Baseball can offer a valuable perspective on the Presidential race. Let's say that the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are competing to win the division title. Each time the Red Sox and the Yankees play each other, each team will move up or down one whole game in the standings. This is because one team wins and one team loses. If, the Red Sox play the Orioles and win while Yankees don't play, then the Red Sox only move a half-a-game. The Red Sox won a game, but the Yankees didn't lose a game.
The analogy between baseball and the Presidential race puts in perspective the challenge facing the McCain campaign. They can only hope to win half-a-games. John McCain picked Sarah Palin to ostensibly swing independent voters such as Joe six-packs, disgruntled Hillary supporters, biased Democrats, etc. Winning an undecided voter gets you a whole game. Winning any other voter gets you a half-a-game because the other candidate doesn't lose a vote. Only undecided voters that both candidates can win will get you a whole game.
Sarah Palin isn't attracting many undecided voters or none at all. She may allow some Republican leaning voters to make his or her decision earlier, but these voters were unlikely to vote for a Barack Obama. Today, Saturday 4, 2008, Palin was in California at a closed meeting. This is a tacit admission by the McCain campaign that they recognize deploying Palin to win undecided voters won't work. McCain's campaign has also pulled out of Michigan. Barack Obama is winning many undecided voters that were up for grabs in swing states and some in typically red, non-swing states.
McCain is running out of time and games. He cannot win enough half-a-games; especially, half-a-games in swing states. McCain's strategy of using Palin to win undecided voters or to free him to win undecided voters can't win without an external game changer or two home run debate victories.
McCain's choice of Sarah Palin is the deciding factor in this election. Palin's inexperience in many things and inability to think on her feet hijacked any strategy. Palin's views on the cause of climate change, the role of the Vice President, and her "generalized" energy expertise sounds peculiarly "odd" on national television and is a reminder of Bush and Cheney. Her overblown "folksy" speech and mannerisms offer no answers or solutions. Her fantastical, false charges and scenarios are mute because this election is a reality based election.
Perhaps, McCain never had much of a chance to win with a fractured party that reluctantly supports him. We won't know. Let's just hope no tragedy befalls us before or after this election.