Sarah Palin & The Paul Wellstone Effect

Clearly Sarah Palin has hit a nerve with Democrats, given their astounding reaction to her selection by John McCain. It would appear they may be protesting too much.

Her treatment by the media (not by Obama, he said the right thing) reminds me of the funeral service of Paul Wellstone in 2002, which turned into a campaign rally. The electorate was so aghast at this that Norm Coleman was handed Wellstone's Senate seat. People can sense when there is piling on going on, and when there is just plain bad manners going on, and they are seeing it in the media right now. CNN, led by a sneering Campbell Brown, and MSNBC with panty-waisted Chris Matthews are leading the pack. Andrew Sullivan has sullied the reputation of "The Atlantic." And there is a backlash against it starting.

Obama is right in that the best thing to do is just be quiet about Palin's family. Women over 40 are key in this election, and they are rallying to the defense of one of their own. I talked to a prominent Democratic lady in Texas today, a grandmom, who is switching her vote to McCain specifically because of CNN's unhinged treatment of Palin. If they continue this bizarre show, the mainstream media will hand McCain the election. The American public is fair, and as the Wellstone "memorial" showed, the electorate knows when people have gone too far.

Comments

[tresbienz]

Rallying to one of their own? Please. This is one middle aged white lady who is not seeing Palin as her own. Make abortion a crime? Again? Mandatory creationism in schools? Banned library books? Firing for political disloyalty? Touting the gift of a DS child while promising tax cuts when the special education mandate has never been fully funded in the decades since it was originally passed? Tis simple to spout platitudes. Reality is a bit more difficult. I'll stick with my own...that's Senator Obama. Democrats discuss the big issues. Republicans say the election is about personalities. Not my vote. My vote is an issue vote and Palin is on the wrong side of every issue I care about.

[cbeenthere]

Gone too far?? Much has been written about Gov. Palin's professional qualifications, and that is what the voter's are rightly paying attention to. Perhaps you should give others the courtesy of reading their views. I don't see where you have.

[JulianJons]

If she cant take this scrutiny, how will she handle a real crisis with a hostile country? Are they gonna cry that it is unfair too? Bunch of crybabies. They arent exactly known for playing fair.Not long ago, McCain and his campaign, NOT the PRESS, pounded Obama with ads and everything else on the celebrity card. That has no substance and it was off base, yet they were very happy when it was working and the press was doing their bidding. Nobody begged them to stop. Obama rolled with the punches and kept on. Then he retaliates by canceling softball Larry King because Tucker Bounds couldnt handle Campbell Brown. Pathetic.

[SDnavyPROUD]

Generally the media is trying to get McCain to talk about facts, and it's not easy because they know if they do their campign will crash and burn. There have been some wackos, but they exist at every corner of the spectrum.

[Missmn]

What the Wellstone memorial showed is that people are stupid and easily swayed by those who do not have their best interests at heart. The Wellstone memorial was a fitting tribute to an outspoken partisan political leader. Norm Coleman was able to capture that seat for a number of reasons. Reaction to the memorial was just one of them. Had Paul Wellstone kept his promise to only serve two terms, and had he groomed a successor, the seat would have remained blue. His decision to run for a third term had as much sway over the electorate in Minnesota as did the very fitting tribute to his life and partisanship at his memorial.

[Clavis]

The Right is really good at reframing any issue or news topic to their advantage, and that's precisely what they're doing here. They're turning this into "Oh, look at everyone, picking on the poor woman!"

She's supposed to be a heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world, ready to step in and answer the phone at 3 am, but the press is being MEEEEEEEAN to her because she can't control her daughter (and 17 is not a "child")? Give me a break.

[Phaedrusnyc]

With all due respect, how is pointing out hypocrisy and bad judgment "out of bounds?" When we discuss Palin's family issues, we are not discussing her family- we are discussing Palin and her own judgment when it comes to her family. Judgment that includes promoting abstinence-only education when it is clear from Palin's very obvious example that it doesn't work. Judgment that includes getting on an airplane after her water has broken, endangering her unborn child. Can you honestly say that evidence that Obama had endangered his own children through lack of judgment would be considered "off-limits" in an issues campaign? Encouraging us to avoid these obvious questions of judgment is simply playing into the hands of the GOP, who presumably picked Palin for exactly that "teflon" quality.

[Krikkit]

I don't know about the Wellstone effect, but focusing so much on Sarah Palin and her family is certainly hurting the Democrats. It's red herring after red herring taking the focus off the weakness of John McWhatever. We had him on the mats, but now the betting odds are in his favor. Get focused, people! Back to pounding on McCain.

[mesut]

hopefully after these convention cycles the candidates will get back to the issues. You are right we should not make this whole presidency about the choice of Palin. Get them on the road next week and let her speak and then we judge about her governing the country.

[arthur2008]

While there seems to be little to admire about Gov. Palin, the larger issue must remain the callous cynicism John "Country First" McCain has exhibitied in putting forth an unqualifed (and, his denials notwithstanding, an obviously unvetted) candidate for VP. In doing so, he has sacrificed both his (our!) country's interests and his own reputation for what he hopes will be personal gain. And the choice of a running mate is not an inconsequential one for a 72-year-old with four cancers on his resume.

[ruffmama]

Actually Chris Matthews p0wned Joe Scarborough yesterday regarding Palin and her stance on abortion. I think there is nothing wrong with attacking her positions on the issues.

And the way she has thrusted her poor daughter into the spotlight at a very vulnerable time in her life is despicable. I have no problem with working mothers....I am a proud one myself. But there is something not quite right with returning to work 3 days after your baby is born or hopping onto a presiential campaign when you have a 4 month old special needs infant and a pregnant 17 year old.

It goes beyond ambition and become selfish and narcissistic. And since this is coming out of the party that likes to tout themselves the party of "family values" then I think it is fair game.

[mesut]

I'm a 40-something year old woman. I think I have my head on straight and can think for myself. I also think I have the right to disagree with a woman. Just because I am one doesn't mean I HAVE to agree with everything a woman says nor should I have to support her. This frenzy over Palin is nuts. She is a woman with no more specialness than any other woman. She has a family just like any other woman. What about her being a mother is more special than my being a mother? I won't vote for her because we have that in common. I can disagree with Palin because her views don't line up with mine. That's where we differ. I would no more change my vote because she is a woman than McCain landing on the moon. I'm all about women advancing and making great strides in this country of ours. BUT no one should ever play on my sympathies because I look at my core values just as anyone else. I don't force my "stuff" on anyone and no one will force theirs on me. I can look at Palin as a woman but what else does she have? I don't want a spokespeople telling me her story. I want her to tell it and she should be ready for the tough questions too. Afterall, the media did it to Michelle Obama and she's a mother and her husband is running for president.

[RepugsOut08]

I'm just stupified by the charge, that asking pertinent questions of a candidate who wants to be next in line to lead this nation, is piling it on.
If voters are willing to hand this country over to an unvetted fundamentalist hocky mom who's under investigation for possible abuse of power, then I've lost all hope for the future of this country.

[robXdion]

And that's what the media wants to do. They want to influence the election, but they want to keep their hands clean. Their corporate owners don't want Obama to win. But they have to feed the need for information. Just like when they played up GOP talking points of gay marriage (2004) and "moral values" in lieu of Lewinsky-gate (2000).

And BTW, Campbell Brown was not sneering at anyone. She just asked a commonsense question. If that rankles people enough to call her "sexist" or "over the line" for questioning Palin's qualifications then this country is screwed and has no business succeeding.

[distant mirror]

Paul Wellstone was a completely different issue. He tragically died and the dems used that grief to vet their frustratiions at the GOP. Sarah Palin is the republican GOP canididate and we have every right to question her qualifications. Emphatically!!!!! The fact that you don't see this difference is perplexing at least. Do you not get how serious an issue this is ?

[Jules1]

For anyone that switches to McCain because of the media hype, What??? Where is the logic to this, what happened to issues, isn't this election about the good of our county, the war/s, our constitution? The oil crisis, the mortgage meltdown, when did it become about a woman? ISSUES, PLEASE, lets stick to issues.