So I've been trying to come up with a proper metaphor for the growing Palin disaster. It's easy to call it a trainwreck, but that just doesn't fit. Trainwrecks are sudden, immediately disastrous, and impossible to ignore. The McCain campaign's Palin problem is more of a bubbling, growing disaster, one that the campaign is desperately trying to contain.
That's when it hit me. This whole debacle reminds me of a bad sitcom.
You know the episode structure already. The kids or bumbling husband try to do something completely out of their league and cause some kind of growing problem that quickly gets out of their control. So they try to fix it but keep making it worse. Then the parents/wife come home and the kids/husband not only have to fix the problem and clean up the mess, but now are attempting to keep it from being discovered.
So while Ms. Media was out Mr. McCain realized the sink was clogged. Rather than call up a plumber he decided to fix it himself, using a Palin Wrench. Inevitably, he snaps off the wrong valve and water begins spraying wildly into the kitchen. Typical McCain! Now would definitely be a good time to call the plumber, but that would just be admitting his mistake. So he spends the next couple hours desperately trying to fix the sink as water continues pouring out. What's this? Five o' clock already? Ms. Media will be home any second! There's water everywhere! Grab the mop and buckets! Soon enough Media's car pulls into the driveway and the water is up around McCain's ankles.
"Honey? Are you home?"
"Yes! I'm fine!"
"What? Is something wrong? What's that noise?"
"Nothing! I'm just, uh, making a surprise dinner. Don't come in!"
Unfortunately for McCain, water covers the kitchen floor and is starting to seep under the door into the living room. It's only a matter of time before Media notices and barges into the kitchen to catch McCain, soaked to the bone, hurriedly wrapping duct tape around the valve. Cue the laugh track.
We're almost at that point now, I believe. We had our first hints during the Gibson interview, the equivalent of Ms. Media calling home and hearing water rushing in the background. Mr. McCain called up his buddy Hannity to come over and help, but he only made things worse. The abysmal Couric tapes are the tell-tale water under the door that indicate all internal attempts to solve the problem have failed. The Palin/Biden debate is the big reveal, and McCain is trying in vain to keep Media out of the kitchen.