The first polling arrives on McCain's choice of VP, and to no one's surprise except the Republicans, Sarah Palin is a bust.
I'm reminded of the first time The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan in 1964. It was a national phenomenon. America was glued to the tv set to see the world's greatest rock 'n roll band. Then the next act had to walk on stage after that. Nobody even bothered to watch. Nobody even remembers their name (a bad comedy duo).
I think Palin is the very same situation. 38 million Americans tuned in to watch Barack Obama give The Speech. It was the highest-rated event of the year - more viewers than the Grammy's, more than American Idol, more than the opening night of the Olympics. It was the closest thing to a national event American politics had seen in a long, long time.
Then John McCain tried to kill the momentum with this. Good heavens, what a joke. This is a practical joke, right? I'm still waiting for Joe Lieberman to walk on stage, and McCain to shout out, "April Fool!" The only fools are John McCain and the Republican Party. Oh, and So-And-So. Or Cheerleader. Whatever her name is.
I think, from a strategic point of view, the smart thing to do would have been to unveil the VP choice on Monday, the first day of the Republican convention. You don't want to be the act that follows Obama. You may as well be following John Lennon. Too bad New Orleans is going to be hit by another Category-5 hurricane on Monday, eh?
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