Why Sarah Palin Will Still Be On the Ticket Come Election Day
Everyone says Palin's going to withdraw this week before the debate. Several, including Kathleen Parker of the National Review have come out and said she needs to withdraw, but this doesn't mean she is withdrawing. Heck, my brother and I have a $1 bet over it. I think she's staying in.
This isn't to say she's at all qualified for the job, mind you. I'm just saying this is still the Republican party of George W. Bush.
Regardless of the excuse Palin comes up with to say she's leaving, everyone's going to see through it, which means McCain's going to be asked whether or not he regrets having chosen Palin in the first place. If he says no, then he's an idiot. If he says yes, then he can't make a decent decision to save his life. If we've learned nothing from the last eight years, we've at least learned that the McCain campaign has learned nothing in the last eight years.
They will not, under any circumstances admit that they were wrong, and that means keeping Sarah Palin right where she is.
And regardless, the rest of the short-list, the people who maybe even thought they'd get the call from McCain, would not sign on now. Who would play back up to Sarah Palin?
The bigger problem is that this person would either already be training for the debate, which means somewhere there's a bunker with debate practice going on because as far as I know, no one's in the bullpen waiting to go in. Anyone would certainly need a few days to get ready to face Joe Biden in a debate.
All save for Rudy Giuliani.
When Jennifer mentioned Giuliani, several factors did come together in my mind: he claims to be ready for foreign policy issues, Biden's strong suite. He's also swarmy and slimey and has perhaps been waiting to get the hand off from McCain as soon as Palin is out. He would have no qualms to being second choice and he would be able to step in and out 9/11 Joe Biden, at least in his messed up mind.
But that's not going to happen. Even if Sarah Palin comes on TV and cries about her Down Syndrome son needing a mother at home, or her daughter having too much trouble planning a wedding with morning sickness, her dropping out of the race not only *unfortunately* brings back into question whether or not a woman can run a country, it also brings Sarah Palin's political career to an end. If her entire claim to the job was that she's been governor and mayor, and she's been selling that she's prepared to be Veep as a result, her leaving the race for any reason will be a cannon blast to her political life. It will be back to hockey momming and sleeping with Todd Palin's business partners.
Karl Rove will find a way around it. He knows that Mac and Co. can't admit they were wrong. Let's put it this way: Rove is more likely to run Palin out into the woods and push her out of the car doing 90 than having her stand in front of the press and quit or have McCain put out a statement saying Palin was the wrong pick.
If I'm wrong, I'll be happy, but I don't think I am.
Expect to see Palin at least until election day.
* Just a note on whether a woman can run for the highest office in the land: Yes, of course. Just not Sarah Palin, in my opinion. Not because of paternal/uxorial duties but because she's just too uneducated to be President or Vice-President. Stay in your current job, run for Senate, stay there for a while and then come back and run for office, Governor Palin. I will still not like you, but I'm not most Americans.
This isn't to say she's at all qualified for the job, mind you. I'm just saying this is still the Republican party of George W. Bush.
Regardless of the excuse Palin comes up with to say she's leaving, everyone's going to see through it, which means McCain's going to be asked whether or not he regrets having chosen Palin in the first place. If he says no, then he's an idiot. If he says yes, then he can't make a decent decision to save his life. If we've learned nothing from the last eight years, we've at least learned that the McCain campaign has learned nothing in the last eight years.
They will not, under any circumstances admit that they were wrong, and that means keeping Sarah Palin right where she is.
And regardless, the rest of the short-list, the people who maybe even thought they'd get the call from McCain, would not sign on now. Who would play back up to Sarah Palin?
The bigger problem is that this person would either already be training for the debate, which means somewhere there's a bunker with debate practice going on because as far as I know, no one's in the bullpen waiting to go in. Anyone would certainly need a few days to get ready to face Joe Biden in a debate.
All save for Rudy Giuliani.
When Jennifer mentioned Giuliani, several factors did come together in my mind: he claims to be ready for foreign policy issues, Biden's strong suite. He's also swarmy and slimey and has perhaps been waiting to get the hand off from McCain as soon as Palin is out. He would have no qualms to being second choice and he would be able to step in and out 9/11 Joe Biden, at least in his messed up mind.
But that's not going to happen. Even if Sarah Palin comes on TV and cries about her Down Syndrome son needing a mother at home, or her daughter having too much trouble planning a wedding with morning sickness, her dropping out of the race not only *unfortunately* brings back into question whether or not a woman can run a country, it also brings Sarah Palin's political career to an end. If her entire claim to the job was that she's been governor and mayor, and she's been selling that she's prepared to be Veep as a result, her leaving the race for any reason will be a cannon blast to her political life. It will be back to hockey momming and sleeping with Todd Palin's business partners.
Karl Rove will find a way around it. He knows that Mac and Co. can't admit they were wrong. Let's put it this way: Rove is more likely to run Palin out into the woods and push her out of the car doing 90 than having her stand in front of the press and quit or have McCain put out a statement saying Palin was the wrong pick.
If I'm wrong, I'll be happy, but I don't think I am.
Expect to see Palin at least until election day.
* Just a note on whether a woman can run for the highest office in the land: Yes, of course. Just not Sarah Palin, in my opinion. Not because of paternal/uxorial duties but because she's just too uneducated to be President or Vice-President. Stay in your current job, run for Senate, stay there for a while and then come back and run for office, Governor Palin. I will still not like you, but I'm not most Americans.
