Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

The Phantom Candidate

by BooMan
Fri Sep 5th, 2008 at 02:31:50 PM EST

I find this rather depressing.

McCain camp manager Rick Davis on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” spent most of the segment arguing about press coverage of Palin, downplayed Palin’s need to do interviews with the press. Dismissed reports that people within the campaign told McCain he couldn’t pick Lieberman for veep.

The McCain campaign is literally going to try to sell Sarah Palin as a credible president without letting the press talk to her. For example, this Sunday, Barack Obama will appear on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, John McCain with be on Face the Nation, and Joe Biden will be on Meet the Press. Sarah Palin will be reading briefing papers in Alaska. Her only appearance on television?

Fox News will air one-hour special documentary Saturday on Palin, interviewing her family, friends, colleagues.

Even Mark Halperin is mocking this campaign strategy. Ali has more.

It looks like Sarah Palin is going to be used more as a way to save congressional seats than any serious effort to win the presidency. Want evidence for that? John McCain cannot raise any more money for his presidential campaign because he is accepting public funding. So, why is Palin doing this?

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear at around 30 fund-raising events in the next two months leading up to Election Day – about one every two days on average, officials with Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign said today.

Where is that money going to go?

The money raised between now and Nov. 4 will go to the Republican National Committee and state parties, which can buy advertising and conduct get-out-the-vote activities to support the ticket.
Because McCain is accepting a public grant of $84.2 million to finance his general election bid, he is no longer allowed to raise funds for his campaign directly.

Money for the RNC and state parties will have a tangential beneficial effect for the top of the ticket, but the real beneficiaries are going to be politicians further down the ticket. A weak McCain-Romney ticket threatened to cause a wipe-out of Republicans in Congress and in state government. Palin will turn out the base in key Republican areas and she'll raise a lot of dough. What she won't do is run a normal campaign. She won't be doing any media appearances except for fluff pieces. She'll be doing a straight sprint...'30 fundraisers in 60 days'...to raise cash. That's it. That's what she's for. There is a significant risk that this charade will collapse into an Epic Fail.

The strategy is an insult to every American. And then there are those scandals up in Alaska. Trust me on this...Alaska will supply bad news for Palin every single day of this campaign.

The Phantom Candidate | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: The Phantom Candidate (4.00 / 2)

This is the most naked hunt for the dumbass vote I've ever seen, at least on the national stage. They're counting on voters going for the Hallmark Moment and forgetting everything about issues, character, and credibility. They're basically going all in on playing presidential politics as American Idol.

It's become clear now that that was the game plan all along and Palin, or somebody like her, was the inevitable choice. Look at McCain's campaign: all weepy hokum about his suffering and his barroom patriotism, coupled with hate attacks on "elitist liberals" and the rest, total conversion to the whiny theocrat right, and a small and transient sprinkling of vague references to policy. Palin ramps up the sentimental showbiz while she broadens the hate attacks to include environmentalists, science, gays, advocates of reproductive liberty, poor people, the well-educated, and of course "liberal elitists". For that, she doesn't need media interviews that she doesn't control. They would just distract from the pre-adolescent appeal they are building out of second-hand emotion and wishful thinking.

Suddenly the campaign plan all falls neatly into place. I wish I felt surer that it couldn't work, but Red Bull Gives You Wings.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

by DaveW on Fri Sep 5th, 2008 at 03:29:36 PM EST

Re: The Phantom Candidate (4.00 / 2)

OK, finally got through on Alaska.gov site. Palin's biz partner divorce papers confidentiality request. Everything moves along to a final resolution and then sundry child-insurance mods. Inactive from May until September 3rd (lots of stuff before 4/3, including final dissolution decree). Then a move to remove from the public record. Yup, nothing fishy about that timing, I'm sure. Not an RNC lawyer in sight probably. Nothing to see here, move along.......

09/04/2008 Order Denying Motion Case Motion #3: Motion to Make Case File Confidential 0.00 0.00
09/03/2008 Motion to Make Case File Confidential Attorney: Pro per (0100001) Scott Alan Richter (Petitioner); Case Motion #3 0.00 0.00
09/03/2008 Motion for Expedited Consideration of: Motion to Make Case File Confidential Attorney: Pro per (0100001) Case Motion #2 0.00 0.00
05/19/2008 Notice to Employer Re: Children's Medical Insurance Deborah Marie Richter (Co-Petitioner); 0.00 0.00
05/19/2008 Cust/Spprt/Visit Modified. Case Closed. (no motion link) 0.00 0.00
05/19/2008 Order Granting Stipulation Case Motion #1: Standard Motion 0.00 0.00
04/03/2008 Stipulated Agreement for Child Support and Parenting Agreement Attorney: Pro per (0100001) Case Motion #1

by steve duncan on Fri Sep 5th, 2008 at 03:33:04 PM EST

Re: The Phantom Candidate (none / 1)

Booman, this pit bull with lipstick wants to fight with the big boys and throw low blows with zero street cred, then well it is time for all of her skeletons to be laid out on the national stage. She is a "family values" fraud.

There are 2 different men she is linked to with adulterous affairs. Scott Richter and Brad Hanson. Both are former business partners of Todd's. Yes, Richter just attempted to seal up his divorce records. We just recapped everything on our latest blog post. It is blowing up on a few social sites.

http://www.bluetidalwave.com/2008/09/palins-lover-files-to-seal-divorce.html

The GOP would be running with crap like that. I think the narrative to push on her is that she is a LIAR and untrustworthy. Also, her husband Todd is pretty hands on and I think he is running more of the show than they lead on.

Blue Tidal Wave

by Mac G on Fri Sep 5th, 2008 at 05:54:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Phantom Candidate (4.00 / 2)

"Sambo beat the bitch" - let's see if this gets any secondary confirmations.

Latino Político | "We are condemned to kill time, thus we die bit by bit." - Octavio Paz

by Man Eegee (man.eegee at gmail dot com) on Fri Sep 5th, 2008 at 06:03:39 PM EST