With our opponents selection of the unknown and unready some what scandal ridden, 20 month govenor of the 47th most populous state, we see a campaign agressively moving on into uncharted territory. They are abandoning as a central focus of their campaign attacks on Senator Obama's readiness to lead. They will keep up the rally call of his lack of experience, and use Palin as a foil to keep the conversation going, but it will no longer be the central thrust of their message.
From now on it will be "Country First."
Click "There's more..." for a further explination.
So what will "Country First" come to mean? A more direct, and agressive call to put "country" before partisanship--NO MATTER WHAT! Here's how it starts... Instead of showing basic competency, an ability to walk and chew gum at the same time, an ability to hold a convention and deal with an emergency, McCain cancels the first night of his convention.
Why? well, to begin with the first night happens to highlight Bush/Cheney, so he gets to cancel this lovely reunion. Blech. They may have been sufficiently chastised by Katrina to actively fear having a party while a hurricane makes landfall, but this outcome does accomplish a lot for our opponent.
Now instead of hanging out with Bush/Cheney, McCain gets to ballyhoo about his "gesture" of "country first," before "partisanship" and preen before the cameras as if McCain is somehow presiding over the outcome of the response of the federal government. See... we think so much of our "Country First," we will cancel our "partisan" convention. We are the change ticket, because we put "country first."
At the same time, everyday the Republicans don't have to meet and compete with a stunning Democratic convention, is a day they get to regroup onto the new messaging from the Rove leadership in the campaign, which has taken a very hard turn to the right. Rove is playing his evangelical card again, and because there is no other way Rove plays these things, he's playing it from the bottom of the deck.
By promoting this unknown onto the national spotlight, our opponents think they can run an effective change campaign. Because Sarah Palin has a Down syndrome baby, they think she is immune to any kind of criticism of her competency. And the problem is that for some, she will be immune! In fact, she's nearly a saint! She might have to be recorded picking the pockets of a dead person, before some would think twice about giving her the benefit of the doubt, if not out right and sustained loyalty.
And she will annoint us with her saintly proclomation... Country First! And we're supposed to fall in line.