After Obama, The Stock of Black Leaders Is Great

WHY ARE WOMEN LEADERS STRUGGLING TO RISE EN MASSE?

Before the vice presidential debate last October, conservative pundits learned that the moderator, the well-known journalist Gwen Ifill, also had a book on Sen. Barack Obama conveniently due Inauguration Day. A few such as Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin howled. The question of Ifill's objectivity soon dissipated as Sarah Palin stole the show and the election continued.

Ifill, in her new book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, does not deal directly with the rise of President Obama, but the rising crop of young, black politicians ready to change the landscape of American politics.

Similar to early worries about Obama's candidacy -- he was not "black enough," he was "too black" or he was too green -- the politicians featured by Ifill share a few commonalities. All are young, highly-educated and grew up in middle-to-upper class surroundings, yet they are able to cross socioeconomic and cultural-mixed racial environments.

In an election as historically unique as 2008, where an African-American and female senator fought as front-runners throughout the campaign, it is interesting to learn Ifill's thesis that the civil rights movement has produced a deep reserve of talented black politicians.

Among them is Congressmen Artur Davis of Alabama, who will likely attempt to make Obama-like history by becoming thar state's first black governor. Davis, incidentally, graduated in Obama's class at Harvard.

Ifill also profiles the first black governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, Stanford alum and mayor of Newark Cory Booker, and the scion of the civil rights movement Jesse Jackson, Jr. The inclusion of Jackson may be the least likely of the group, since it was revealed during the sting that rounded up Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich that he had been a government informant for years.

While the stock of rising black leaders is strong, the names of up-in-coming women in government is perhaps less-so. Aside from new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Palin, I find it difficult to conjure up many women other than Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who was a contender for Obama's VP slot. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is a strong female voice , but her ambitions won't include the White House, because she was born in Canada. So, why are blacks hitting the highest levels and stealing the spotlight from the women?

Ifill does not explicitly say this, but one reason gleaned from the book is the fact that this new crop of black politicians was forged from of a distinct political movement that was highly organized and direct. By contrast, the women's movement does not have a center, does not have a rallying point such as Selma, Alabama, had for the civil rights movement. Coincidentally, the strong campaign of Hillary Clinton aimed at progressive women and the unique political talents of Palin to conservatices could be the impetus for the rise of significant female candidates in the next 10-15 years.

Undoubtedly the election of Barack Obama is a turning point in this country's history. If you were able to fast-forward a few decades into the future, it is quite conceivable three of the next four leaders of our country could be a mixture of women and minorities.

Hour-By-Hour; How The Election Will Go Down

AMERICA MAY KNOW ITS NEW LEADER BY 6 P.M. PACIFIC

election'08: the race to clean the place

If you can't be home watching Wolf Blitzer in front of the CNN's large Situation Room screen, here's how the election may go down when the polls begin to close starting with Indiana and parts of Eastern Kentucky at 3 p.m. pacific.

3 p.m. Sen. John McCain should jump out to a quick 19 electoral vote lead with a hard-fought victory in Indiana and an easy win in Kentucky. If, for some reason, Indiana switches to Sen. Barack Obama, the election is over. The networks would also delay calling the Hoosier State until later in the hour or more. McCain leads 19-0.

4 p.m. With wins in Georgia, South Carolina McCain will extend his lead, but ominous sign of his eventually demise will creep with a bitter loss in Virginia and an easy win for Obama in Vermont. McCain leads 42-16.

4:30 p.m. North Carolina and West Virginia go to McCain. Polls also close in the battleground state of Ohio, but, again the networks will hold off calling a likely win for Obama until after five just in case. McCain leads 62-36.

5 p.m. Twenty states begin counting votes as primetime hits the East Coast. The election may well be decided during this hour or, at least, Obama could clinch the presidency with sure-fire large blue states remaining to be won. Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri could be called within this hour. The combination of Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio earlier will likely knock all the air out of any possibility of a McCain presidency. The bellweather Show Me State of Missouri may go to McCain without consequence. Obama leads 177-152.

5:30 p.m. Bill Clinton casts his vote reluctantly for Obama as Arkansas goes to McCain (I know he votes in New York). Obama leads 177-158.

6 p.m. While Obama has not reached the requisite 270 to become president-elect, the writing is definitely on the wall. With McCain roughly 118 electoral votes shy of 270 and large can't-miss states remaining such as New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the big mama--California--McCain is seeking far more than a miracle. Obama leads 246-185.

7 p.m. The state where it all began, Iowa, closes polls for Obama. Utah and Idaho easily go for McCain, while Montana shows signs of turning blue for Democrats in the future, but, today goes McCain's way. Nevada by way of an influx of Latinos and Californians goes blue. Obama leads 258-197.

8 p.m. Officially, the presidency will be won in the West as California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii go to Obama. Obama becomes president-elect of the United States, 335-197.

9 p.m. Unofficially, the state where McCain's campaign ultimately derailed with the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska sends its three electoral votes to McCain. Obama wins 335-20o.

Will McCain Bring Reaganism Down With him?

VOTERS ARE REJECTING TAX HOAXES OF THE PAST

election'08: the race to clean the place
1 day to go

Ronald Reagan has been dead four years. Is Reaganism about to near its own demise?

The signs of a final rebuke to Reaganomics, trickle down economics and the stuffing of fat cats coffers or--whatever you want to call it--may lie within the rhetoric of Joe the Plumber.

Sen. John McCain mocked the answer Sen. Barack Obama haphazardly uttered the Ohio plumber that Americans should spread the wealth. McCain not-so-subtlety labeled him a socialist, yet in times like these, the idea, in itself, that Americans should band together resonates more than continuing the same tired economic agenda of the past eight years and, by extension, the past 28.

An article in today's Boston Globe lays out the five questions the election may say about Americans, with number one contemplating an end to the Reagan Revolution.

During the heyday of the Democrats' New Deal coalition, which dominated politics from 1932 until 1980, the idea of spreading the wealth around was hardly political poison - it was the backbone of the party's economic philosophy. Since 1980 and the "Reagan Revolution," however, using tax policies to redistribute income has been widely viewed as an outmoded approach that chokes off economic growth.

Bob Schrum, the Democratic strategist and architect of Al Gore and John Kerry's losing presidential bids, also writes in The Week about the fall of Reaganism.

It is no longer enough to utter conservative epithets like “liberal” and “tax.” McCain’s implication that Obama wants to “spread the wealth” around rather than create wealth is dissonant at a time when Republicans are presiding over the greatest wealth destruction in history. Meantime, Obama has brilliantly pounded two numbers into the national consciousness—$250,000 (you don’t face a tax increase if you earn less) and 95 percent (the percentage of Americans who will receive a tax cut under Obama’s proposal).

Shrum smartly cautions Republicans to not merely mimic Democratic, but to rethink what conservatism means. He continues by saying the GOP can either do this or simply repackage the same product around Sarah Palin in 2012.

This choice, of course, will depend on the size of the drubbing in the House and Senate more than the likely loss of the White House.

If, indeed, the era of redistributing wealth toward the rich is over, it should be natural to assume an age of redistribution back to the middle and lower class is imminent. Some call it a new age of Progressivism.

In any case, it could be the aspect of the possible Obama presidency that surprise many moderates and independents who vote for him tomorrow--he really is a liberal!

McCain Turns His Guns On Palin

AIDE SAYS PALIN'S 'GONE ROGUE'; REALLY MEANS SHE'S STANDING UP

So, Sarah Palin's "gone rogue" as one McCain staffer told Politico.com yesterday. Going rogue in the McCain camp seems to be being your own person, you know, how the "maverick" John McCain circa 2000 was the edgy conductor of the Straight Talk Express standing up to those bad folks in Washington.

When Palin eschewed the campaign talking points Monday in order to defend herself against the inane stories flying off the racks regarding her $150,000 wardrobe, the campaign went nuts.

Instead of damage control, the McCain campaign turned their guns on their own. Insiders now had an opportunity to illustrate to the media just what a "whack job" Palin had become.

The question becomes, why did it take this long? It was apparent to many the Alaskan governor was severely deficient politically. Some wondered why McCain did not take the pre-convention period to reverse course. In hindsight, would owning up to the miscalculation really have been worse in the long run?

It has been written here before that Palin is actually a gifted politician, not some pretty "bimbo" as Bill Maher has remarked upon often and she is not merely a politically cunning version of George W. Bush.

By being her own woman, she has shown that she is not the "empty pants suit" many portray her as but the symbol of liberal male angst towards women.

Let her become the story with seven days to go. It helped McCain for a few weeks in August, why not now. It's not like he's ready to promise a few more dollars in your pocket and free health care. So, why not?

Palin's Nice Clothes And Makeup Threatens Democracy?

CAMPAIGNS SPEND MILLIONS ON ADS NOBODY WATCHES, WHO CARES?

ELECTION'08:
the race to clean up the place

If you ever wanted a poignant storyline to illustrate the conservative mantra of a left wing media bias, point to the Sarah Palin wardrobe controversy.

The New York Times reported this week that Hollywood makeup artist Amy Strozzi was paid $22,500 for two weeks of work by the McCain campaign. The story serves up the juicy tidbit that the expediture made Strozzi the campaign's top earner.

As Sarah Hepola writes at Salon's Broadsheet blog, "does the story matter?"

No, it does not.

It is quite ignorant to believe that campaigns that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars don't spend hundreds of millions of dollars on their campaign.

Is $150,000 on Palin's wardrobe really that much in the scope of millions of dollars that the McCain people have spent?

11 DAYS TO GO

The price tag, though, to regular American voters would seem outrageous. It's silly enough for poor inner city kids to pay $300 for "vintage" baseball jerseys, but the Times doesn't report that one.

The story reeks of false populism. Should we expect Palin to attend events in clothes bought from the Chico's catalog or picture her ironing Todd and kids underwear with curlers in her hair.

Of course, this isn't about populism really, it's about sexism. Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain can campaign in the finest suits and loafers and not be skewered for it. Sen. Joe Biden can get away with the vanity of suspected botox applications and hair plugs, but a woman cannot.

As Washington nears closer to Democratic rule, again, it is subjects like these that flash contempt into the Americans who prefer to see the country and family life differently. Democrats, led by Obama's example, need to be cognizant that mocking poor conservative whites and women voters is risky when attempting to hold power. More importantly, reaching out to these Americans is the key to healing eight years of Bush.

There's Something About Bill

CLINTON HOLDS COURT AND RUNS AMOK WITH HIS MOUTH

How did Bill Clinton get away with a string of sexual innuendo, passive aggressiveness and poor word choice?

Clinton told reporters Monday at his Clinton Global Initiative meeting he understood why Americans relate to the Palin family, but his arguments were a bit peculiar.

BAD
On Palin: He said, "I come from Arkansas; I get why she's hot out there."

BADDER
On Palin's pregnant and unwed teenage daughter: "I'm glad she loves her daughter and she's not ashamed of her."

UNBELIEVABLY BAD!
On Palin's handicapped infant son: "I like that little Down syndrome kid. One of them lives down the street."

The line about Trig Palin is somewhat like saying, "Yeah, I love freaks. In fact, I have one down the the street."

The scene evokes Matt Dillon's big-toothed character in "There's Something About Mary" when pretending to impress Mary and her mentally retarded brother, he utters the famous line, "Those goofy bastards are about the best thing I've got going."

I suppose when your the host of your own conference, you can say anything. How he got away with such appaling quips is hard to figure. Must have been one hell of a buffet in the press lounge.

Americans On The Rebound; Palin Dumped

UNFAVORABLE RATINGS RISE; AMERICANS SEE FEMALE BUSH IN VP

Several polling services are reporting Gov. Sarah Palin love affair with American voters is over. New poll number are illustrating a precipitous drop in her popularity.

Sorry, Sarah. They once loved you, now they don't. Such is politics.

Why the drop?

It couldn't be because she said something the electorate didn't like. She has not uttered nary a word to one journalist unwilling to parrot the Republican party line. She's still attractive. She didn't wake up one morning flush with acne. She's still the VPilf, as some has called her.

The progressive left, especially bloggers, may have incurred some damage with daily pieces tearing into the Alaskan governor. But, these stories were self-inflicted wounds by the McCain campaign for failing to properly vet Palin.

The campaign should have been ready for Troopergate by simply, as McCain says, doing "a Google" on the controversy. Her daughter's pregnancy, inane white lies on her part and tales of Cheneyesque behavior in Juneau should have been handled before she was ever offered the VP slot.

Yet the power of the liberal netroots cannot take full credit for bringing Palin back to earth. It's the American people's seemingly long memory regarding all-things George W. Bush.

Palin has come across as the true heir to the secretive, arrogant, manna from God type of governance that will be history's record of President Bush.

Believing the United States' role in the Middle East wars are presiding over by Providence is soooo 2002, Sarah. Failing to know the infamous "Bush Doctrine" reminds Americans that Palin is unqualified for the job VP and invokes unease when she lamely stumbles over simple questions a la Bush.

Bob Woodward's latest book on the Bush White House, "The War Within" ends with a brief conversation so littered with nonsense and stark foolishness that it scares the pants off the reader. Is it appropriate for a president to say, "awesome" and describe generals and aides as such?

The pretty cover plastered over Palin is n0w tattered. Americans see that not only does the emperor have no clothes, but the woman seeking to be a heartbeat away does not look good in the nude.

Stop Talking About Palin; Start Talking About My Empty Wallet

VP CANDIDATES ARE USUALLY IMMATERIAL; MAYBE NOT THIS ELECTION

When political discourse becomes gossip page fodder, something is deeply wrong. Since Sen. John McCain announced Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP candidate, the horrendous political calculation is still evident. A highly green politician buttressing a rickety presidential candidate became a worry. Campaign-wise, the Palin pick has succeeded beyond any McCain campaign operatives dreams. Republicans win when the issues are secondary or non-existent. This election is now about Palin shooting guns and Palin wearing lipstick like a pig.(?)

Palin all the time has nothing to do with the issues confronting Americans. Palin isn't going to help create real jobs and increase wages. She is not going to help out energy policy other than further engorged the oil companies and health care won't be solved.

That the Obama campaign has been caught so flat footed by Palin is quite worrisome. They did not underestimate her as much as they did not place enough importance to the VP no matter who it was. This is rational thinking. People don't vote for the bottom of the ticket...ever and everyone knows the VP job is nothing more than ornamental. This election is so different than any other in this country let alone the world that conventional wisdom goes out the window.

When Barack Obama announced he would move his convention speech to the 80,000-seat Invesco Field, the prevailing wisdom was that McCain could never fill even one-fourth of the stadium. For months, the campaign has fretted over the fact that McCain has struggled to attract voters to his events. Since teaming with Palin, the problem no longer exists. Ironically, voters still are not enthused by McCain, but flock to see Palin so much now that the campaign is contemplating having the ticket appear together for fear of having Palin's events dwarf McCain's

Most likely the Palin phenomenom will die and the election will become about issues rather than personalities. What worrisome, is that Sen. Joe Biden is kissing old lady's in Pennsylvania in spite because they say they won't vote for a black man or a suspected Muslim, meaning the stigma of racism is very real especially among older voters. The same demographic that tends to vote religiously.

If Palinpalooza still has legs by her vice presidential debate, the Biden factor may further stoke the current media coverage that focuses on, what Obama calls "phony outrage" and less on kitchen table issues.

McCain and Palin seem adept at using gender has a wedge issue. There is no other politician in America that is more ill-equipped to traipse around possible land mines regarding gender than Biden.

The Delaware senator is biting, funny and satirical and prone to saying the wrong thing, which actually is a euphemism for saying exactly what you and me would say under the same circumstance. Once can imagine Biden being neutered in that debate while Palin exudes in the same politics of low expectations that scored Bush debate wins over Al Gore and John Kerry despite clearly flailing.

It's telling when the Grand Wizard of dirty GOP politics, Karl Rove, is preaching to Obama that he's paying too much attention to Palin, it's another problem when an presidential election is less than two months away and we're talking about subjects that have no bearing on the lives of ordinary Americans.

Shine Some Norhtern Lights On The 'First Dude'

SECRETIVE COUPLE MAY REMIND YOU OF DARTH CHENEY & CO.

Sarah Palin this, Sarah Palin that.

The ImPailing Alaskan governor is either beloved by pious(?) Christian conservatives or reviled by the marching, fire-waving liberal media.

Palin may now be the poster child for the wonders of the political vetting process, but the so-called liberal media should begin to focus on first husband, Todd Palin, who is slowly beginning to look like male version of the obstructive former first lady, Nancy Reagan.

The blog at MotherJones.com briefly taps into Todd Palin's not-very-unseen hand in Juneau with a posting detailing the governor's recently released stash of emails.

Palin's office claimed most of the undisclosed emails were exempt from release because they were covered by the "executive" or "deliberative process" privileges that protect communications between Palin and her aides about policy matters. But the subject lines of some of the withheld emails suggest they were not related to policy matters. Several refer to one of Palin's political foes, others to a well-known Alaskan journalist. Moreover, some of the withhold emails were CC'ed to Todd Palin, the governor's husband. Todd Palin—a.k.a. the First Dude—holds no official state position (though he has been a close and influential adviser for Governor Palin). The fact that Palin and her aides shared these emails with a citizen outside the government undercuts the claim that they must be protected under executive privilege.

Republicans had concerns over another unelected spouse "meddling" despite the people's will. Her name? First lady Hillary Clinton.

For Hillary's sake, she was somewhat informed and hailed by some as entirely competent. Todd Palin, on the other hand, is a part-time Alaskan fishermen.

If there's a national crisis involving Alaskan king crabs, we'll call you, Todd.

Like the supremely secretive current Veep, Dick Cheney, the Palin's have shown a desire to operate under the radar. They couple has also shown a very vindictive and punitive side with their executive power when it comes to solving personal problems and stifling opposition.

The Alaskan journalist, Andrew Halcro, an apparent political enemy of the Palin's; has frequently asked how Todd Palin can evoke "executive privilege" when his proximity to the governor is sleeping with her. Read Halcro's post here.

The Palin's autocratic behavior in Juneau may simply be the product of the inherent small town atmosphere involved in Alaskan politics even at the highest levels.

But, on the heels, of eight years of government secrecy unmatched in American history, attention needs to be paid to Todd Palin's involvement in government matters and specifically the type of dynamic that may exist between Sarah Palin and her husband on matters of policy and decision-making.

Sarah Palin is not going to make many decisions other than what pants suit to wear during an overseas funeral appearance if she becomes vice president, but her ability to lend herself to secrecy and mischief is worrisome.

Brady Out For The Season!; McCain's Hemorrhoids

MEDIA COVERAGE OF A McCAIN HEALTH ISSUE WOULD BE PERVASIVE

The notion is macabre, but the health of a 72-year-old presidential candidate should be a palpable concern to all voters.

Events this weekend might make you wonder how the media would react to an ailing McCain? How would the Fourth Estate react to a Ariel Sharon-type scenario where the country's leader is incapacitated indefinitely?

When New England Patriots Super Bowl heartthrob, Tom Brady, went down with a season-ending knee injury yesterday, the sports media went nuts. The Tom Brady Health Watch is still humming along Monday afternoon even as the Patriots announced Brady is out for the season.

SI.com has a Brady watch icon on its headline news section similar to links that monitor every ball and strike or first down and yards gained--"UPDATE: Brady ordered non-fat milk and Cheerios for breakfast. Nurse returned. Out of milk. Brady ordered orange juice and ice chips."

This, of course, is the greatest quarterback 0f his generation. The amount of news coverage on the leader of the freeworld would be unimaginable.

BREAKING NEWS: McCain's hemorrhoids have flared. Surgery set for 4pm. Palin in the ass is itching to be sworn in.

Gun-Totting Palin And Daughter's Shotgun Wedding

MYSPACE PAGE OF OFFENDING BOYFRIEND SAYS, 'IF YOU F*** WITH ME, I'LL KICK ASS'

Gov. Sarah Palin and her family worthy of a drama on the CW Network and also known to Sen. Barack Obama as the gift that keeps giving is bringing daddy to St. Paul according to The Associated Press.

The New York Post tracked the young high school hockey sniper, Levi Johnston, through his MySpace page and found him to be, well, as immature as any 17-year-old jock.

On his MySpace page, Johnston boasts, "I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added.

He also claims to be "in a relationship," but states, "I don't want kids.

Just as the entire disclosure of Bristol Palin's pregnancy could not get more preposterous, her father now says that the couple had previously contemplated tying the knot before she was knocked up.

Exactly what every high school senior dreams about: settling down. Sixty-year-old evangelical couples sitting in an affluent mega-church might applaud such action, yet outside of such pretzel logic, you have to believe such a decision is not as tidy as the VP's statement that her daughter would be "growing up" faster than they would like.

Palin Smoked Doobs; Had Hippie Children

FOUR OUNCES OF POT IS LEGAL IN ALASKA; WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?

Without any sourcing, London's Timeonline reported Sunday McCain's VP candidate, Sarah Palin, smoked marijuana in Alaska while it was legal in that state.

Counterbalancing McCain’s reputation as a political dinosaur, Palin smoked pot when it was legal in Alaska, admitting, “I can’t claim a Bill Clinton and say I never inhaled”, and her children, Track, 19, Bristol, 17, Willow, 13, Piper, 7, and Trig, four months, have hippie-sounding names. Track, who joined the US infantry in September last year, is about to be deployed to Iraq. “

Two things: isn't it hilarious that a British-based reporter would conclude in his copy the idea that the names of Palin's children sound like something out of the sixties and that marijuana was once legal in Alaska.

In fact, the Alaskan Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that possession of four ounces of marijuana in the home is legal. In 2006, then governor, Frank Murkowski attempted to recriminalize pot. Palin also supported the ban on her way to winning the election.

Suddenly Working Women Become Campaign Issue

Dick Cheney eats babies. Sarah Palin has contempt for motherhood.

Within hours of Sen. John McCain tabbing the Alaskan governor as his vice presidential pick attacks from progressive female commentators have already risen from the din of the punditocracy.

The issue: Palin has a four-month infant born with Down Syndrome. She infamously returned to the governor's office three days after giving birth and now begins her precipitous climb from the Wasila City Council to vice president in just ten years.

Kim Stagliano, a contributor to the Huffington Post, who herself has three children with autism, finds herself struggling with the role of working women and their families.

I believe in a woman's right to any career she desires. Yet as a mother of kids whose needs have taken precedence over my career for over a decade, I know the realities of special needs parenting. And I find myself asking a question that makes me feel like Donna Reed: Once you've chosen to have five children, and your infant has special needs, who needs you more, your family or your job? And if I can ask this touchy, old fashioned question, I wonder if conservatives will warm to a woman willing to make such a profound family sacrifice.

This issue, supremely destined to be pursued on programs like The View and Oprah, are at the heart of McCain's hugely risky choice of Palin.

It could work fabulously with the dialogue benefitting McCain's apparently tack towards Hillary Clinton supporters, but it could also come at the expense of working class men who might view the issue through the glasses of contempt for professional women.

It's a gamble that McCain has invariably analyzed with the metrics showing a net profit of votes over Palin and an unwillingness of those same working cllass men to vote for a black man.

McCain's Choice In Palin Shows Panic

44-YEAR-OLD ALASKAN GOV. MUTES TALK OF OBAMA'S INEXPERIENCE

Sarah Palin was hardly the under the radar vice presidential pick that the New York Times and Salon.com will have you believe.

Her appeal of youth, strong socially conservative views and proximity to energy issues in the vast Alaskan wilderness made her a dark horse candidate.

Was Palin the right pick? It depends on your foresight.

The choice of Palin out of relative obscurity is a brilliant very short term move. It takes the spotlight away from what many are initially calling one of the most brilliant convention speeches in American history by Barack Obama and moves towards another historic moment--the first female veep choice in GOP history.

The choice of a unknown, especially in the internet age, is a smart marketing move. Assuredly, Palin has been googled extensively and her webpage has been bombarded. The natural question of 'who is she?' quickly become an exercise in interactive politics.

There are huge problems, though, with McCain's choice that shines a light on his present frame of mind. Palin's state is one of the epicenters of controversial energy policies that McCain hopes to exploit, except she strongly supports a huge natural gas pipelines through her state that McCain opposes.

Did the McCain camp view Obama's choice of Joe Biden as significantly shoring up his perceived lack of experience that they surrendered the point by picking an even more inexperienced politician in Palin?

The issue surrounding McCain that his campaign is choosing to neglect is age. He apparently feels that he relatively advanced age (for a presidential candidate) is such a non-issue that the electorate will not take the extra step in their collective minds to pose the question: Is Palin ready to take his place and more importantly, would America be interested in an overly experienced vice president a la Dick Cheney to run the levers of power in Washington during a Palin administration?

What this pick does not do is make a particularly hard play for Hillary Clinton supporters. Illinois congressmen Rahm Emmanuel is completely correct when he told The New York Times the only similarities between the two is gender. It's inconceivable that a female Clinton supporter would possiblly be interested in an anti-abortion, evangelical Christian. Their hard feelings only run so deep.

One thing is for sure, the upcoming vice presidential debate between the viscereal Biden and the woman once named "Sarah Barracuda" for her tenacious high school basketball style should be political pugilism at its best.