About The Upcoming Election

I mentioned in my last post that I had some concerns about the upcoming election.  John McCain took almost everyone by surprise when he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate.  Most people were further surprised at how well she did with her address at the Republican Convention.  Obama and the Democrats have been scrambling trying to figure out how to respond, and so far they haven't been able to do more than look silly.

So what's the problem?  For me personally, not much.  I think Palin is probably more conservative than McCain although that isn't really saying much.  If people agree with Palin's politics, I think that's a great reason to vote for the Republican ticket.  However, I think that there might be a number of people who will vote for McCain and Palin for the wrong reasons.


I see a lot of Fox News while I'm at the gym, and one of the analysts relayed a discussion he had with a woman at the gym that morning.  She was going to vote for Palin because she had been a working mother running her own business for the last 19 years, and she identified with Palin.  That's great, but does that mean that she and Palin are aligned politically?

I also think that McCain made an attempt to play off of the disappointment among women that Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton for his running mate.  Most hardcore Hillary supporters know the difference between Clinton and Palin, but these are not the people McCain was after.  The indecisive middle is where the election will be won.  I think that what we are left with now is more of a popularity contest.

If you are a Republican, the silver lining is that it is likely to work.  McCain shored up his support in the Republican Party by choosing someone more conservative than he is to balance out his ticket.  Palin is also going to generate a lot of interest from the casual voter who would have likely stayed home in November.  Finally, Obama and crew still seem to be scratching their heads about how to go after Palin.

Please understand that I have every intention of casting my vote for McCain and Palin, and I think that they will be the winners.  My concern comes from the fact that they will not have won for the right reasons.  I encourage each of you to vote by your principles rather than the hype (or even marketing) that the race has become.

Until next time...

PH