Thursday, September 11, 2008

How to lose an election

I've always said that this election is Obama's to lose. And lost it he may, thanks to the recent contributions of liberal bloggers, Andrew Sullivan, Us magazine, Joe Biden, and now South Carolina Democrat Carol Fowler.

Remarking on Sarah Palin's nomination, Fowler had this wonderful contribution: "[McCain chose a candidate] whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”

Yea, so... Fowler later offered up an apology, stating that her comment was actually an attack on single-issue voters (ie, pro-life folks), as opposed to anything else. Single-issue voters, eh? I suppose Obama supporters who find him singularly appealing because of his black father (Oprah and her book club), or the supporters who chime that he will bring 'change' (everyone), are single-issue voters too then? I doubt Fowler and every other Democrat that is perennially bothered by single-issue voters, is actually bothered when those single-issues happen to coincide with the Democratic Party's platform.

3 comments:

Stuart A. Thompson said...

Slate has offered liberal bloggers a similar critique. They have attacked Palin on grounds I find to be motivated by real criticism but fueled by exaggerated partisanship. It's to McCain's credit that he's done so well with this. Attack ads have painted Obama, his campaign, and his presumed circle of Democrats to be the culprits. Suddenly it's Obama who's making fallacious attacks and trying to "destroy her."

I'm of the belief, however, that Palin's feeling what Obama felt some months ago. Excitement. And as Obama's star as descended to the lower stratosphere, so will Palin's. Only then, a record that's been rightly questioned may be swiss-cheesed enough to collapse just in time for November 4.

Stuart A. Thompson said...

Just as a follow-up: Newsweek asks "Is Palin's Star Waning?"

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/16/palin-s-favorability-ratings-begin-to-falter.aspx

Colm said...

I wouldn't be surprised if her ratings drop significantly as we get closer to the election. I do wonder whether or not the Palin pick is a grand vetting scheme in which one of the GOP's new generation is introduced to the old.

Much depends on whether or not she bungles her next interviews and her debates with Joe Biden. Biden is no stranger himself to Quaylisms, so it'll be one of the more interesting veep debates in a while.