time might make her a worthy candidate p-).



You mean having a Kenyan bishop say a prayer for her? (hint: In Obama's native land, Kenya, many people do believe in witchcraft so it would not be unusual to have it included in their prayers)

As for Jesus coming back, that's one of the central messages of Christianity. Live your life like Jesus is coming back tomorrow.


I fail to see how either of these things make her an extremist.

[Johnny_H02]

You mean having a Kenyan bishop say a prayer for her? (hint: In Obama's native land, Kenya, many people do believe in witchcraft so it would not be unusual to have it included in their prayers)

As for Jesus coming back, that's one of the central messages of Christianity. Live your life like Jesus is coming back tomorrow.


I fail to see how either of these things make her an extremist.
I thought the "p-)" made the fact I was being sarcastic clear...guess not.
Look I don't give a **** what she thinks or believes, shes shown herself to be an imbecile and that is indisputable. Maybe they are throwing her under the bus for the sake of the loss of the Campaign but to deny that she held a good chunk of responsibility for its loss is to delude yourself.

[Jobu]

Well so far any evidence you've given as to why you believe she's an imbecile have fallen flat.

Got anything concrete?

[Johnny_H02]

Well so far any evidence you've given as to why you believe she's an imbecile have fallen flat.

Got anything concrete?
LOL roflShe couldn't even name a newspaper for jesus sake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrzXLYA_e6E

It is hard to even dignify this with a response, you want Governor Avon Lady as VP too bad, she lost so did McCain. I don't give a gerbil sized shyte about "Healing" because the only people that need to be healed (at least from what I've read on this board) are those who's sphincters tightened too much when they saw the Democrats win the election thus denying the Neo-Conservative's free reign to do what ever the hell they wanted.

I don't need to prove shes a moron, shes done quite well at that herself to deny this is again to delude yourself. Good or Bad I don't give a damn, I said my piece and I refuse to apologize for it.


I have no problem with you Jobu, as I have no problem with anyone on this forum. I will withdraw from this conversation. You will no doubt feel you've "Won" but that is entirely your perogative and makes no difference to me ether way.

[Kilgor]

Saying of the day:

"you can't polish a turd"

(even if its a pretty one)

[DanteXavier]

You know what I found interesting? So many Palin supporters went on and on during the campaign about how much more qualified Sarah Palin was as compared to Obama because she had actual executive experience as a governor. They said that this was more significant than being a State/National Senator, and that a lack of it was a deficit to one's qualification for the White House.
Then I finally decide to look up the credits of John McCain himself and...low and behold, he has no executive experience either.

I still don't get how she was so much "more experienced" than Obama but, well, I guess that's a moot point now.

[Bia]

Saying of the day:

"you can't polish a turd"

(even if its a pretty one)

Excactly... she's attractive, well spoken and articulate, charasmatic as hell, and about as smart as a cinderblock.

[jupiter]

I'm amused. There's some smell of misoginism there, also, Obama won , happy now?. many of you focus in the points where she failed. And those spots where she was doing ok? albeit some, but some better than nothing. Maybe now for the first time in your adult life you are proud of your country.

[LaoSexMachine]

I didn't think she lose it for McCain. Some people are just tired of a Republican in the White House. I know I was.

[LineDoggie]

Well....


Turns out MSNBC was Hoaxed about Palin

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-11-12-palin-hoax_N.htm?csp=34

"NEW YORK -- MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said Wednesday.

David Shuster, an anchor for the cable news network, said on air Monday that Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a FOX News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent.

Eisenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Eisenstadt claim had mistakenly been delivered to Shuster by a producer and was used in a political discussion Monday afternoon, MSNBC said.

"The story was not properly vetted and should not have made air," said Jeremy Gaines, network spokesman. "We recognized the error almost immediately and ran a correction on air within minutes."

Gaines told the Times that someone in the network's newsroom had presumed the information solid because it was passed along in an e-mail from a colleague.

The hoax was limited to the identity of the source in the story about Palin -- not the FOX News story itself. While Palin has denied that she mistook Africa for a country, the veracity of that report was not put in question by the revelation that Eisenstadt is a phony.

Eisenstadt's "work" had been quoted and debunked before. The Huffington Post said it had cited Eisenstadt in July on a story regarding the Hilton family and McCain.

Among the other victims were political blogs for the Los Angeles Times and The New Republic, each of which referenced false material from Eisenstadt's blog.

And in July, Jonathan Stein of Mother Jones magazine blogged an item about Eisenstadt speaking on Iraqi television about a casino in Baghdad's "Green Zone."

Stein later realized he'd been had.

"Kudos to the inventor of this whole thing," Stein wrote. "My only consolation is that if I had as much time on my hands as he clearly does, I probably would have figured this out and saved myself a fair amount of embarrassment."

[budgie]

First of all, it was McCain's election to win, not to lose. The determining factor was the economic crisis, had there been a terrorist attack instead of a market crash McCain would have been elected.

Palin is merely used as a scapegoat for people who don't like to admit that they preferred the undecent Obama over the very decent but boring McCain.

Or people who don't consider Obama 'undecent'.

However Thor is correct in that it was McCain's election to win. He had to beat a more popular candidate and it was an uphill battle. Yes, a terrorist attack would have given him a boost because Republicans get points on security issues, but I doubt even that would have spiked him the 6-7 points nationally; the 150 or more electoral seats needed to win. Especially if the attack had come too late in the campaign to effetcively capitalize on it. But attack or none he still had a fighting chance till a couple of months out.

This is where the mistake of picking Palin came in. After the initial spike in 'hockey mom' attention from women, she quickly dragged his campaign to toward the Republican base. What was the point? They were already on-side. Sure there was a lot they didn't like about McCain but for the Religious Right - not a few of whom were are racist - the idea of the slaves taking over the plantation was enough to get them out to the polls.

McCain had to appeal to moderates and the gaffe-****e, seemingly ultra-conservative Palin wasn't changing any minds on that front. Also as Thor correctly pointed out, the economy became the biggest issue. This happened right after Palin was picked and the choice didn't do anything to steady nerves. This is not just a campaign failure: the entire GOP seems not to have realised that deeply moderate middle America is a little disturbed by people like Palin, who come across to them as religious extremists. These voters have more pressing issue on their minds than just God, Gays and Guns. If you wanna win those swing states you have to shoot for the center.

[ViktorNavorski]

McCain had to appeal to moderates and the gaffe-****e, seemingly ultra-conservative Palin wasn't changing any minds on that front. Also as Thor correctly pointed out, the economy became the biggest issue. This happened right after Palin was picked and the choice didn't do anything to steady nerves. This is not just a campaign failure: the entire GOP seems not to have realised that deeply moderate middle America is a little disturbed by people like Palin, who come across to them as religious extremists. These voters have more pressing issue on their minds than just God, Gays and Guns. If you wanna win those swing states you have to shoot for the center.Which just goes back to the point of Palin being a scapegoat for the failure of those that ran the campaign. Despite her social conservatism, Palin never forced any such moral issues in Alaskan's politics. Just talk to the politicos in the state and most of them would agree she work better with the Democrats in the state government than the Republicans on the national campaign. They genuinely do consider her as a moderate and you don't get that high of an approval rating being an "ultra-conservative" even in Alaska.

McCain was already appealing to the "moderates" and in most cases, aka RINO. So much so that he alienated his own party and a substantial numbers of its base. So the campaign orchestrated Palin as a magnet to the base instead of utilizing her strengths in energy, taxation and as a centrist reformer during her time in Alaska.

[budgie]

Which just goes back to the point of Palin being a scapegoat for the failure of those that ran the campaign....McCain was already appealing to the "moderates" and in most cases, aka RINO. So much so that he alienated his own party and a substantial numbers of its base. So the campaign orchestrated Palin as a magnet to the base

So McCain was ahead with moderates but needed to pull in the base but then he risks alienating those moderates with the choice of Palin who, moderate or not in Alaska came across as overly conservative to the general population. It's not her fault personally for accepting the running mate invitation but she was a bad choice all the same. Therefore, You may be right in saying Palin is not so much of a 'scapegoat' as an example of the failures of the campaign. Whatever the semantics, she was an unwise pick: they lost, in no small part, because she was on the ticket.

[Hot Lips]

Well....
Turns out MSNBC was Hoaxed about Palin


If only she could claim the campaign was hoax.

[gaijinsamurai]

Funny that the two people who's posts are right on the spot aren't even Americans.

Well said, Budgie and JohnnyH!

[Russian_dude]

Stupid or not... Palin is IGNORANT. If the US was isolationist like in the 1920's she might have been ok. In this globalized world where knowing you Sunni from your Shia is more important then skinning a Moose, Palin was a major FAIL.