Sarah Palin waves in front of her daughter Bristol and son Trig after being introduced as John McCain's vice-presidential running mate. McCain's campaign announced Monday that 17-year-old Bristol is pregnant.
Sarah Palin is the latest GOP distraction. She’s meant to shift attention away from the real issue of this campaign -- the awful state of the nation after years of Republican rule.
Sarah Palin waves in front of her daughter Bristol and son Trig after being introduced as John McCain's vice-presidential running mate. McCain's campaign announced Monday that 17-year-old Bristol is pregnant.
Sarah Palin waves in front of her daughter Bristol and son Trig after being introduced as John McCain's vice-presidential running mate. McCain's campaign announced Monday that 17-year-old Bristol is pregnant.
The Democrats need to be careful about the intensity of their criticism of Sarah Palin.
She may look like an easy target, an appalling lightweight who will send serious voters scurrying to the more substantive Obama-Biden ticket. And the temptation to get on her case probably became greater with Ms. Palin’s disclosure Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
But the Democrats should not push this stuff too far. Ms. Palin is a lot more appealing personally than the often testy guy at the top of her ticket. And the inescapable reality is that there are millions of voters who identify with her, and may be quick to resent attacks that they perceive as bullying or overkill.
Here’s the deal: Palin is the latest G.O.P. distraction.
She’s meant to shift attention away from the real issue of this campaign -- the awful state of the nation after eight years of Republican rule. The Republicans are brilliant at distractions. Willie Horton was a distraction. The chatter about gays, guns and God has been a long-running distraction.
And we all remember the Swift-boat campaign.
If you want a real issue, forget all of the above and revisit Monday’s front page of The New York Times. Hundreds of families are being forced out of their homes each month in Louisville, Ky., because of mortgage foreclosures. With record numbers of poor and homeless students, the public schools are struggling.
That is the kind of substantive issue the Democrats should be focused on:
how to educate America’s children and improve the quality of their lives; how to bring health care to those going without; how to put America back to work.
To their credit, Senators Obama and Biden seem unwilling to jump aboard the bash-Ms.-Palin bandwagon. Both have been exceedingly mild in their comments about the Alaska governor.
Last week’s Democratic convention dramatically illustrated the most effective approach available to the party. The convention built in intensity night by night with featured speakers who focused powerfully on substantive matters.
Bill Clinton may be wildly unpredictable, but last Wednesday he was magnificent, laying out the challenges that will face the next administration.
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