New McCain Mailer Pushes Palin As Ticket-Head And Moderate

The McCain campaign and the RNC are sending out a mailer that pushes Gov. Sarah Palin as both the figurehead of the GOP ticket and a centrist.

A reader in Pennsylvania sends over a four-page pamphlet titled "McCain-Palin Solutions for Our Family," which labels as priorities for the Republican team non-traditional conservative positions such as climate change and stem cell research. The inset includes a copy of a USA Today article with the headline: "In targeting big oil, Palin 'governed from the center': She didn't press conservative views on lawmakers."

The next page includes a campaign statement on how "John McCain and Sarah Palin will work with Democrats and Republicans for sensible solutions." And underneath is a graph about how Palin "as the mother of a special needs child... knows first hand the value of advanced medical treatments research."

The final page is a photo of McCain and Palin which noticeably features the vice presidential candidate in a more prominent placement than the presidential candidate himself.

What's noteworthy here is not just the push to feature Palin -- whose popularity and favorability ratings have fallen drastically over the past few weeks -- in a leading role. It's also how consciously the campaign is trying to track away from conservative orthodoxy. The pamphlet was sent from a reader in Philadelphia -- obviously not the state's Republican stronghold. And it is tradition for presidential tickets to move towards the center as the election approaches.

But the desire to break from the party has really become a defining feature for McCain-Palin. Over the last few days, some of the loudest applause lines at their rallies have come when McCain declares that he is not George W. Bush.

Comments

[littlepuffycloud]

It's sad to think who would be excited to receive this in the mail...excuse me...just a little mini-throw up.

[dentuso]

"Increase funding for stem-cell research"
"Address climate change"
"Fight wasteful spending"


Are these people serious? They're now running as Democrats?


"Increase funding for stem-cell research"
- Palin was vehemently opposed to it up until 7 weeks ao

"Address climate change"
- Huh? How can you argue that you know how to fix something when at the same time you argue that you don't know what caused it? The suggestion is that man has enough influence to fix global warming, but it's ridiculous to think that man had enough influence to cause it?

"Fight wasteful spending"
- Because lord knows, adopting precisely the same fiscal policies as the last administration, who increased our national debt by $5.5 trillion should work out nicely.

[emily00011]

Anyone expecting an abortion position change in the future too?

[dentuso]

Far too late now, methinks. Besides, her only value now is in keeping the uber-conservative base, which they'll lose if she moves even slightly left of the far-right side.

[all74]

Don't forget - this is what Bush did to win in 2000. Let your opponent throw out some talking points, see what people really like, then claim them as your own. It did not surprize me in the least that McPalin came out with a "Change" theme after it was clear that that was working for Obama. The rethugs don't have any real, worthy ideas, so instead they wait and then claim Democrat ideas for themselves.

I honestly cannot fathom why in the world the rethug party still exists... and that is one reason that I am so thankful to be living in Canada instead of the States (though I am a dual citizen). It seems like rethugs and their supporters are living in some kind of dreamworld... Orwell was definitely right, just a few years off.

[DieHardObamaSupporter]

The first time in American politics, the presidential candidate is holding onto the coat-tail of the vp pick.

How pathetic.

I don't know whether to laugh of laugh harder.......ROTF......LMAO......There that's settled.

[MIMom]

I got this a few weeks ago in the mail...don't think I kept it. Interesting it's just coming out on H P now...

I just laughed at it, didn't realize what they had done. It's funny...sort of.

[lioness39]

Is this a not so subtle message that John McCain is in poor health. Or, is it just more of his p iss poor judgment coming into play? Or maybe, he is folding up under the b@ll busting Sarah's nasty tactics. ..

[kristycu]

or it the RNC Plan to boob mccain out and let Palin take over-

[Blue in NH]

Is that a freudian slip I see??

[Blue in NH]

When you add to the mix McCain's comments about having had a good life, I think the message is clear: his cancer has returned and he doesn't expect to live very much longer.

[DaBluAce]

this is their way of saying your services are no longer needed...he better watch out.....palin is going to do him in(literally) First dud and Sarah going to take him on a little camping trip or invite him over for some special special moose burgers and voila!

[reno1190]

PALIN MUST HAVE MISSED SCHOOL IN HER DAY BETTER START HER FROM GRADE SCHOOL WITH HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES SHE HAS NOTHING BUT COBB WEBS UPSTAIRS SOMEONE LIED AND TOLD HER SHE WOULD MAKE IT ON LOOKS ONLY WELL THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TALK ABOUT 2012 WELL REPUGS SHE IS NOW DAMAGED GOODS SEE RUSSIA FROM ALASKA THATS HER EXPERIENCE AFTER GWB WE SAY NEVER AGAIN

[mommadona]

So -McCain KNOWS he's heading for that big Neo-Con dustbin in the sky, and rather than considering COUNTRY FIRST, he's willing to put the biggest example of a Christian Dominionist extremist in his place of power.....

McCain...THE WORST POSSIBLE CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE WORRRLD.

[robotfog]

EVER

[pons1595]

The man behind the curtain for the Republicans knew victory was highly improbable in 2008: no candidates, ideas, “nada.” Republican pundits talking as if Democrats will win by 20 points, etc.; then the Democrats nominate a black man. Whew, this may be possible, after all; America is racist as hell, but we still have no one because McCain is a fool. The best thing to do is shove an extreme righty in there on his wing, someone we can groom and control, if he loses as the circumstances predict, but Obama's black. So we have nothing to run on except the usual character assassination crap, especially when, right after the convention, we gained a lead because of the dress --and the bottom fell out of the economy. Now, we really have “nada” but silly-ass character crap. Go with it, especially let the dress with charisma do the dirty work, break her in, that's all she got, except the T&A. But all those other sideline imperfections like the AIP, et al? America won't care; they'll drool over the story and the T&A, especially the extreme righties! All of this, if you're wondering why McCain's campaign is so erratic/idiotic, is because it's all for 2012 and running T&A. No one behind the curtain cares too much if McCain loses; they expected it all along. If he wins by some slime chance, his cancer can come back and take him, you know what I mean?

[Glowcy]

.
this is making me sick

.

[munki]

add few hundred million of us and our children to it...

[Lombard1006]

I would like to see Palin seriously address the challenges of having a special needs child. Has she spent any time researching what her son requires and can she share her findings? How has she and will she reach out to the hundreds of thousands of families who are financially strapped taking care of children that need ongoing, often extensive, medical care? When insurance runs out or when a family doesn't have insurance, what solutions does she propose to help families cope? What plans does she offer for special needs children aging into adulthood?

This is a great opportunity for her to really bite into something and make a difference. But what we get instead is her camp extolling the virtues of her being a special needs mom and her hauling her infant out at 10:00 at night to make sure everyone sees her being a special needs mom. Her baby is indeed special. She, on the other hand, remains clueless, self-centered and out of touch.

[MIMom]

If that really is her son (which I doubt) that it not behavior becoming of a mother and she shouldn't be doing that. All that baby seems to be is a prop. That's not right.

[SeanGardner]

Who cares if she is seen as the head of the ticket! No amount of picture maneuvering on mailers can erase the fact that Palin:

- authorized (as Mayor) her town of Wasila to charge rape victims for rape kits;
- opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest;
- opposes EQUAL WORK for EQUAL PAY
- opposes THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

Who cares what HER position is. She's out for herself. The question is: what position are the American people in with respect to the issues that greatly impact their lives?

WHether its McCain-Palin or Palin-McCain, we just can't afford more of the same.

[AZ1]

What the media will not show you:

Video footage shows AIP Vice Chairman Dexter Clark describing Palin at the Oct 3-4 2007 American Secessionist Convention in Chattanooga, TN. "she was a AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town -- that was a nonpartisan job. But you get along to go along. She eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won't go into that."
"she is pretty well sympathetic because of her former membership"


Sarah Palin, Dexter Clark AIP Vice Chairman secret video footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twOPPzrkBwk


Who is the real anti american?

[jayelo]

"What's happening here is something we have never seen before: centrist Clinton Democrats and Republicans are working together to expose the DNC and Obama campaign's illegal activities and orchestrated, coordinated fraud. Both parties are working with federal agents to investigate ACORN, which has been funded with upwards of $800,000 in questionable donations from the Obama campaign (in what appears to be the expressed and explicit direction to engineer voter fraud in the general election).

"The tactics being employed now in the 15 states currently under investigation are the VERY SAME TACTICS we saw on the ground in Iowa, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, and other states working for Hillary Clinton in the primaries."

[ErnestineBass]

Just FYI, when quoting ANYTHING, you're required to provide attribution.

[robotfog]

I don't believe you. Not because I don't want to believe you, but the reading I've done says differently.

[ErnestineBass]

jayelo is a SPAM TR0LL. Ignore it.

[ElBruce]

This just reinforces the sense that due to his age and medical status as a cancer survivor, they're really asking you to elect Palin for President - as if her ascension to the Presidency is a foregone conclusion. I for one can't think of anything more frightening.

[iPolitics]

"Solution for America"

Hahahaha. That worked great for Hillary

[ErnestineBass]

Perhaps the "Final Solution for America"...?

[evekendall]

They forgot to change "McCain-Palin" to "Palin-McCain."