sarah palin fan club

I've been thinking about starting a Sarah Palin fan club. Face it, Sarah is a star. Even those who don't like her have to admit that the Veep candidate has star power. Real star power. Her performance on SNL was a smash hit. Her rallies attract as much, if not more enthusiasm than the famous professor Obama. Never mind the dull Biden, or our hero McCain. They all pale in contrast to pale-in.

I think some people don't like Sarah because they are afraid of her success. But take a look at main street. How many politicians have a hairdo and glasses that have become a fashion in its own right? And how many have her lively personality? Sarah is a champion of the right without having to be Ann Coulterish. She is warm and charming. Well-liked. Not spewing venom -or if she is, she does it in such a nice way you don't even feel it.

No, I don't agree with everything Sarah Palin says. Actually I disagree with almost everything she promotes or believes in. But boy, what a trip she is. We haven't had this much fun in politics since.., well since.. I don't know when (maybe Arnold?)

culture war

The WSJ has a piece today on what it calls "Culture War" in the 2008 presidential campaigns. Similar pieces have appeared in the Journal and other media throughout the week. The Journal has had more, given its solidly pro-Republican stance, but even so-called liberal media have dealt with this issue. The issue is Sarah Palin and what she represents and why she exposes Obama's weak spot. A weakness so great, it may cost him the election. 

As soon as the McCain camp announced Palin as their running mate and I was able to see her picture and read a bit about her background, I knew there was trouble. BIG TIME trouble for the Democratic ticket. I said so to many of my friends but they shrugged it off. They pointed out she had no experience, she was a redneck, she was against abortion and gay rights, etc. etc. An endless list, that like much of the official Obama response entirely misses the point. Not only is it irrelevant but every time a critic points out one of Sarah's perceived flaws, it only strengthens the McCain-Palin ticket. Sarah's weaknesses are her strength! 

Putting Sarah in the hot seat and making her sweat can only turn thousands of voters to her rescue. The analogy to Hillary shedding tears in the primaries is stunning. Only -as I pointed out before- Sarah is much better at this than Hillary. It comes natural to her.

In Thursday's editorial Lynn Forester de Rothschild, who admitted being a Democrat, said Democrats need to shake their "elitist" tag. And for those who do not understand what that means and point out how Barack grew up in a poor family, she goes on to explain that "elitism is a state of mind, a view of the world that cannot be simply measured by one's net worth." That same day, he-who-cannot-be named in Democratic circles also made similar points in his editorial "Obama Can't Win Against Palin."

If Obama wants to win he will need to do all the following (and maybe more):

-Stop attacking Sarah Palin. Many have pointed out that he is running for President while she is not. Stepping down to her level or elevating her to his level is asking for defeat.

-Have his party stop attacking Palin. This is less obvious and many believe Obama should focus on McCain and let the others attack Palin. However attacking Palin, esp. the way it is done now, only makes her and the McCain ticket stronger.

If the Democrats want to attack Palin they should change their strategy. But I recommend they lay off. Palin is weakest when ignored.

-Obama must give answers and not just point out what is wrong with the country. He must stand for something, something other than "Change." I am sorry to say, Mr. Obama, but change is now associated with Palin. She represents change in way that no words can undo.

-Obama needs to explain what he wants to do in simple terms. Not just tie McCain to Bush, because it is obvious now that he will be different. Provide solutions, simple solutions, like cut taxes. Not cut taxes for so and so and raise them for someone else. That just doesn't fly as a slogan. If he wants to raise taxes on the rich, he should do so later when he is in office. 

-Obama and the Democrats need to understand that an election is like a sale. You don't need to expose your weaknesses and not everything you say has to be complete and true. It doesn't matter if the media "exposes" you. Just do what W. did and keep repeating the same mantra, even if everyone says it is false. Repeating a simple and appealing message with direct connection to the voter is key.

You need to highlight important points in a SIMPLE manner and coin phrases that stick in people's minds and evoke favorable images. You need to promise people what they want even if it cannot be done, or is physically impossible to do so. Remember the calorie-free energy drinks?

-Make sure the solutions are simple and do not contain three-syllable words. Make sure they do not have a number of alternatives or exceptions and special cases, and other confusing stuff.

-Stick to speeches in large venues, where Obama is great and refrain from doing too many interviews. When doing interviews, make short statements in sound bites, that use simple words instead of droning on an on like he usually does.

-Understand the difference between a speech and a conversation. Don't talk down to people. Don't be the smart-ass senator who has all the answers and will tell you what is good for you.

-Mingle with the common folk and be seen, filmed and photographed in that capacity.

-Change his dress from smart-Harvard lawyer, to a more Palin-like can-do, roll up your sleeves style.

My 2c.

obama's change

I wonder if the democrats realize what kind of change Americans are looking for. After having swept the country with his "change" campaign, Barack Obama is now suddenly finding it hard to believe that McCain and especially Palin have successfully hijacked his campaign slogan. What is even more hard to believe is that he does not seem to understand why that is, and his arguments "I don't understand" and "this is just more of the same" just show how he misses the point. (More cynical persons might say, how his elitist stance is disconnected from the real America)

Americans it appears want not so much change to something new, but a change back to the past. They want to turn the clock back. They want to change things back to where they were. Back to the good old times, when gas was less than a $1 a gallon, when they could fly and drive all over the place and when they did not have to worry about greenhouse gases, endangered species, and all those other "nasty" items that interfere with their daily consumerist happy-go-lucky attitude.

Sarah Palin is the perfect embodiment of the kind of change Americans are looking for. The more we hear about her so-called shortcomings -or what the opponents perceive as shortcomings- the more she becomes the ideal candidate of change. Her small town, no-nonsense, hard core religious, hockey-mom, all-american image is exactly the kind of change Americans are so desperately yearning for. Everything about Sarah Palin, from her hairdo to her glasses cries out change.

Furthermore, the Obama camp now seems puzzled and the very fact that they are illustrates why they are so vulnerable. In essence they are disconnected from the middle America that they need to win the election. 

And yet it is so obvious what their problem is because they faced it before. When Hillary sat down with the blue-collar folk to shoot the breeze, she won and she won with great margins. And even though Hillary is very good at this, she is no match for Sarah here. 

But Hillary's move came too late. By then, the game was already lost. Maybe that is why the Obama folks were able to brush it aside or did not pay attention.

Well, my friends, it is back. But this time bigger and better than ever before. And if Obama could afford to ignore the lessons of Hillary drinking beer and pressing the flesh, he cannot afford to ignore the Palin magic. Better scramble and do something quick.

Let's face it America, what sounds better to you. Going moose hunting with John and Sarah or having lengthy discussions about the finer points of the law with Barack and Joe?

And therein, my friends lies the outcome of this election.

what's in a name

Well, John McCain couldn't have done better even if he wanted to. He chose the perfect running mate to express his feelings. That is, if we look at it from a linguistic perspective. The word palin derives from Greek and means "again" or "backwards." As in palindrome, or running back again. How about that? Four more years. I am surprised the Democrats haven't figured this out yet.

Or maybe they have and they figured it isn't nice to play tricks with someone' s name. After all, it isn't Sarah's fault that her name means again. It isn't even her real name. Just something she picked up from her oil executive husband. She can't help it. It is just a fortunate or unfortunate coincidence. Here is Sarah Again.

Sarah, abortion again, drilling in the wildlife refuge again, offshore drilling again, George W again. Nil nove sub sole, the Romans used to say. And it seems maverick McCain agrees. 

Still, we have to congratulate him on a very smart move. One that may well win him the election by siphoning off the Hillary crowd. My vote (that is to say my prediction) is with McCain, odd as it may seem. I just don't think Barack can win.