Will Palin get helped by the opposition attacks?

posted at 10:15 am on September 2, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Sarah Palin has had a wild ride since becoming John McCain’s running mate.  Having governed in Alaska, the Palins haven’t experienced the national spotlight, and the opposition attacks must seem daunting — and in some cases, insane.  But rather than making Americans uncomfortable with Sarah Palin, Charles Mahtesian at Politico believes it might allow Americans to identify more closely with Palin than any of the other candidates:

Fishing permit violations. A blue-collar husband who racked up a DUI citation as a 22-year-old. An unmarried teenage daughter who is pregnant and a nasty child custody battle involving a family member.

All of this, to one degree or another, has surfaced in recent days as a result of efforts to discredit or undermine Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But these revelations may have the opposite effect: In one sense, they could reinforce how remarkably unremarkable she is.

So far — and it is hard to tell what the future may hold for Palin’s unexpected national candidacy — the travails of the Palin family probably seem awfully familiar to many average Americans. It is this averageness that makes her such a politically promising running mate for John McCain — and such a dangerous opponent for Democrats. Many voters will find it easy to identify with her family’s struggles — a significant advantage in an election where the voting calculus is so unusually and intensely personal.

Color me skeptical on this point.  Last night, The Nation’s John Nichols and I discussed this on BBC Radio, and we both agreed that most of these issues will fade, whether or not one gets repulsed or inspired by them now.  None of them really have anything to do with Palin’s ability to govern, and she’s already established that in Alaska with a highly popular first two years as chief executive of the state.

People relate to Palin with or without these non-issues.  Who can’t relate to a “hockey mom” who went to a state university and worked her way up from the bottom of the political structure, while balancing family needs?  Most people know at least a few women just like her; most people have at least one Sarah Palin in their family.  In contrast, not too many have a POW war hero or a Harvard Law School graduate in their circle of acquaintance.

As Mahtesian says, that’s what makes attacks on Palin so dangerous for the Obama campaign.  Attack a Senator, and people shrug.  Attack a hockey mom, and people recoil from the familiarity of it.

So what should the Obama campaign do?  They may do best to just ignore her.  People don’t usually vote for running mates anyway.  George H. W. Bush won election even after Dan Quayle cratered in his debate with Lloyd Bentson and turned into a big liability on the campaign trail.  Quayle turned into a better VP than most would admit, but during the campaign he did nothing at all to help Bush 41, and he won anyway.  Regardless of who the running-mate is, voters eventually focus on the top of the tickets when making their choice.  Attacks on Palin will gain them nothing, and could cost them significant goodwill among the middle-class voters they need to woo.

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