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Friday, February 29, 2008

"Obamamania" no match for "The Palin Effect"

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of this column, I would be remiss if I did not thank Rush Limabaugh for all of the help he has given to our movement in the last few days. Mega dittos, El Rushbo!


Now for the actual column.


There has been a lot of talk lately saying that Gov. Palin would be a good VP nominee only if Hillary Clinton comes back to win the Democratic nomination. However, I actually think that the Governor would be even better against a ticket led by Barack Obama, a belief that I held long before the Senator from Illinois became the Demsfrontrunner. I persevered in this effort because I thought that Palin would also be a very effective choice against Clinton, but I am absolutely ecstatic that we now have the opportunity to put her up against an Obama-led ticket.

Here’s why: Sarah Palin is, in my opinion, a very similar candidate to Barack Obama in terms of her demeanor, youth, message of hope, and massive popularity. The difference is that Palin actually has close to a decade of experience as an executive in state and local government. She has actually PRODUCED change. Obama, on the contrary, has never been an executive. Gov. Palin has built an impressive record of accomplishments during her years in government, while Obama subsists mainly on his oratory skills…and I will take that matchup any day of the week.


If what I’ve heard during the last year has been any indication, the main criticism leveled at Palin in a Vice Presidential campaign would be that she is “inexperienced” based on her relatively short time as Governor. I actually like this criticism because it is easily refuted by listing all of the major proposals that Palin has passed in the last year (ethics reform, AGIA, ACES, etc.) Any shots taken at Palin’s short gubernatorial tenure will boomerang back to the less-experienced Obama and smack him in the face. Furthermore, if Obama picks an experienced old hand for VP (which he probably will), the McCain-Palin campaign could easily claim that the Democrats have their ticket upside-down!


I don’t believe in identity politics - which is why I supported putting up Palin against Clinton, even though it might not impact the female vote. However, from a purely practical standpoint, running a woman makes far more sense if the opposition is running an all-male ticket. Had I been more Machiavellian in this regard, I would have supported running an African-American VP against Hillary and saving a female VP for the off-chance that Obama might win. Yet, now it appears that picking a candidate on principle could also lead us into the best possible situation with regard to demographics.


Governor Palin is the perfect candidate to take on Barack Obama. She’s a fresh face with a message of hope, but she has the record to back it up. On top of that, her popularity among Alaskans (over 80% approval) reaches levels that would flabbergast even the Obama machine. Dimitri Vassilaros, a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, gave me my first media interview last summer (boy, was I nervous for that one. Still the harshest questions I’ve gotten to date, and most of my better answers didn’t make print). Anyway, his column coined the term “The Palin Effect” to describe the impact that the Governor can have on people. I think he was spot on in using that phrase, because Palin is one of the few leaders who can create not only a base of support, but an electoral phenomenon. And personally, I think that the Palin Effect just might be the antidote to Obamamania.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Palin: I'm Interested.



Gov. Palin tells The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza that she is interested in national office in the future. She doubts that she will be picked this year, but with the increasing buzz around her name, we think that she just might have to "make that decision" sooner rather than later. This video has gone up on a number of big time blogs due to Palin's blunt honesty aout national office. it is also getting noticed that she calls on other potential VP's to be honest about their willingness to serve on a ticket. I will have to disagree with Mr. Cillizza's argument that Palin (or any woman) would be considered only if Hillary Clinton wins the nomination. I hope to comment soon about why I think Palin might be even more effective against Obama than she would be against Clinton. So, stay tuned.

American Spectator, John Fund suggest Palin for VP!


That was the homepage at the website of The American Spectator this morning. You can the full article promoting Gov. Palin for VP by clicking here. In addition to this, I have also been able to confirm that Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund said in a speech this weekend to the Leadership Program of the Rockies that Gov. Palin would be "one of the best" VP choices for Sen. McCain. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of these stories in the coming weeks. (Note: These stories should not be viewed as endorsements, as they are not. But we are very happy to see them.)






Monday, February 25, 2008

Radio Appearance

Lastly, I will be appearing on Political Pistachio. tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Pacific (click here to listen) to discuss Gov. Palin's VP prospects. Be sure to tune in, as I will be talking about some exciting developments.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Action Alert: Palin excluded from Newsmax VP poll!

We have a crucial opportunity to make our voices heard, and we must take it. Newsmax.com (a major conservative news source) posted a poll today regarding John McCain's VP pick and FAILED to include Gov. Palin in its list of 16 candidates. This despite her repeated placement near the top of almost every online poll in which she is included (including the RealClearPolitics "Veepstakes!"). This presents us with a golden opportunity to prove just how much support Palin actually has by flooding Newsmax with our own "votes" via email.

Please send your "votes" for Gov. Palin to Newmax's Editor (click here) and Webmaster (click here) along with requests that Gov. Palin be added to the main poll based on her online base of support (be sure to mention all of the recent media mentions posted on the blog). Please remember to keep your comments civil.

Lastly, please forward this post to your friends. We will not view this as a setback, but rather an opportunity. Newmax's faux pas provides us with a golden chance to let the world know that there is a lot of support for a Palin nomination.

As backup for our argument that Gov. Palin must be included in polls for the VP nomination here is a linked list of major blogs and news oultets who have recently mentioned (or in some cases supported) the idea. By "recently", I mean within the last two weeks.

1. Slublog at Ace of Spades HQ
2. Instapundit
3. Brian Faughnan of The Weekly Standard
4. Samantha Sault, also of The Weekly Standard
5. Brandon Barker of AOL News' Political Machine
6. Lisa Schiffren of National Review
7. Ross Douthat of The Atlantic
8. Dena Bunis of The Orange County Register
9. The Times of India
10. Ray Mickol of Associated Content

Friday, February 8, 2008

We did it!!!

I picked one heck of a week to take a vacation, as McCain has now become the presumptive nominee and the veepstakes has officially begun, and today I found that we have succeeded in our quest to insert Gov. Palin into the top tier of the veepstakes. Here's a brief rundown of our success in the last few days.

1. Ace of Spades, a MAJOR player in the conservative blogosphere, has posted in favor a Palin nomination and linked our blog.

2. Instapundit has once again mentioned a possible Palin nomination.

3. WeeklyStandard.com has suggested Palin not once, but twice for the VP nomination.

4. And here's the big one: Governor Palin is running THIRD (tied) in RealClearPolitics' "Veepstakes!" Only Condoleeza Rice and J.C. Watts recieved more mentions, and Colin Powell had to settle for a tie with Sarah. Other major contenders left in Palin's dust include Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist, and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

I have an extremely busy day tomorrow here at CPAC, but I will see what I can do to keep you abreast of any new developments. Congratulations! We did it!