Palin

Interesting.

No need to join the rush to judgment either way on McCain’s selection - especially before I’ve heard so much as one word out of Palin herself.

I remember an anguished Republican’s response to George H.W. Bush’s choice of running mate in 1984: “It’s Quayle - we lose.” Interestingly, this is what McCain had to say back then (verified here) about the selection of Dan Quayle:

I can’t believe a guy that handsome wouldn’t have some impact.

One thing’s for sure: Obama’s speech has been pushed below the fold.

Kate Klonick and Greg Sargent at TPM provide some info on Palin, including some perceived strengths for the McCain campaign.

She’s the sweetheart of Alaska: Attractive, young (44), a hockey mom, feminine and strong (beautiful and a member of the NRA!). Palin could appeal to a generation of women who respect strength and independence in women, but don’t necessarily identify with the feminist movement. She has also managed to achieve higher office while coming across as someone who puts family before career.

There’s a powerful maternal narrative, too: In April, she elected not to have an abortion when she discovered that her baby had Down’s Syndrome. And for good measure, she also has a son in the army named “Track” who’s set to deploy to Iraq.

The selection of Palin, of course, is also a bid for the disaffected Hillary vote, though it’s unclear how disaffected that vote is now that both Clintons have offered full-throated endorsements of Obama.

Palin is also a sign that there was never much to the speculation that McCain would choose someone with indy cred. She’s a solid conservative who will thrill the right-wing base.

As I said: don’t rush to judgment.

Add interesting: An NY Times Caucus Blog piece on Palin and a now-unfortunate quote from a McCain adviser has apparently been, er, disappeared. Fortunately, lots of people - like John Cole - have less selective memories:

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska? As reports circulated on television and cable networks on Friday morning that Senator John McCain might have selected Ms. Palin as his running mate, McCain advisers expressed bewilderment. One adviser said that while Mr. McCain thinks highly of Ms. Palin, who is opposed to abortion rights and would be welcomed by Christian conservatives, her less than two years in office would undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central criticisms of Senator Barack Obama — that he is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief.

“While it’s a dramatic and interesting choice, it would make the argument he’s making difficult to make,” said one McCain adviser.

Last, I think: Had Obama chosen Hillary Clinton instead of Joe Biden - and this is not to criticize the choice of Biden - whom would McCain have selected? Palin, still, or someone else?

Okay, here’s the last (maybe): “Palin Pick Leaves Bruised Feelings.”

Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked — and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now “feel manipulated.”

“They now know that they were used as decoys, well after McCain had decided not to pick them,” one Republican involved in the process said.

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