Akkam’s Razor

The more we hear about the non-vetting of Sarah Palin, the more desperate the McCain camp appears. Here’s my take on what happened.

McCain would have preferred Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman. The “enthusiasm gap” - the lack of excitement and engagement of Evangelicals threatens to subdue turnout, guaranteeing a McCain loss - made neither of those choices palpable. Ridge was wholly unacceptable to “the base” due to his being pro-choice. Lieberman, however, was clearly the pick of the Neocons; his choice would likely cause Rush Limbaugh to relapse. A pick of Lieberman would essentially cede domestic policy back to the Democrats.

I strongly suspect that the other qualified A-listers are not stupid. Pawlenty, Romney, Kaine, and the rest know that even rats jump of a sinking ship.  The panic-choice of Palin indicates refusals from all the “ready-on-day-one” choices.

That leaves McCain with few choices. He recklessly chose to gamble with an unknown who appears to be a far better choice than any of the others; Unfortunately, all of the benefits go to the Democrats.

Sure Palin brings here Evangelical bonafides; but that also means baggage. Although we continue to fetishize “normal Americans” from “small towns”, a goodly portion of moderate America looks at the unusual sanctimonious morality of those like Palin, her ruthless ambition, and the religious overreach and full submission of the Republican Party to a minority of religious extremists, as the lowering of our national to Jerry Springer territory.

It seems to may that this is an excellent opportunity for Obama, to pick up those independents and moderate-to-liberal Republicans who are disgusted by the antics of both the last 8-years and the cumulative effect of the last-30 years on politics by the various Republican party linked activists. Successfully courted these former Reagan-Democrats and possibly the ostracized Rockefeller-Republicans may be just what’s needed to counter the impact of the crazification factor, making Obama a “Black Reagan”.