For the past eighteen months, Barack Obama has owned the “change” paradigm in American politics. With soaring oratory and a compelling life story, his narrative seemed to define the future of generational change in America. Obama’s expertly delivered speech last night seemed only to solidify his hold on the title of change agent in America.
That was, of course, until this morning. With a bold and unorthodox VP choice, John McCain has showed that audacity doesn’t just belong to the Democrats.
In choosing Governor Sarah Palin, McCain first took advantage of the political opportunities presented in Obama’s selection of Joe Biden.
True, a pro-life, NRA member may not be the prototypical Hillary Democrat, but Palin will serve as a constant reminder to women voters of what Obama failed to do with those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, something that Palin immediately understood in her selection remarks in Dayton.
Moreover, Palin has executive experience. At 44, she has already managed something larger than either Barack Obama or Joe Biden. Palin is also the military commander of the Alaska National Guard, something that appears more consequential when you remember that her’s is the only state that borders Russia.
Ultimately, where the Biden pick was seen as cautious, even defensive in some respects, the Palin pick for McCain is one of clear confidence.
Importantly, the choice revitalizes the McCain brand of maverick reform. During his speech last night, Obama push hard to link McCain policies of the future to Bush policies of today. The Palin pick could not do more to prove the fallacy of that proposition.
Palin made a name for herself in Alaska as an enemy of public corruption, and has taken on special interests and the state’s Republican establishment, much as McCain has done in Washington. It is ironic that both Palin and McCain have been active examples of the post partisanship that Obama preaches but never actually practiced.
Palin earned her chops in Alaskan politics. She challenged establishment Republican Frank Murkowski in the Alaska gubernatorial primary and won, and then went on to beat former Alaska governor Tony Knowles in the general election.
And she is an executive, making real-life decisions about budget allocations, social services, health care and economic growth. She has a record achievement, Obama-Biden have a record of votes. Palin is experienced in land use issues, conservation and is an energy state governor, a top issue for voters this year. Her astronomical approval rating is a reflection of her effectiveness
Palin also has a compelling life story. She has been married for 20 years and is the mother of five children. Her first son joined the Army and is going to Iraq in September, a fact that she and her husband take pride in. Her last son, born only four months ago, has Downs Syndrome. For Palin, the Iraq War, health care and medical research, as well as issues of life are not abstract; she lives them and can relate to the working families that face similar challenges each day.
Beyond seizing upon the weaknesses of the Biden selection, the Palin pick also crucially energizes the Republican base that has never entirely trusted McCain. Palin is pro-life, pro-family and a lifetime NRA member. She believes in limited government, personal freedom and the integrity of government service that roots out waste and is intolerant to corruption. To conservative activists, she will be a dream come true.
Palin’s two years in office and lack of foreign policy experience are her biggest risks as a candidate, though she is the only governor who’s state borders two sovereign nations. But the Democrats run a risk here in making Palin’s experience their chief angle of attack. Every charge that Obama-Biden makes on Palin’s experience is effectively a de facto attack on Obama’s readiness for high office.
Already the Obama campaign’s first punches have been seriously off the mark, requiring senior level backtracking. The campaign has mocked Palin as a small town mayor, a charge not likely to endear Obama to the rural voters that he already insulted during the primaries.
In making the pick, McCain did not overlook the Obama phenomenon. During this campaign, Obama has become something of a cultural icon; a status that derives from an excitement and intensity that Obama generates among his supporters.
With Palin, McCain contests that ground with an attractive, intelligent, well spoken, emerging, conservative leader. Obama’s campaign framed generational appeal as Democratic appeal. Palin challenges that as someone who by life story and life experience could not be more different than Obama, but whose narrative is no less compelling.
Make no mistake, Palin is no Dan Quayle.
So, in making his first presidential decision, McCain reached beyond the comfort of the status quo to double down on his greatest strengths as a candidate, just as he bet his candidacy last spring by doubling down on Iraq.
This vice presidential choice does not come without risk, but neither does the presidency. In a year of formidable hurdles for Republicans, Palin represents a calculated but politically canny risk, and therefore the best chance of a “game changer” that Republicans will need to win in November.
In this regard, McCain succeeded beyond expectation.