Just what will the McCain/Palin ticket smell like in the next forty days?
Well, we do know the "GOP Party" brand is damaged goods with little chance to recover by November. On the surface, it is a "tell me what I don't know?", but under the surface John McCain torpedoed the Republican Party last night. Down ticket, this is a disaster for the GOP. Especially this year.
We also know Palin was not vetted. If the above doesn't scare the GOP enough, this one surely does. But it gets worse; the Democratic Party research teams and the press are now intimately involved in the process. Down ticket, this may be end up being "Katrina-moment". Especially this year.
John McCain last night: "I'm grateful to the president of the United States for leading us in these dark days following the worst attack in American history.". Let that sink in. The only good thing he had to say about the Bush/Cheney years was it’s response immediately following the 911 attacks. Everything else? Nada, nothing, zippo. You could feel and see the Party in squirm inside the Xcel Energy Center.
John McCain last night: "I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us." He ceded the argument that the GOP brand is damaged. He in essence told the nation; you were frigged the last eight years. He in essence told every Republican running for office; you are frigged come November. Again, the Party frowned and squirmed.
John McCain last night: "We lost -- we lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger." His message to the nation; we are corrupt, trust us. This is the new brand of McCain’s on the Republican Party. We are corrupt, trust us. The base will go along of course, but what about the Party structure and Candidates? Run with the base in this year?
The same candidates conspicuously absent from St. Paul are all home campaigning as far from McCain as possible. I have a feeling they are not happy about their prospects after last nights speech. We are corrupt, trust us. This is something the McCain camp can limp on, but those candidates can not. Their jobs and Sarah’s job just got very complicated (thank god) after last night. Downwind, their campaigns smell bad.
As I write this, more of Sarah Palin is piddling down the American news cycle’s leg and starting to form a puddle. I can’t believe this colossal mistake. No vetting of a Vice Presidential candidate in the 24/7 news cycle? No vetting in the "Post 911" reality? They don’t have any control of this narrative and they know it. This is why she must be hidden in the bunker and used as the crutch McCain needs for the base vote. How big can this be? No one knows now, but you can know the downwind and down ticket folks are starting to sniff the wind. The Obama campaign doesn’t need to lift a finger, they just need to step back from the forming puddle.