American Idol

(8 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

One week has passed now since Barack Obama gave his eloquent acceptance speech before an audience of 84,000 in Denver. It has been one week since John McCain announced his running mate would be Sarah Palin. In that time, the Democratic presidential campaign has been derailed and in the year of the celebrity candidate, Palin is the hot new thing.

Conservatives have their “rock star” and liberals cannot help themselves from talking and writing about her. McCain has accomplished what he set out to do by choosing her: shake things up. His campaign was withering. Obama was not only reaching out to the middle and independents of the American electorate, but also over to disaffected Republicans. Obama was on his way to becoming the Democratic Party’s response to Ronald Reagan.

No longer.

To a large extent, the progressive blogging community has been entirely focused upon undermining, ridiculing, lampooning Sarah Palin. She has become the ultimate Republican troll. Posters cannot seem to help themselves from responding. She’s too tempting, her life is too target rich. There are too many easy points to score off Palin.

What has this accomplished? The left has gone off the Democratic presidential campaign message. The focus on McCain is forgotten. The focus on his judgment is forgotten. The focus of the Bush legacy is forgotten. The focus on McCain being four more years of Bush is forgotten. The focus on the economy is forgotten. The focus on our country’s wars is forgotten. The focus on the fact Republican leadership has gotten our country into this mess is forgotten. The focus on hope and change is forgotten. All that is remains are attacks on Sarah Palin.

These attacks have made Sarah Palin into a rallying cry for the opposition. These attacks have boosted Palin’s celebrity status into a phenomenon close, if not equal, to that of Obama’s own interest and popularity. Conservatives unite on pissing off liberals and that’s what Palin’s nomination has down. The left is pissed off. Insulted. Stunned.

And the left blogosphere has reacted with outrage. Collectively, it seems Hell bent on destroying Palin’s legitimacy. I believe it will not matter. Many people will see it as mean spirited and hypocritical. Many people will see it as misogynistic and elitist. Many people will see it as an attack on Christians and small town America. For many people, defending Sarah Palin’s right to be on the ticket will be enough reason to vote McCain-Palin in November.

By 2008, I believe American elections are won by winning the low information voters. By focusing the attention on Sarah Palin, the left has derailed the Obama campaign and given a boost to Palin’s celebrity. She provides an alternative to Obama for low information Americans. She’s the barracuda, the hockey mom, the spitfire, the ‘hot babe’, the white woman. It will be enough.

The proper response to Palin would have been meh. A reaction that was muted and underwhelmed. Her inexperience would have spoken for itself. We should have kept the focus on McSame, the economy, and change. She is a distraction and a most effective one at that.

The election landscape has changed now — it is now Palin versus Obama. Palin is America’s hot new talent. Obama has been around now for eighteen months. His popularity is being eclipsed by the Palin phenomenon.

Palin doesn’t need to be successful over the next four years. She only has to win the next two months. And if the left continues to stay off message and feed her with all our energy, she will win this election for McCain. I believe in order for Obama to win, Palin must be ignored.

Welcome to the American Idol of politics.