Please forgive me for posting so often, but this is the season for a lot of politics. Some of it may even be important. Today a number of small things have happened that add up to a lot of nooze. What will matter? Here’s my take.
Sarah Palin
McCain’s choice for veep seems just a tad desperate to me. Yes, it gives him some cred with women and reclaims the outsider status he once dearly loved. It also makes the ticket considerably younger, just as Obama had to go with experience to balance his ticket. But the risks of picking an unknown have to classify this as a “Hail Mary” pass.
Palin has been a clean governor up until recently. There is an ongoing investigation into an alleged abuse of power, however. That’s going to be one of the first things people learn about her and it’s going to stick whether it’s fair or not. Remember Dan Quayle, who froze up like a deer in the headlights when he was put on the stage; he is still maligned, unfairly, as not being all the bright. Palin is about to be Quayled bad.
Democratic Convention
The chattering class has told us many, many times that the convention was disorganized and not focused enough on delivering the message. What they don’t get is that the convention wasn’t for them.
When the Democratic Party is united, it is an awesome force. Perhaps we have all forgotten that because it hasn’t happened in a long time. Obama and his people understood this, and spent a full 2 days of the convention making sure it happened. Obama closed the deal with his speech, speaking directly to the Democratic base. That’s what this was all about – marshalling the forces for the push. This is going to be won in the trenches, not the air.
Anyone who tells you that the convention wasn’t a success doesn’t have the slightest idea what they are talking about. It was nearly perfect in every way.
Obama’s Acceptance
It’s not about belief, it’s about serving people. Yes, there were a few more specifics than I expected, especially on energy, but this is an affair of the heart. The real problems facing this nation are a major downer, and talking about them will only raise troubling questions. Obama hit on the easy ones and left it at that, which is what needs to happen. If someone wants a laundry list of policy platforms, they should go ahead and endorse John Kerry – see how far that gets you.
Minnesota is not a Swing State
People in my home state of Minnesota are still whining about Pawlenty not being chosen. Why? He would have been a terrible choice, and not just because of lingering questions on the I-35W Bridge collapse. He brought nothing to the table at all, and I can say that boldly because Minnesota is not a swing state. This is a DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) state, and Republicans win only when the DFL screws up.
We elect Republicans when the DFL appears arrogant, out of touch, or boring. Rudy Perpich was bounced for appearing loopy, and John Marty didn’t connect with voters. Roger Moe appeared arrogant after so many years as Senate Majority Leader, and no one really liked Hatch. The last one is important, because in 2006 the DFL had a clean sweep statewide except for Hatch – it had to be about him, not the party.
When the DFL wins, it does so because they have their shit together. Paul Wellstone wasn’t popular because he was a lefty, he was popular because people knew that he cared. That’s what “Prairie Populism” is all about, in the end. It’s about people. Our politics isn’t about programs and ideas, it’s about having someone that we can trust will take care of things because they “get it”. It’s not about power and money, it’s about improving people’s lives.
Does anyone seriously believe that Obama doesn’t fit this role much better than McCain? Yes, we’ve taken a turn for the conservative lately, but that’s not all that important. We vote for people, not politics, in case you weren’t paying attention when Ventura was elected with a platform of air. We want people that “get it”. This is a solid 10 Electoral Votes for Obama, and anyone who tells you otherwise really isn’t paying attention.
Republican Convention
I’ll have my complete thoughts on what they need to do by Monday. For now, however, it’s going to be a very tough road for them. They have to make the case that they can run the nation better than Obama, one way or the other. They have to have at least some appeal to the heart to make that stick. I think they are going to have to surprise me.
This big show is only 3 blocks from my house, so you can bet I’ll be all over it. I want to know the important things – such as how well the delegates tip at bars. I want to know if they are as fired up as the Democrats. Stay tuned.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 
the state and the nation are democrats by default. it is all about the party screwing up. if we had our act together there would be no repugnicans.
I’m sure McCain picked a woman only to entice the Hillary supporters who swore they’d vote Republican if she didn’t get the nomination…and then the VP spot. It’s a sleazy move and unfortunately, too many will fall for it.
Yes, that’s a lot of what’s going on. Susan Collins and Elizabeth Dole are in tough races, but why not Olympia Snowe or Kay Hutchinson? I can see they wanted a young woman, sure, but it’s a risky pick. Translating from my Minnesota understatement, “a tad desperate”means “embarrassingly desperate”. 🙂
I agree that the problem lately has been the democrats screwing up. We have to keep our eyes on the prize, we have to be the ones who re-invent this nation. The other guys won’t.
Here’s a vision of the near future: Sarah Palin will ditch the glasses, dye her hair blonde and run around at John’s side looking like Mrs. McCain.
(Uh-oh…where’s the smiley with evil grin when you need it?)
Er, I’m going to forget that evil smiley. No more cracks about Sarah Palin. I’m not going to dis a woman who’s raising a child with Down syndrome. I’m close to four families who have children with varying degrees of D.S. Two children–now adults–were, alas, institutionalized.
Ms. Palin may be a politician and her political actions may be worthy of criticism, but to exercise my wit at her expense would be a personal high in low taste.
I think that she, as a person, may be allright. Give that she lives as far away as Wasilla, Alaska, it doesn’t matter much to me whether she is or not.
But Veep? Granted, it’s not “Worth more than a bucket of warm spit,” in the words of John Nance Gardner, but still …