A few days ago C-SPAN had a undecided voter focus group, which discussed the reaction to Sarah Palin being chosen to become McCain's vp.
I know a few people discussed this renior, nirbama, however I found video footage of the segment, and I typed a transcript. I thought the reaction was interesting, plus I put my two cents in on how we could use what most people worried about against the McCain campaign.
Word or phrase to describe Sarah Palin.
Extremely weak and inexperienced.
Guts.
An Alaskan soccer mom.
Courageous.
Appears to be a breath of fresh air.
A perfect pick for McCain.
Definitely not a presidential possibility.
Our standby president.
Very refreshing.
Hard worker.
Limited Background.
Fighter.
A backbone.
Too much big oil.
A very surprise choice.
I'm at a loss for words. Polar bears that's all I'm going to say.
Totally unknown.
I think she's a real person.
Huge mistake.
Danger.
Good looking.
Someone I would need to look up and learn about.
An unknown.
Down to earth and a hard worker it appears.
Who's got a positive reaction to Sarah Palin, raise your hands?
(8 people raised their hands.)
Whose got a negative reaction to her?
3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11. Ok so more people have a negative reaction. About 2-1.
How many of you are more likely going to choose John McCain because he chose her? Raise your hands.
(3 people raised their hands.)
How many are less likely?
3.4.5.6. Ok Clearly.
How many of you, if I pushed you would be leaning to John McCain, but because he chose her your really not sure?
(4 people raised their hands.)
Who might actually vote for Obama because of that choice?
(At least 2 maybe three. I can't tell.)
It's that bad to you. Did you vote for Bush in the past?
Guy #1: no
But you're looking at McCain now.
Guy #1: yes
What made that choice so bad for you?
Guy #1: John McCain is 72 years old, he will be 76 at the end of his first term. If something happened to him, would I want this women in the white house, in a cold war with the Russians. I don't think so.
BACKGROUND VOICES: She's not ready for the call
At 3 Am?
But you were leaning towards McCain before?
Guy #1:yes
But you were leaning to McCain before?
Guy #2: Yeah I echo right there.
Tell me why.
Guy #2: She's a heartbeat away from the presidency and she has probably great experience in Alaska but I think her international and even national experience is about as low as it's going to go. And I understand what McCain was trying to do by getting a woman as a running mate, which I think is fantastic but I think he missed the boat.
Might it cost you your support for McCain?
Guy # 2: Yeah it sure has made me move the scale around.
Who else agrees that you were headed to McCain but now you are really uncertain. What about the pick?
Woman #1:Well.. Um.. She seems way too far right for me. I think of McCain more moderate and she seems, I don't know, I haven't heard her say the things I'm haearing about her. Like I said she seems to have a backbone, but like I said, but it seems to be an extreme right backbone.
Oh. So a backbone is not necessary a positive thing. Interesting.
Tell me you were leaning towards McCain and now the pick has bothered you. Why?
Woman #2: Raising five children in the White House, if need be.
What's wrong with that?
Woman #2: She's a mother then not a president.
Wow. (everyone laughs) I don't know how to react. I need to for the women in here. She's a mom of five kids, and one of those children have down syndrome. What's your reaction to that?
Woman #3: If there's anything else that is in her backround that is postive to me, it is that she's a mom. It means that she gets it. She knows what's going on with her kids. I think her husband can easily stand in, just as it would be if its the opposite, and with five young kids in the white house. That means nothing to me.
Comment?
Women #4:I agree with her.
Why?
Woman #4: Because they had to achieve some balance with her involvements and activities up untill now. She's been very active and involved person.
Pauline?
She's proved her self up untill this point that she's able to juggle schedules, with all she's done. And I think she will continue to.
Speaking of a mom of five kids positive or negative to you?
Paulette: Positive. Able to juggle.
Unknown woman:
Negative. Your heart is with your children and not your country many times. You are going to do all you can to protect your children as opposed to be overly conserned about what's going on in the nation.
GRUMBLES OF DISSENT
Did John McCain make the right choice?
Women #5: All I can say is that I like her.
You do. You do.
Woman #5: Yeah.
Woman #5: What exactly do you like?
She's just got a lot of energy and I'm ver impressed with her.
Ok. One more.
Women #5: Ok. What I've seen I like her as a person but her lack of experience. You can't vote for someone because you like them as a person. You have to look at what they can do for their position and I just feel that she does not bring what we need for the vice president. And she doesn't have the experience. We need that. We need someone in there who has more influence, more experience, and maybe has met more people. She's really limited in Alaska.
So, why a lot of you are crying that we shouldn't be focusing on Palin's experience, I don't know. I decree that we should. As you can see, Sarah's lack of experience is worrying many voters. There was an excellent diary written today by SanteFeMarie, about how to combat the excuse the GOP uses about Palin has more executive experience then Obama. We need to start pushing the fact that she has only been a governor for two years, that she was a mayor of the small town Wasilla. We need to push that she was involved with the AIG party. We need to point to the fact that the car wash she owned was shut down by the state. We need to tell the average voter that how can we trust a vice president to help run the national budget if their business fails? We need to cry out that she has NO FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE. (And no her involvement with the national guard is not experience. Either is, Alaska being next to Russia.) We need to push the quote that she does not know what the vice president does.
All of this we need to do and also tie her to McCain's judgment.
She failed her business. So how can she fix the economy? John McCain picked her. What does that say about McCain's judgment?
She has no foreign policy experience? John McCain picked her. What does that say about McCain's judgment?
She barely was vetted? John McCain picked her. What does that say about McCain's judgment?
Over and over, we need to repeat, What does that say about McCain's judgment?
While talking about Sarah, we also need to connect John McCain with the same phrase (What does that say about McCain's judgment?), to the policies of the bush administration.
John McCain voted 90% with George Bush. What does that say about McCain's judgment?
He did this.. What does that say about McCain's judgment?
That way the whole campaign strategy will be about John McCain and NOT Sarah Palin. That way, we can use her many gaffes to destroy McCain but not in the way most people want to (i.e. go after Sarah). Because while Sarah is being covered continuously by the media, where is John McCain? We need to make this election about John McCain, his judgment, and not Sarah Palin. Then we will surely succeed.