re: #815 Simply Me

Charles,

Do you think that it was Palin who turned off the two fence sitters, or that it was the portrayal of Palin by the MSM?

I defended Sarah Palin originally. But she lost me when she:

1) Refused to clearly and unequivocally condemn abortion clinic bombers, even when asked twice.

2) Made a really dumb anti-science comment about “funding fruit fly research in Paris France.”

I’m also very opposed to her support for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

Despite all this I voted for McCain and Palin because the alternative was (and is) worse. But I’m convinced that Palin was a big turn-off to a lot of moderates who might have gone for McCain if he had picked someone like Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani instead.

I really believe the Palin VP pick was an extremely cynical move by the McCain campaign — it was their response to the African American president. “Well, look, we have a woman!” And it was a cynical attempt to pander to the religious right. Palin went on a speaking tour of fundamentalist churches, while avoiding the media. That’s what they wanted her for.