After an election season that has dragged on longer than an Oliver Stone film, a couple realizations have finally emerged. 1) John McCain is not going to be the next president of the United States and 2) Sarah Palin is the culprit of his downfall.
Running a campaign that has sadly fallen further and further into desperation and fear tactics, John McCain has abandoned his once free-thinking, maverick, respected reputation in pursuit of a persona more akin to the same Republican base that he once alienated himself from. With an incumbent Republican president and the lowest approval ratings of all time, such a campaign decision was bound for failure. The subsequent decision to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate was a desperate attempt to get the best of both worlds—affirm the support of the party base while optimistically appealing to feminists, independents, and big-game-hunters of all ages—but the predictied results are devastating.
I try to keep a critical, yet fair view of politicians, and in Palin’s case, it is critical and fair to say she is not qualified to be the President of the United States. Talk all you want about executive experience, but when it comes down to it, Sarah Palin is scary. You can bash Katie Couric’s “truth-seeking” tactics all you want, but, when the McCain campaign finally stopped hiding the hockey mom, even Joe the Plumber must've doubted her. It wasn’t her lack of knowledge that made me wonder what the hell John McCain was thinking, it was her inability to hide it. Palin has come across in every unscripted public appearance unprepared to a point where you actually feel sorry for her, until you remember she has somehow managed to run for the second highest office in our country. Americans have already sacrificed intelligence for who they would rather have a beer with ,twice, and have finally (pray God) learned their lesson.
Perhaps the most embarrassing and insulting characteristic of Palin is her “folksiness”. To have an accent is one thing, but to butcher the English language in hopes of appealing to those who think it is genuine to butcher the English language frankly pisses me off. Palin lectures at her rallies as though she is introducing herself to a kindergarten class. “Now folks, there’s a couple things I wanna tell ya that I sure won’t be doin’. I won’t be pallin’ around with no terrorists and I won’t be talkin’ to no evil dictators’.” John McCain’s advantage in the Republican primaries was his ability to stand-out as an intelligent, non-patronizing voice in a field full of condescending bastards. This advantage has been crushed by Sarah Palin’s elementary tactics.
Both campaigns are guilty of going negative. In fact, both campaigns have run some of the most blatantly misleading ads of all-time. The difference between the two is their dependence on these tactics. Over 2/3 of Americans don’t want to see or hear about negative campaigning, and Obama seems to be the only one who has finally gotten the message (though not before destroying a large chunk of his ethics). When the financial crisis put the economy on the minds of every American, Obama was describing his plans for the future. Palin was talking about what William Ayers did when Barack Obama was 8 years-old. While Biden was discussing his involvement in the Congressional rescue plan, Palin was busy alienating half of American for the GOP ticket by calling small town America the “pro-America areas” of the country. The triviality of her most passionate talking points has placed her shallowness on the forefront of American minds, instead of John McCain’s experience. A distraction that is going to cost John McCain the election.
In trying to score a home run, John McCain has struck-out. Beauty can get you far in life--as Palin has proven—but its going to take more than Tiny Fey-looks and a $150,000 wardrobe to convince the American people you are ready to lead what still remains the most influential nation in the world. When it is all said and done, I think John McCain will realize (if he hasn’t already) the truth in the statement, “play to your strengths”. Experience. Authenticity. Compromise. These are the traits that could have won McCain the election…and Sarah Palin’s incompetency in all these areas is what will lose it.
