Oh Sarah, we hardly know you....or do we.

So Senator McCain chose the Alaska Governor to be his vice-presidential pick. Sarah Palen, a young exciting conservative who spent some of her tenure fighting the corrupt party in Alaska. It is amazing to me just how little she is known, seemingly even by Senator McCain. But she is a darling of the right-wing, pro-gun, pro-life, pro-death penalty (yes I get the irony), Pro-drilling, anti-polar bear, and yet some people think she was picked to woo the Hillary democrats. That is a insulting move. It suggests women are going to vote for anyone of their gender despite being the opposite with them on issues is silly at best but clearly a slap in their face. But I think the pick was even more sinister. I think that a woman on the ticket gives McCain the ability to call the Democrats misogynistic if they attack Palen, even for cause. That is how to get at the women who supported Hillary. They will say that they dissed Hillary and now dissing another woman. So in some ways poor Sarah is a woman being used not for her skills or for her political prowess but for bait to the left. McCain simply needed a woman, her conservative bona fides are just icing. Isn't their a word for a woman who is used in this way?

Obama/Biden '08

Why do I think Senator Obama made the right choice in Senator Biden for the Vice-Presidential pick? Well, while the critics think a Washington insider like Biden shows a sense of terror on the part of the capaign it makes perfect sense to get an older established, highly partian, Dem to act as the Obama attack dog. Biden can certainly do that. Beyond that he is a smart, somewhat articulate voice with a huge amount of foreign policy experience and a real understanding of the bigger parts of the Washington game. One can not change something one doesn't understand the rules to, so Biden adds to Obama in a way that Dick Cheney added to the current President. Back 8 years ago, when the GOP decided they wanted someone with a name and someone who could be cast as the anti-Clinton, GWB was the popular choice. The son of a pure Washington insider, he was seen as the maverick who went into the family business but did it in a way that created more of a rouge approach. He was clean, Christian and wanted to be a compassionate conservative (too bad the wheels came off that notion). Dick Cheney was the guy who could be demonized but added the foreign policy experience, the Washington connections, and gave pause to those in the GOP and independents who saw Bush as the frat boy who was next in line. Cheney was able to create a ticket that had the best of both worlds. I think Biden does that in the same way.

Democrats are going to vote, for the most part of Senator Obama, Republicans are for the most part going to vote for Senator McCain. There is about 10-15% of the population that waivers week-to-week about who they will vote for. Biden was chosen for them. I see a 5 point bounce coming in the daily tracking polls and a 10 point bump by Thursday night. (of course that will be erased quickly by the rise of the GOP convention and the attacks on Obama/Biden) But I think there will be some to look closer at this team. 70ish days to go. I can't wait.

The Saddleback Event

I was surprised that Senator Obama chose to enter into the psuedo-debate that was the Saddleback conversations with Pastor Rick Warren. Someone suggested that it would be a great way to show people he is not a Muslim. What is amazing to me is that anyone thinks he's a Muslim. Could it be because the crazy right-wing keeps questioning that? I think if someone knowingly perpetuates that he or she should be investigated for voter fraud.

As for the forum, it was pure silliness. Sen. McCain didn't come across as genuine, he sounded like a bumper sticker machine. It is easy to make such declarative statements but that is not how one governs. Sadly most Americans don't get that.

Senator Obama should take some of Senator McCain's answers to the first debate.

I could just hear him:

"Senator McCain, it is believed that Osama Bin Laden is in Northern Pakistan, not quite the gates of hell. Tell us all how you will be going there to get him."

"John, if human rights begin at conception, what do you tell a young girl who is pregnant by her father when she doesn't want to carry the baby to term. Why should she have to give up her human rights for the rights of the fetus?"

"Should there be an investigation into every miscarriage to make sure that the mom did everything right to protect the human rights of her child?"

"Sir, you spout a lot about morality and the failure of your first marriage. Tell us how soon after meeting Cindie did you start sleeping together? Were you married? Do you think that you are a good role model for our youth?"

Those who want to be bumper sticker politicians should be forced to answer real questions. But according to many Sen. Obama lost because of nuance and details. So sad when our society is all about nuance and compromise.