Quote:
Originally Posted by Schneed10
The Palin move wasn't meant to go after Hillary supporters as much as it was to energize the conservative base. Conservatives have been very concerned about McCain's committment to conservative social values, and they vowed to give him a hard time if he selected Joe Lieberman as his running mate.
When it comes to Hillary supporters, 75% of them said they supported Obama before he picked Biden. When he picked Biden and passed over Hillary, only 66% of Hillary supporters said they would support Obama.
The act of passing over Hillary for VP appeared to alienate some of her supporters, and McCain sensed that he could appeal to them. But he's not doing that through Palin, Palin is there to pander to the conservatives. He's going to appeal to Hillary's supporters through his own centrist tendencies.
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I disagree, I think in large part McCain took keen note of the trouble Barack was having with some Hill supporters and saw this as an opening and a potential game changer. Yes, he may rally the conservative base but at what cost? What do Indie voters think about this pick? Are they as conservative on many of the social issues that Palin has and does stand for? In the end, this election is coming down to that slice of the electorate. Obama is trying to rally his base and so is McCain. If both are successful, then it comes down to the independent voter. Another thing, McCain needs that vote more than Obama. This woman adds maybe two things to McCain's ticket. She's an energy buff, coming from the state of Alaska, and she's a woman. And to the extent he can capitilize on the latter will determine how good a pick this was. Now whether or not this was truly McCain's motive, no one knows. But I can tell you first hand, many of my Hillary friends see this as an insult.