Judging by the applause, cheers and grins during the last thirty minutes of the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, Sarah Palin's speech was an unqualified success at this Manhattan viewing party packed with young professionals. But this doesn't mean John McCain is a shoo-in as the next President of the United States. "I didn't know anything about her," said Devin Macnow, a marketing manager and self-described liberal Republican. "Should anything happen to a 72-year-old man whose health conditions we don't know too much about, what I find out about her affects my decision."
The Speaking Channel, a (nonpartisan, it should be noted) company that trains professionals in public speaking, hosted a convention viewing party attended by about thirty-five people in their thirties and early forties. Although many identified as McCain supporters, few people were motivated to attend by any particular interest in Sarah Palin. "She wasn't my first choice," said Robert Hornak, founder and chairman of the Urban Republican Coalition. "She was probably third on my list."
Alison Smith, a consultant at a conservative think tank, admitted that she "wasn't thrilled" with McCain's choice. "I thought he was picking a woman for the woman card," she said. "And had he picked a card who wasn't so polarizing, he might have had a better shot."
David Healy, a financial advisor at MetLife, was enthusiastic about Palin, calling her "a shooting star and a red-meat Republican." But his next statement may have acknowledged a lack of experience on Palin's side. "Benjamin Harrison was one of our worst presidents and he was also our most qualified," Healy said. Another McCain supporter, a member of the Manhattan Institute who wished to remain anonymous, also seemed to minimize Palin's experience when he explained that "McCain wanted a fresh face and he realized that the 'experience alone' argument doesn't work."
There was a general agreement that Palin's familial issues have no bearing on whether she's appropriate as a Vice Presidential candidate. "Not relevant," said Macnow, "I'm not going to fault her for having a pregnant daughter." Even Barack Obama agrees, saying family should be kept out of politics, and in general, this was dismissed as a non-issue. "No one will remember this two months from now," said Healy.
Opinion was split on whether Palin supports or takes away from McCain's image as a maverick. Hornak, who is running for City Council in Astoria, Queens, said, "I think she reinforces McCain's image as a maverick who will shake things up and stand up to the conventional wisdom." But Macnow wonders whether Palin is too much of a hardline conservative. "Is she going to be able to support McCain's crossing the party lines if it comes down to that?" he asked.
To those who may worry that choosing Palin means McCain is now stuck pandering to the Christian Coalition and other players on the far right, Macnow had this to add: "I think McCain does whatever the hell he wants. That's evidenced in his very choice of picking her. A million people would have told him he's crazy for picking a relative unknown at the very last minute. As of last night it looked like it worked; we'll have to see about the future."