Now they tell us: GOP pols, pollsters grumbling about McCain’s misuse of Palin
posted at 3:40 pm on December 23, 2008 by Allahpundit
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For the second time this week, I’m forced to begin a post about McCain with that line from “The Wedding Singer”: This information really would’ve been more useful to us yesterday.
The occasion is this passage from Sarahcuda’s “conservative of the year” interview with Human Events:
Now I have all the faith in the world in Sen. McCain and his family. But some of the folks around him I did not know, and so it was a kind of a risky thing for me to put my faith in the decisions they were making on my behalf.
As an administrator, as a chief executive of a state, I am not used to that. I am used to proving my abilities by calling the shots. Then I know the buck stops with me. I made the decisions, and I’m responsible. When others are making decisions for me, as they were in the campaign, and I am the one to live with the fallout from the decisions that were made on my behalf, that is something I am not very comfortable with…
But my reliance on seeking God’s direction in all that I do — that is good enough for me. And others who have a different worldview and different strategy on messaging and such, I would like to have the opportunity to prove to them that my gut instincts were going to be quite adequate.
And right on cue, via U.S. News & World Report, the pile-on begins:
Now I’m hearing from key Republicans on Capitol Hill and GOP pollsters who believe that the McCain campaign should have put her out to talk about energy and political independence—her two best issues—instead of making her the conservative attack dog.
Said one pollster: “The McCain campaign took this person and completely botched her assets.” What’s more, the pollster said that in Palin, the McCain campaign had an expert on one of the key issues that was on the minds of Americans: energy prices. “They should have used her knowledge and focus on her expertise.” And the pollster said on background that the campaign should have played up her reputation as a political maverick.
They did emphasize the maverick stuff — it became an element of Fey’s character on SNL — but between her having to play the bad guy by beating up Obama and being painted by the media as a religious nut, it ended up submerged in a narrative of Palin as rabid party apparatchik. As for energy, she talked about that too (most memorably at the debate with “drill, baby, drill”) but I agree that it was never as prominent as it should have been. I remember writing the day she was picked that oil would be “her issue” on the trail and then the next day that she’d be the point man on energy policy. It never really felt that way. Palinmania was about biography and charisma; maybe it would have been different if they had her giving speeches on oil right out of the chute to impress the public with her experience, but between the Couric interview and the fact that energy had faded as a key issue by the time the financial crisis hit (if not earlier), I doubt it would have made a difference in the election — although it might have made a difference in her credibility with independents now.
Exit question: Why the anonymous sources on this one? If you’re going to dump on McCain and praise the party’s new star, you might as well get full credit.
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you lost whatever minuscule street cred you had with that..
DaveC on December 23, 2008 at 8:20 PM
Might as well take out Los Angeles, it’s a third world country AND Hollywood, PLEASE take out Hollywood.
Man, this is fun. I’ll bring my pitchfork and some popcorn.
HornetSting on December 23, 2008 at 8:23 PM
may as well be rapping this in Harlem:
DaveC on December 23, 2008 at 8:24 PM
Sorry.. I think I double posted.. the first one didn’t go through right away.. :)
DaveC on December 23, 2008 at 8:25 PM
The New York Yankees > Governor Palin
Phil Hughes = Governor Palin
An Era of Hate on December 23, 2008 at 8:26 PM
I think she might be planning this as we speak. See here, here, and here.
I think that last one was taken in a location in the Mojave Desert. She’s clearly on the march. Look for the royal blue banner with the Great North Star.
Soon Sarah
ConnorPalin will have to confront the Governator.ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 8:30 PM
Have you come up with a name for this new nation, Jim?
Red State State of Mind on December 23, 2008 at 8:43 PM
I’m commanding the Hollywood “Friend of Ronnie” militia. We’re establishing forwarding positions at Hollywood and Highland. HQ is the Griffith Park Observatory.
We’re calling this “Operation Bedtime for the Bozoes”.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 8:43 PM
Have you heard of the Cascadia movement?
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 8:49 PM
start with Camden NJ first
joey24007 on December 23, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Thanks for the link; I had not heard of it. I doubt I’d want to move to a ocuntry that included Oregon and Washington, based on what appear to be some oddly leftie leanings…. I live in Maryland and get my fill of that stuff here. Now, joining together Alaska, Yukon, the northern Provinces of Canada and British Columbia (maybe everything west of Ontario?) would be interesting…
Red State State of Mind on December 23, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Palin was the point person on energy, not just for our transportation needs. She had a message about energy independence that related to our national security and our ability to generate multiple, meaningful, good=paying jobs.
She conveyed that message at her campaign stops. The media never allowed her voice on those issues to come through, focusing instead on superficial stories that made her seem like a lightweight.
Palin also is an advocate for small businesses and a tax structure that encourages the creation of jobs through that venue.
McCain’s campaign people and the media snuffed a very positive candidate whose optimism and can-do results would have energized the nation in more ways than one.
She is a political figure to be reckoned with. She has a great future, for she is fearless in identifying corruption and BS, all with a sunny smile.
onlineanalyst on December 23, 2008 at 9:01 PM
You’re right. One of the things that was so annoying is that the RNC clothes story drowned out the news cycle on the days that she delivered serious policy speeches on energy, women’s issues, and children with special needs.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 9:12 PM
You got it. The movement seems to be motivated by leftwing loons. But I recall once reading something about a group of high tech venture cap types messing around with the idea.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Anybody know WTF happened to Ryandan? He seems to have freeked out.
Truth is:
1) Palin brought more women to the ticket than men for McCain, but only about 12% of Hillaryites.
2) Where McCain got hammered was in the male vote after the economic/mortgage meltdown.
3) McCain was behind but pulled even after he picked Palin and the RNC bounce settled down.
4) Palin got a ton of GOP voters to show up and contribute that were going to skip the election assuming McCain was a goner no matter which white dude he picked.
5) The Undecideds were overwhelming going to McCain the last two days as nervousness set in about Obama.
Without Palin, McCain would have lost by 9-10% at least in popular vote and would have also lost Montana and Missoursi FOR SURE and probably two more states.
McCain took the gamble he had to take with Sarah, who normally would not be brought up that early on a national level. Also, for you people that thought Romney would have been a better pick, you’re wrong. At the time he had to pick, the mortgage meltdown had not hit and so economy was not the big issue it was. Once it was, he was finished because of erratic leadership and not knowing economics.
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:19 PM
The fine people of my state have experience in setting up their own independent territory.
meltenn on December 23, 2008 at 9:21 PM
Once Sarah gets to campaign for Americans on her own campaign, she will be a force to reckon with. You can bet Jindal, Sanford and Romney are all spending time on how to beat her.
Also, Sarah is NOT a negative person. She is very upbeat and runs positive not neg. on opponents as much.
Her inherent niceness will rise over the next 4 years. Whether she throws her hat in the ring for 2012 is still a question as it is for others.
Also, if Sarah runs a very clean and upbeat campaign with a moderate to conservative platform and still loses against Obama, she still will have helped the GOP by presenting a good image and helped to open the party up even more and rebuild its future. It would be a very repectable campaign. I think in some repects Sarah was a little uncomfortable being the attack dog. That will change if she is running on the top of the ticket.
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:27 PM
Let GOPTrust.com drag O-man through the mud. Sarah will simply ask:
“Are you better off now compared to 4 years ago?”
We may not be out of the economic doldrums by 2012, and anybody who has seen the terrain of Afghanistan knows it will be meatgrinder.
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:29 PM
I’m thinking something along these lines
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/174-the-nine-nations-of-north-america/
could be appealing; joining western and central Canada with the American mountain states and the Breadbasket, maybe including Dixie. I realize I am going a little OT !
Red State State of Mind on December 23, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Hey, wouldn’t it be the coolest RTS (real-time simulation) type computer game based on a split in the USA where a red state secedes and then others join up? You could even have foreign countries get involved as the new secessionists fight the unionists. That would be such a great game plot.
Then the RedStaters could adapt new technology from Area 51 to fight off the Unionist general Petraeus. There could even be an Alaska scenario where it secedes and Sarah becomes the war-lord and cuts a treaty with the Russians who ship them some nuclear weapons to defend against the Unionists.
There could be a Ron Paul Brigade too who meets at the Alamo.
Man, I’d play this game 8 hours a day. Too fun.
Then, the artillery students at base in Ft. Sill, OK mutiny and move the guns to the front to help the Texans.
The possibilities are endless. I gotta work for one of these game companies. I’m in the wrong field.
:(
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:41 PM
And that was even before 1861! Dang, you guys were Good Ole Rebels from the get go.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 9:42 PM
I’m driving through that area to be at the March for Life in January. I’m hanging with the Team Sarah ladies.
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Wild map! I guess I would be in the capital of Meximerica. Would New York City be in New England or The Foundry?
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 9:48 PM
McCain did mislead Palin. He didn’t tell her he was throwing the Presidency. Then they made her say what they wanted her to say. I am glad that Sarah is not floating away. I love her, and I joined Team Sarah! She rocks! And we need her to go to bat for us. She will do it too!
sheebe on December 23, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Where can I play that game?! If it doesn’t yet exist, we must make it.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 9:50 PM
You got it. Screw North Carolina! Stupid Tar Heels. (It’s a joke. Don’t throw things at me if you’re from North Carolina.) We just like to be difficult in my part of the state. We voted against secession, but the votes from the middle and western parts of the state won out and we seceded. When the Union army took Knoxville they were greeted as heroes. That’s probably enough Tennessee history for one day.
meltenn on December 23, 2008 at 9:53 PM
Dems fitin words. :(
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Cool. Give a wave when you head up I-81. All this secession talk’s going to get AP some hits from the FBI.
meltenn on December 23, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Awesome. I think the fact that pro-lifers are willing to go to Washington during the coldest and most dismal time of year every year shows how dedicated we are. I was at the March for Life in 1993 right after the first Clinton inaugural. In fact, that was my first visit to DC — young kid that I was. We had the rally in front of the White House instead of on the steps of the Supreme Court building because we had a new pro-abortion president that year. I remember Pat Buchanan gave an address and said that he hoped that some small bit of Catholic social teachings might have someone effected his fellow Georgetown University alum Bill Clinton.
I wonder if they’ll meet up in front of the White House this year? I assume so. Be prepared to see the capital at its worst because they won’t have had time to really clean up from the inaugural celebrations.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Rebels among rebels. I love it.
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Tom Kratman wrote a good book about red state secession (starting, of course, in Texas) called A State of Disobedience.
Jim62sch on December 23, 2008 at 10:10 PM
He needs to graduate from middle school first.
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 10:12 PM
I think NYC and Long Island both end up on the eastern edge of the Foundry. Traditional New England is it’s own nation.
Do you think it was geography? Like in western Virginia (now West Va) where there was no plantation culture, citizens didn’t support the rich plantation owning, slave owning aristocratic types that yielded so much power?
Red State State of Mind on December 23, 2008 at 10:17 PM
LOL @ “The Empty Quarter”.
ddrintn on December 23, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Yeah, it was pretty much the same deal here. I’d be hard pressed to come up with a farm here that was big enough to have had slaves (there may have been one or two); 200 to 250 acres was and still is a big farm for this area. My family owned a prosperous farm, and fought for the Union.
meltenn on December 23, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Hey Jim, looks like a winner. Just bought it on Amazon. Thanks for the tip.
It’s in the Sapwolf queue:
Rome Sweet Home
The Screwtape Letters
A State of Disobedience
Lepanto
Sapwolf on December 23, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Palin is more like the greatest pitcher in the history of the world and beyond, Sandy Koufax
lets just make her career last longer than his
joey24007 on December 23, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Did they fight at Shiloh?
ramrocks on December 23, 2008 at 10:30 PM
No sweat – it’s interesting, the rebellion in the book is led by a charismatic female governor. The author apparently assumed that Hillary would be President after Bush…a lot of recent sci-fi was like that. John Birmingham’s Axis of Time series even had a future aircraft carrier called the USS Hillary Clinton.
Jim62sch on December 23, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Ah, but you know who settled Texas don’t you? Tennesseans. Davey Crockett, Sam Houston. I can always tell when I meet someone from Texas because we sound the same.
I’m not sure. I would say it’s probable since the regiment they served in fought at Shiloh and they had enlisted in it several months before. But, as far as I know, there are no records stating for sure that they were there. One of them was killed in the Battle of Nashville, and I think one of them died in Andersonville. I’ll have to ask my cousin, he’s the one that’s done all the family history (he used to be the head of the history department at Vanderbilt).
meltenn on December 23, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Phil Hughes might become something special some day…. You never know….
An Era of Hate on December 23, 2008 at 10:59 PM
You’ve never been to B.C., I see.
benny shakar on December 23, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Showing regret for McCain being the weakest of possible candidates now is a bit late isn’t it?
I just hope Sarah Palin and Joe Werzelbacher heal up from the saddle sores from John McCain riding them to any success McCain had.
The GOP and RNC need to get a clue, stop trying to ram RINOs down our throats!
It’s funny, I don’t know a single person who voted for McCain in the primaries and I have talked to THOUSANDS of people since the primaries started almost a year ago.
nelsonknows on December 24, 2008 at 12:19 AM
I used to play Strat-O-Matic Baseball, the computer version. Teixeira-Sabathia-Burnett for the Yanks is about the payroll of the entire Oakland A’s last year. LOL.
Sapwolf on December 24, 2008 at 12:24 AM
Not to mention a multinational U.N. task force that was actually effective against Islamic terrorism! But hey, that’s why it’s called science fiction.
Jim Treacher on December 24, 2008 at 2:38 AM
Ah, but you know who settled Texas don’t you? Tennesseans.
ramrocks
How bad did they have to be to get kicked out of Tennessee?
Just kidding. Love you guys (in a manly way).
Sorry the game this week with my Colts and your Titans is a throwaway for both teams. It could have been a thing of beauty. May watch it anyway (if it’s on locally) to see if Peyton plays one quarter.
SKYFOX on December 24, 2008 at 5:31 AM
Actually I am a conservative. One who is tired of watching the RNC pick the Republican nominee and the Republican Party ends up nominating some dufus that is NOT a conservative! George W Bush included! And after the nomination is over Hannity and Laura and the rest along with all the conservative posting threads go into overdrive telling everyone what a great candidate this new nominee is! Then he get’s his a$$ kicked and now they all tell us what a louse he was!
It is time that Republicans decide to either nominate a true conservative or shut the hell up! And it is time for bloggers to do the same! And it is time for radio personalities to grow a pair, man up and start actually being conservatives rather than talking points for the RNC.
I have been a conservative for 30 years, thank you…
sabbott on December 24, 2008 at 7:24 AM
I often wondered why she wasn’t giving a “featured speech” on Energy Independence, since she was the only One on either ticket that really knew anything about it.
BiasedGirl on December 24, 2008 at 8:42 AM
McCain’s who you run for president when the party’s broken up and most of the people have gone home. It’s not surprising when a poor choice culminates in a poor result. This isn’t 20-20 hindsite for many of us.
Ernest on December 24, 2008 at 8:52 AM
She’s still my gal.
ex-Democrat on December 24, 2008 at 9:39 AM
The Liberals are still bashing Palin but they have gone back to McCain isn’t So BAD for a Republican narrative…you can tell a lot about a person by taking a look at their enemies.
My in laws are both Conservative Republicans, they have photos from when Sarah came to Colorado during the campaign, there were sections set up for Vets..anyway neither cared for McCain (Father in law, Vietnam Vet, and Mother in law, volunteered to rehabilitate Vietnamese Children, during Vietnam War “Physical Therapy”) So John McCain being a Vietnam Vet, didn’t go that far with them, and they were there. But they would vote for him before someone else out of the “Corrupt Political Chicago Machine” I think Republicans were paying closer attention then Liberals during the last election. BUT I believe people who voted for Obama did so out of Emotion, and it wouldn’t have changed anything if the Liberal Democrat Voters were more informed.
Dr Evil on December 24, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Well, this is the season when wishes come true, so I hope you get your Christmas wish. I’m certainly looking forward to hearing more of her story, because she’s a fine Governor, a fine person, a crusader for the all the people, and not afraid to confront the status quo. I’m also looking forward to seeing Obama finally face some serious interviews where he can explain his connections to Blago and other Chicagoland Daley machine gangsters that your buds are desperate to keep quiet. Should be a very interesting New Year all around.
littleguy on December 24, 2008 at 12:22 PM
No you don’t. Far from it. You want the caricature in the limelight. Ain’t gonna happen that way.
ddrintn on December 24, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Tonight I have been watching the DVD version of the miniseries North and South (1985). To make a long story short it is about two friends, one from the North and one from the South who become involved in each other’s lives before the Civil War. At the brink of war the Southerner visits his friend up north to see him for one last time. Forced to flee by a bloodthirsty mob, the men end up at a train station waiting for a Northern troop and munitions train that will take the Southerner, traveling incognito, to Washington, from where he can eventually head down south to join the Confederacy. Just before the train arrives the men have a candid converation about the coming war, which ends with a poignant idea and applies to our current situation with Obama. The Northerner is George Hazard and the Southerner is Orry Main.
George: “I don’t know…I think we had our chance somewhere along the line and we missed it…”
Sarah was our chance to save the country and I think we missed it and threw it away.
technopeasant on December 25, 2008 at 4:37 AM
To celebrate the 12 days of Christmas here are 12 ideas (some that apply to Sarah and some that don’t) that have been on my mind for a while regarding the world as we know it in 2008 and where we have come from to get to this point:
2)there is a ‘open conspiracy’ afoot to marginalize the Caucasian (white person)through the concept of white guilt; I know the counterargument is that white people still make up the greater majority of the electorate but the marginalization is taking place in thought not skin color, of convincing white people that ‘white’ ideas were and are counterproductive,pernicious,and anti-intellectual to the needs of growing minorities and thus must be eliminated from the education curricula, banished from the podiums of intellectual discourse, shamed into disuse amongst the people and families of America, and legislated against by self-serving legislators whose main goal in proposing or supporting legislation is to pander to the growing minorities; you ask what are these ‘white’ ideas they want to see sent to Davy Jones’ locker: capitalism and free enterprise, personal responsibility that allows one to have the freedom to succeed as well to fail, sound banking practices of only providing loans to people that provide collateral or prove that they can repay the loan, debunking the Supremacy of Christianity in America that fosters ‘traditional white thinking’, implying that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the other Amendments are ‘tainted’ or ‘immoral’ documents and no longer relevant because the signatories were white slaveowners or prominent white people who did not end slavery, and basically claiming all the ills of the world including global warming, poverty, and global conflicts are ‘white-induced’ and it is time that the thoughts of the people of color take over ruling the world; again this does not mean that the people of color want to see white people exterminated; what it means that they want to see to it that white people ‘convert’ to a different way of thinking about the world.They are fully aware of Atlas Shrugged. The people of color do not want the white people of creativity, innovation and proficiency to go on strike. Instead they need their complete cooperation and full support.
4)As I have alluded to if you are a traditional Christian in America in the 21st c you will be severely under attack and under siege and be treated like ‘aliens’ or lepers in your own country; but if you are like the socially-conscious Rick Warren or an ‘environmentally-conscious religious type’ who embraces the concept of global warming or is a proponent of anti-offshore-oil drilling legislation then you are living examples of the ‘inclusiveness’ that Obama wants to promote; Obama and his merry men and women will consistently strive to chip away at your beliefs and your ability to thrive; they may not want to destroy traditional Christians as individuals but as a group they mean to take them out of the political equation and of course the total destruction of Sarah Palin is number one on the list of priorities (again marginalize Christianity as outmoded white thinking)
technopeasant on December 25, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Until Obama is defeated I have dedicated my life to assessing everything I see or learn in terms of Obama and his merry men and women. I am about to watch the movie Casablanca (1942) on Turner Classic Movies (TCM); in the beginning of the movie, scenes depict WWII refugees and emigres stranded in Casablanca who strongly desire to escape to Lisbon, from where they can take a plane to the United States to be free. Let me ask you folks: do you think they were flying to the United States as envisioned by the Founding Fathers, Washington, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt or to an America of high-toned socialist morality as envisioned by Obama, Saul Alinsky or Bill Ayres?
technopeasant on December 25, 2008 at 8:06 PM
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