Posted on 09/18/2008 8:47:19 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
WASHINGTON -- Conservatives, who reputedly have lumps of coal where their hearts should be, have fallen in love. So have many people who are not doctrinal conservatives. The world is a sweeter place because Sarah Palin has increased the quantity of love, but this is not a reliable foundation for John McCain's campaign.
The tech bubble was followed by the housing bubble, which has been topped by the Palin bubble. Bubbles will always be with us, because irrational exuberance always will be. Its symptom is the assumption that old limits have yielded to undreamt-of possibilities: The Dow will always rise, as will housing prices, and rapture about a running mate can be decisive in a presidential election.
Palin is as bracing as an Arctic breeze and delightfully elicits the condescension of liberals whose enthusiasm for everyday middle-class Americans cannot survive an encounter with one. But the country's romance with her will, as romances do, cool somewhat, and even before November some new fad might distract a nation that loves "American Idol" for the metronomic regularity with which it discovers genius in persons hitherto unsuspected of it.
McCain should, therefore, enunciate a closing argument for his candidacy that goes to fundamentals of governance, concerning which the vice presidency is usually peripheral. His argument should assert the virtues of something that voters, judging by their behavior over time, prefer -- divided government.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
George, what about an Obama bubble? Bad analogy, IMHO.
I like George, but he is the token Republican on awful ABC.
He is a little better than RINO David Brooks.
I’m sorry, what were you saying?
It’s just that “Celebrity Dancing with the American Idols who Want to be Millionaires with a better View of Regis and Kelly on the next Oprah” is on next...
As far as I am concerned, the Sarah Bubble only has to last until election day. Call me a cynic, but after that she can learn OJT.
Even if this guy is right, what would stop Palin from selecting a really savvy Vice President to help out with foriegn policy? And she would already have the people in place that McCain had picked. What is the problem??
“George, what about an Obama bubble? Bad analogy, IMHO.”
Yeah no kidding.
The term “bubble” is becoming over used now to describe even the tiniest rise and fall.
Palin’s rise was not a “bubble”.
But rather that of an aircraft *on many flights*, navigated by her. Ups and downs, but a steady course set, and always moving forward.
She is where she is because she put herself in a position to BE there.
A “bubble” implies an inherent, underlying lack of substance.
Governor Palin is ALL about solid substance, across the board, in every aspect of life. That is why she resonates so solidly with conservatives....no let’s just say with REGULAR, honest Americans.
George Will, your beltway media elitism is showing in your misread of Americans.
I find more to agree with Will in this piece than I often do anymore. McCain does need to push harder in terms of what he brings to the table. On the flip side though if the MSM ignores campaign issues that might benefit McCain it does not really matter what he says or does.
McCain/Palin advertising has to be very strong.
The money line:
“liberals whose enthusiasm for everyday middle-class Americans cannot survive an encounter with one.”
Yes. Obama is the bubble; Sarah, and her conservative perspective, is substance.
Will wants us to believe she is a beauty pageant airhead instead of a tough, experienced governor who has a track record of true reform.
George Will has his nose as far up in the air as the snobs on the left.
Boy, does Washington, DC need an enema deep into BOTH major parties AND the bureaucracy!
Will is still showing his elitism big time. He just can’t get over the Palin pick. He could have written an article and made all his valid points without using the Palin pick as the snarky bookends for his advice.
Well, the Reagan Bubble also burst but it sure was worth it at the time. All things human are fleeting.
G Will is a useless DC insider that pretends to be conservative in order to be the token for all these useless Leftist panels .
He never defends Repubs but trashes them non stop .
He is a JOKE and ALWAYS WRONG and a Lib !
I would not call Sarah a bubble, simply because she is not SOMETHING THAT IS NOT!! (ie. Obama)
Sarah is Sarah and as someone put it so well, “she is all we wish we could all be.” Sarah is a breath of freah air, but more than that, she blew away the clouds of doom, gloom and apathy and let the light of love shine through.
John McCains amazing coice with Sarah has not yet been fully realized. Any who suggests that she is not qualified has the Word “Dumba$$” stamped metaphorically on the foreheads.
Well folks, the Palin bubble has burst according to the NYTimes and the bounce is over. msnbc.com reporting it’s because “Bush Still Hurting McCain”.
McCain/Palin advertising has to be very strong.
Your worst nightmare is Nancy, Harry, and Barry running this country.
(But most people don’t know who Nancy and Harry are! Hell, most people don’t know how the government works! The President proposes, the congress disposes doesn’t mean a thing to those trained in government churches.)
This election will be decided on the ‘Government Dependency Index’. In 2007, the Index was over 51% of the population dependent on government for their existence and Obama promises them more largess from the treasury. Can he buy enough votes?
I agree that some people like Palin for “poor reasons”, and that such admirers are NOT in the bag - essentially that their support is transient. I’m not talking about us news junkies and grassroots conservatives, but many (not all) “normal people” who do not have the luxury of or interest in politics at an ideological level, but who vote on whimsical bases (because x1 is black, or x2 is female, or so-and-so has a nice voice and great hair, or x3 reminds me of my friendly previous neighbor who threw a great BBQ once). These people constitute a “bubble” in a very real sense (as do some of Obama’s young supporters).
Thus, I am not so sure that following Will’s advice would result in reaching that subset of Palin’s fan base. We really have to come to grips with the fact that a sizable part of the population is only marginally political, and are in general more interested in voting for American Idol than in voting for government. Sarah Palin very much needs to retain her “hockey/soccor/PTA mom” qualities - the substance Will wants McCain to offer is important for growing the non-bubble support base, including conservatives and moderates. The “American Idol Americans” are immune to Substance.
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