The McCain campaign is grasping at straws, reeling from one narrative to another hoping something will give them traction. They thought they could paint Obama as elitist until they found out that someone married to a rich beer heiress is not the best one to make that argument. Then they tried to paint Obama as too inexperienced to be President until McCain saw Obama give his acceptance speech and realized that argument wouldn't work. He panicked, chose Palin, and is trying to morph into the candidate of change.
To make someone who has been in Congress since 1982 and neck-deep in the Keating 5 scandal into an agent of change seems like a stretch. As Josh Marshall says
Starting tomorrow, the Democrats can and must come back hard on this issue of "reform". McCain/Palin reform is just ... well, there's nothing. It's an overused phrase but it is all rhetoric. Not only has their party been in power for 8 years. But every policy pushed by John McCain is the one embraced by George Bush. Economic policy, tax policy, Iraq policy, social issues, Bush style politicking, everything. I'm not sure how many people agree with me. But I think the rhetorical 'reform' of McCain/Palin is like a big, imposing and very brittle vase. A few good hits and it'll break apart in a thousand pieces.
Luckily McCain and Palin have made the Bridge to Nowhere a centerpiece of their change argument. Sarah Palin has now told a blatant and demonstrable lie about the Bridge to Nowhere three times in her three speeches, despite the fact that numerous publications have pointed out the deception. She is assuming that a lot of people will hear the claim and only a few people will read the factcheck article.
In response Democrats should make the Bridge to Nowhere the centerpiece in their rebuttal. Show that Palin is lying knowingly and repeatedly about this and the vase will shatter. Make the picture of Sarah Palin wearing a Nowhere Alaska T-shirt a symbol of political cynicism.
I was thinking of an ad along these lines:
Narrator:John McCain is desperate to avoid talking about the issues.
Republicans want to make a big election about small things.
They tried to portray Barack Obama as an elitist until John McCain couldn't remember how many houses he had.
They tried to portray Barack Obama as inexperienced until John McCain picked a Vice-Presidential nominee that even her home state newspapers said was not ready.
So now they are trying to argue that John McCain, who voted with George Bush 90% of the time represents change, just because he chose a running mate that opposed the Bridges to Nowhere.
Except it turns out that is a lie too. [show newspaper clippings] Sarah Palin actually supported the Bridge to Nowhere [show pictures of Palin wearing a Nowhere Alaska T-Shirt], but chose to repeat the false claim three times in her first three speeches anyway.
Deception is not change, it is more of the same.
Someone else could probably come up with a better ad, but I think focusing laser-like attention to the bridges to nowhere issue could destroy the latest McCain narrative before it starts.
Here is a good column detailing the Bridge to Nowhere deception from the Fairbanks, AK newspaper.