Please enjoy this amusing video of a CFL quarterback spiking the ball into his junk and getting smacked in the head at the same time. (Wait for the replay!)
As much as I love to hate McCain, I am reluctantly cheered by his choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate. For one thing it is being received enthusiastically by many conservatives, and I mean actual conservatives, not just people like William Kristol, and I suppose that in itself is a good sign. I am also endeared to her due to her high-profile battles with corrupt establishment (typical) GOP scumbags. She gets lots of crunchy-con love from Rod Dreher (who has been energetically palinblogging, see this and this and this and this.) And hey–she’s a (former) Buchananite! And she homeschools! Ross Douthat goes so far as to suggest tongue-in-cheekily that McCain-Palin could be “neocon-paleocon fusion ticket,” which would make good sense because our own Karl is a neocon-paleocon fusion blogger.
I must nevertheless quibble some of my esteemed colleague’s characterizations of McCain–non-ideological? That’s true in a sense with respect to domestic politics, where he never passes up a chance to knife conservatives in the back while sucking up to the New York Times and loudly congratulating himself for it (his ideology could be called “pro-McCain”); but in foreign policy, he is unfortunately as bellicose, dangerous, and yes, ideological, as our esteemed president.
The main problem with excessive enthusiasm regarding this VP pick is that even had McCain selected (insert your dream pick here), the ticket would still be headed by McCain. Mickey Kaus has a theory that electing Obama is ultimately more in the interests of immigration restrictionists for the following reason: McCain and Obama both want the same thing–amnesty. McCain will succeed because not enough of the weakened GOP will be willing to buck their own president to stop it–he will inevitably pass his comprehensive “reform” package. Obama, however, would fail because he will be the perfect GOP foil, and the re-energized party will coalesce in opposition to legalization, and meanwhile gain House seats in 2010.
The same basic logic can apply for many unconservative aims that will be achieved by McCain winning over the Right and then inevitably forcing some monstrous, leftist policy down their throats. It sounds kind of familiar; isn’t it exactly what George W. Bush did, repeatedly?
Stephen F. Hayes wrote an interesting piece for The Weekly Standard about how McCain came to choose Palin as his running mate. It would seem we narrowly dodged a bullet. 
The McCain campaign appears to have been seriously considering tapping Joe Lieberman and many of his advisers were pushing that option. Had McCain chosen him, it is virtually certain that he would have succeeded in turning Lieberman into the answer to a trivia question: “Who is the only person to lose on both the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets?” After receiving feedback from conservatives that the base would revolt if Lieberman were the pick, McCain sought out other alternatives, resolving to pick a running mate who did not represent business as usual.
In that respect, both Pawlenty and Romney (who appears to have never really been in contention), left the Senator cold. Such a selection would have correctly been regarded as more of the same. In an earlier interview with The Weekly Standard, he had praised Palin, calling her a “remarkable woman” whom he planned to speak to as he reconsidered his position on drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
That one sentence in Hayes’ article highlights a trait of McCain which simultaneously should give conservatives hope, and also dread about a McCain administration. As many Democrats have pointed out over the years, John McCain is a man you can work with. The reason for this is simple: he is not an ideologue. A strong, well-reasoned argument can change McCain’s thinking on an issue. If we are to believe the campaign rhetoric, (and if John McCain is known for anything, it is his integrity – witness his steadfast opposition to earmarks), he has already reconsidered his former position on amnesty for illegal immigrants, now pledging to secure the border first. It would appear he is also reconsidering his position on drilling in ANWR. Of course, on the negative side, since he is not an ideologue, he could as easily abandon conservative positions if someone were to present him with case which he regarded as compelling (i.e. McCain-Feingold; McCain-Kennedy, etc.).
I was speaking to some conservative friends as we enjoyed the warm Indiana summer night on my front porch last night and someone mentioned that, when you think of it, Bill Clinton was not as big a disaster as he could have been. I posited that that was mainly because, unlike his wife, he was not driven by ideology. His administration was almost entirely poll-driven. In that sense, if conservatives could capture a poll during his administration, it was a virtual certainty that Clinton would move closer to the conservative position, if not adopt it altogether. In the end, Clinton managed to pull off a centrist administration for the most part.
John McCain is, in one respect, similar to Clinton in that he is not tied to an ideology. Indeed, it is this very fact which infuriates the party base. Of course, comparing McCain to Clinton is fairly rude so let me distinguish the two. Unlike Clinton, McCain has honor and principles which he will not compromise – not every decision will be left to polling results. McCain will almost certainly hold the line on spending having devoted his entire career in Washington to fighting against earmarks. Unlike Clinton, McCain will not conduct foreign policy according to the polls and will always put America’s interest first. In the end, McCain’s administration would likely be a fairly moderate one that generally skews to the right.
However, on the important issues, he seems to have committed himself solidly to core, unchangable values. He will hold the line on government spending. His choice of Governor Palin indicates that he is committed to Life. He will engage in a muscular foreign policy which places the interests of the American people first. It could be worse.
With his selection of Governor Sarah Palin, McCain is proving to be an especially adept campaigner. So much so that Cindy could probably go ahead and place a call to Laura to arrange a visit so she can start measuring for drapes at 1600 Pennsylvania.
The timing. The choice. The management of the media. The McCain campaign exhibited pure brilliance in stealing the limelight from Barack before his lackluster convention could even assess the bounce he might enjoy. Friday, the entire news day was subsumed with Sarah Palin’s ascendancy. Forgotten was Obama’s acceptance speech. It will be interesting to see what the newsies are talking about on the Sunday morning shows. I suspect they will be talking about Palin. And then, all eyes will turn to Minneapolis and McCain for an entire week. If Barack ever manufactured a bounce, no one will ever know.
In the wake of the historic announcement, the Obama camp immediately released a statement alerting voters that “[t]oday, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.” In fact, all day long Democrats have been attacking Palin’s youth and experience and reasoning that the McCain camp had taken Obama’s lack of experience off the table by tapping her. By attacking Palin’s supposed lack of experience (she’s the only one of the four with any executive experience), they are tacitly admitting that Obama lacks experience. Second, they have actually been comparing their presidential candidate to the Republican’s vice-presidential candidate.
There is a huge difference between a president and a vice-president.
Their comparisons of Biden and his years of experience (of being mostly wrong on the issues) to Palin also serve to highlight Obama’s inexperience, especially when compared to his own lieutenant. Pundits all week long have been noting that the vice-presidential pick really only matters two times – first, when the candidate unveils his choice; and second, when the vice-presidential candidates square off in their own debate. The selection of Governor Palin, in this respect, may have been a stroke of genius. Biden is known to be a vicious attack dog. But by nominating a woman, it is very likely that if Biden attacks her, he will come across as a mean-spirited bully. In that sense, the McCain campaign may have taken one of Obama’s tools out of the chest. On the other hand, it seems that politicians have routinely underestimated Governor Palin, who is said to possess a competitive fire, which it is good to remember unseated an incumbent Republican governor.
On the issues, it appears that Palin is a strong social conservative, staunchly defending the sanctity of unborn life. She is a life-long member of the National Rifle Association, a hunter and fisherman. 
At least we can rest easier knowing that when she goes out hunting, she will be much more likely to hit her intended target than previous vice presidents. She has sought to reduce waste in government, making that a cornerstone of her gubinatorial experience. She has served as the Ethics Commissioner for the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and took on the “Good Old Boys’ Network” in rooting out corruption regardless of party affiliation.
Most strikingly, in the few moments that she spoke on Friday morning, she talked about her accomplishments and McCain’s accomplishments. After a Democratic convention, which focused not on accomplishments (mainly because those are thin), but rather on promises, it was refreshing to hear candidates who could talk about their records and things they had done.
In her speech on Friday, Palin served notice that she can handle herself at the podium hitting a homerun when she spoke about her historic opportunity:
I can’t begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and of course Senator Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign.
It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.
Disaffected Hillary supporters are sure to have taken notice. Some of them of course will balk at Palin’s pro-life stance, but many of them will find in Palin the opportunity to advance the cause for women. With McCain’s choice of running mate, it appears that whether one casts their ballot in November for a Republican or a Democrat, his vote will be historic.
One wonders what’s left for Bob Barr. Perhaps he can select Dennis Kucinich for veep and court the extra-terrestrial vote.
ON A SIDE NOTE: I’d just like to point out this (check out the last sentence of the first update). But, then again, I also had this. You can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
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