There are a lot of great diaries that are taking Sarah Palin apart. There is almost a celebration going on, because to the balanced eye, Palin is a disaster. Inexperienced. Rash. A book burner. A zealot who believes Iraq is a mission from God.
If you're like me, you can easily lapse into thinking McCain has gone completely over the edge, and the chance of his being elected has fallen to zero. Think again. America is responding positively to the Palin pick. The right is getting energized. The Republicans are trying to anesthetize America against press inquiry into their ticket. We are on our way to disaster - if we don't act.
Hotline looks at how Palin is coming off well to a lot of people. Her favorability numbers are looking good, and I doubt she hurt them tonight.
Palin is the perfect match for John McCain, because they are a brand. McCain is a "maverick". Palin is a "reformer barracuda hockey-mom". The first step to winning in November is realizing that millions of people are taking the Republican branding at face value.
This is where person to person contact comes in. Person to person contact lets us challenge that brand, one person at a time. I like to stick to a few bullet points that I think emphasize the best things about Obama/Biden that take McCain/Palin to task on their "home turf".
For example, I like to bring up how the non-partisan Tax Policy Center has shown that over 80% of Americans will have more take-home income under the Obama tax proposals than under McCains. People need to know this, because half of all Americans expect Obama to raise their taxes. Why? Because Republicans are still winning a branding war. Obama has pledged to not raise taxes on the middle class.
If it comes up, I wouldn't be afraid of mentioning Palin's penchant for banning books; I think it's un-American in the extreme.
I wouldn't mind mentioning that, purely from a statistical point of view, a 72 year old has over a 30% chance of dying by age 80, and McCain is probably higher risk. So there's a much higher chance that in the event of a McCain victory, Palin will become the 45th President of the United States. It's a risky proposition; all of Sarah Palin's electoral victories add up to less than a 20,000 vote margin, and now she's running for the second highest office in the land. McCain claims he selected her to help "reform", but the question is: is having someone who has 20 months of "reforming" Alaska more important than having someone who can really be ready to assume the Presidency in a time of crisis?
But these things mean nothing if people don't know about them. Palin is returning the energy and the fight to the Republicans. She is appealing to moms who juggle career and family. She is energizing an evangelical right that wasn't particularly enamored with McCain.
Do people realize that John McCain went along with Bush 100% of the time in 2008, and 95% of the time in 2007? They won't know unless we tell them.
The Gallup poll on taxes tells you all you need to know: Republicans are winning the branding war. They are convincing Americans of untruths. They are maintaining a lead on policy they just don't deserve. It is one thing to lose because all the facts are out, and the vote goes against our ticket. It is another thing entirely to lose because Americans are downright uninformed about the candidates.
Now: to action.
First, if you haven't done it - or even if you have - take a look at an excellent dKos diary about effective phonebanking. This is a serious gem; the diarist has a background in telesales, and it shows. I hadn't read it when I first phonebanked, and I wish I had.
Second, if you haven't, get over to the action center and get started. Connect with people in your neighborhood, because all the support in the world means nothing if they don't go to the polls. If everyone who supported Obama went and voted, he would win by a landslide. You don't have to win over every person you talk to; just reminding supporters how important this is and how great their support is can win the election. Turnout, turnout, turnout. Call. Donate. Volunteer to give rides on election day.
Palin is the icing on a cake of incompetence and intolerance; but if we don't see this through with action, then enthusiasm and branding may win the day, and a dark day it would be indeed. We have exactly two months left. Let's make them count. We're not going to get a walk, so let's get in it to win it.