If you would have asked me last week who John McCain was going to pick as his running mate, I would have said Mitt Romney without hesitation. As a matter of fact I thought it was a done deal way back when he pulled out of the primary race so abruptly.
Little did I know… I was totally blindsided by his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as I think a large majority of people were, especially Republicans and right wing conservatives.
Now the burning question is, did this help or hurt the McCain campaign? I think it may have set the hard core conservatives back on their heels a little (or maybe a LOT) and it will take them a while to recover. Not to sound sexist but the old conservative guard may have a hard time getting behind the idea of a woman being a step away from the Presidency.
It was also apparent that it surprised the opposition as well. The Democrats didn’t really know how to react or what to say at first and they are now scrambling to figure out how it’s going to affect McCain’s chances. They are also frantically trying to figure out how they are going to attack this new development in the presidential race.
You can bet the pollsters are going to be very busy for the next few days and weeks desperately trying to figure out how the numbers play out. Everybody wants to find out which way the Hillary supporters are going to go, especially the women. Are they going to leave the Democratic ticket to try and put a woman in the White House?
Nobody really knows yet how this is going to play out but it may well make or break McCain’s campaign. Personally, I think it was a stroke of genius. I think it WILL grab a large portion of women voters who supported Hillary, especially the ones that supported her simply because of her gender.
His conservative base won’t be a problem as they may be speechless at the moment but they will come around. They won’t jump ship because the alternative is unthinkable. They would never go over to the other side.
When it comes to the uncommitted moderates and independents, I think it just levels the playing field. They now have the choice of voting for the first black or the first woman for President of the United States. Either way, it’s a first and either choice could appeal to the “middle of the roaders”.
To say this presidential race is noteworthy would be a monumental understatement. It is nothing less than history in the making. The campaigning is going to be interesting to say the least and there will be record turnouts at the polls.
Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen. We’re in for a hell of a ride.
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