Sarah Palin, boos for Hillary and The Great Conservative Crack-Up of 2008

[BeyondGeography]

John McCain's gimmicky play for Hillary Clinton's voters and his attempt to revitalize his maverick credentials by choosing Sarah Palin is already looking like a lost cause. Palin's appearances have been greeted with much enthusiasm by the Republican base, except when Hillary comes up. We might wonder why she even bothers going after Clinton voters, but McCain's own people admit they are lost without them, and that Palin is meant to be a strong play for disaffected Hillary supporters:

Palin is famously pro-life and will only solidify McCain's hold on his base. But Palin also helps McCain make a run at those moderate voters for whom McCain's conservatism (and particularly his pro-life views) is not a deal breaker. As one McCain aide put it: "We either get Hillary's voters and we win, or we don't. It's not a mystery."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/13015.html

It took all of one day for that strategy to be shot full of holes. The fundies are ecstatic and Hillary is getting pilloried at Palin's speeches. Way to go, Gramps.

So maybe saying nice things about Hillary Clinton at a Republican rally isn’t such a good idea.

John McCain’s new vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, acknowledged the New York senator on Saturday when reflecting on her new found role as a national candidate.

The reaction from a large chunk of the audience: boos.

“I think as well today of two other women who came before me in national elections, and I can’t begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro back in 1984 and of course, Senator Hillary Clinton,” Palin said.

Boo. Boo. Boo.

So much for trying to win over disaffected Clinton supporters. They, apparently, are not turning up to McCain-Palin rallies.

http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/08/31/mccains-vp-pick-palin-draws-boos-when-mentioning-hillary-clinton/

The problem for McCain if, as seems evident, Palin becomes a pure play for the conservative base is more people are identifying themselves as Democrats these days than Republicans. This has always been a race about indepenedents, but McCain, by choosing Palin, has repositioned his whole campaign to the right while saying that it's all about making history for women and changing the way Washington works.

In fact, Palin, who is an extreme conservative, will help motivate our base and make it easier for us to appeal to independents. If we are able to win the battle for independents, the difference in party ID's tells us we are in great shape to deliver a smackdown the likes the Republicans haven't seen in many, many years:

Some 35 percent of voters self-identify as independent, according to the Gallup poll. But in stark contrast to the 2004 presidential race, where party identification was roughly tied, Democrats now enjoy a significant lead over Republicans in party ID – 36 percent to 29 percent. And that represents a narrowing of the gap compared with previous weeks, Gallup notes.

So even though Senator McCain is getting more support from his base (87 percent) than is Obama (78 percent), that gap is not as daunting as it may seem. All Obama has to do is match the percentages Democratic nominee John Kerry won four years ago, among Democrats, Republicans, and independents, and he will win the election by 3 percentage points, because of his party’s expanded base, Democratic strategist James Carville said at a Monitor luncheon Wednesday.

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/08/28/obama%E2%80%99s-next-move-to-the-center/

Should things play out the way they look now, guess who gets blamed for losing the White House: the doctrinaire and declining conservative wing of the Republican party. And the fallout will make our little Obama/Clinton contest look like a lovefest in comparison.

[BeyondGeography]

1. kickin' for the crack-up

[BeyondGeography]

2. Kick for the evening

[ebdarcy]

3. When he introduced her in Dayton, I was surprised when she was cheered after

delivering the Hillary line. All I could think is that the audience was extremely well coached not to boo. It was weird listening to conservatives cheer Hillary Clinton. I knew it couldn't be genuine.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. The announcement is not the same as a rally. Palin didn't get the memo.

At the announcement, because it is so important, and on nation-wide TV, and because the room is stuffed with handpicked operatives and true believers, they would cheer anything Palin-McCain said.

At a rally, you have the choir.

Palin didn't get the memo that you only mention Hillary in glowing terms when on national TV, and she didn't figure it out herself. Wet behind the ears.

[Franks Wild Years]

4. The quote from his aide is telling....

His poor old McInternalPolling must look utterly atrocious.

In fact, I made a thread earlier questioning just why - when females outvote men - that a 13% Obama lead amongst women and only a 6% lead for McCain among men results in only a 3 or 4 point lead in Rasmussen's recent polling.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6844505

Can you say "We need a horse race to keep people watching!" ?

[ClarkUSA]

5. McCain/Palin = Beauty and The Beast

Any Hillary Holdout falling for McCain's pandering is a fool.

[vaberella]

7. It's a bit sexist but I'm liking "Geezer & Gidget" n/t

[ClarkUSA]

8. LOL -- that's even better!

The pairing lends itself to an infinite number of gags.