This morning 538 makes an important tactical point.
The title is:
Dems Must Give Voters Explicit Permission To Like Palin
here's the link
As 538 says, some people have already decided they like Palin. It is a visceral reaction and there is nothing we can do about it. But, if we attack her, as an illegitimate candidate then we force these people to come to her defense, solidifying her support.
We don't want to do this.
We can't prevent some people from liking Palin,
Because they already do. That ship has sailed. When facts are used to discredit Sarah Palin, emotion trumps facts. The instinct is to defend against the facts. Consider: you meet someone and like him or her on a gut level. A stranger – someone who doesn’t have built-up personal credibility with you – gives you a list of reasons not to like that person. How do you react?
On an emotional level, you want them to be wrong, and you will take every possible favorable inference on the likable person’s behalf. Using facts is pushing a big rock uphill. You might get it to the top with a few voters, but you’re going to expend a lot of energy for only a little return.
I am very psyched about the digging and investigative work that has been done on this site and, I think it is awesome that the MSM is finally calling out the McCain campaign on its lies but we need to keep in mind the visceral response of the Palinites.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should give Palin a pass on her corruption and lies, but our first goal is to get Obama elected. I am presenting an argument about tactics.
We are trying to win these voters over, not put them down or chastise them or embarrass them into admitting they were wrong and should vote for our candidate.
That wont work. People have to feel good about themselves when they are voting for a candidate. (Otherwise they may stay home.) We need to figure out how to get people who like Palin to feel good about voting for Obama.
We can't be making fun of her. Leave that to SNL. They're better at it.