[Image by triciaward licensed under Creative Commons.]
Clearly McCain sees his only route to victory in grabbing a hold of Hillary Clinton’s supporters. I don’t think this move gets him these supporters. She’s pro-life and very conservative. Unless Hillary’s supporters want a woman vice president more than every other issue, then Palin won’t win them over.
But this move does enhance the McCain brand in a way that the rest of his campaign has not. It makes him seem the forward-thinking maverick while solidifying the Republican base that was never comfortable with him. She can launch attacks against Obama and Biden and watch them try to figure out how to go after a woman without being accused of misogyny again.
It’s a shrewd move.
Her two major positions are:
- Attempting to force drilling at the Artic National Wildlife Reguge;
- Being anti-abortion (I refuse to call anyone for the death penalty and against abortion, pro-life).
Her personal story involves her choosing to have and raise a child with Down’s syndrome.
McCain will make the case that Obama is weak on national security; Palin will make the case that we need to drill and then drill more. And then she will make the appeal to Christians that McCain feels uncomfortable talking to.
And she’s a former Miss Alaska. And America’s hottest governor.
