Forgetting Sarah Palin

We still think, as we wrote here as soon as McCain picked her, that Sarah Palin will not be on the Republican ticket on election day.

Her selection, in the first place, was a typical "maverick" move by McCain. For McCain, the word "maverick" means "kiss my ass."

McCain chose Palin because she is a woman. This would be his way of telling the Democrats, who did not select a woman, to kiss his ass.

So what if there were hundreds of other, better, candidates for the vice presidency? So what if Sarah Palin is completely unqualified? Sarah Palin has the attribute of being an ex-beauty queen. That's the qualification for McCain. Thus says McCain, kiss my ass, all you Hillary Clinton supporters, feminists, women in general, and anyone else who might like to see a qualified woman as a candidate.

But the beauty queen allure has worn thin. Sarah Palin can't talk to the press because, unfortunately, she is unfamiliar with most things they are apt to mention. Her sole area of expertise seems to be the exploitation of natural resources in extreme northern climes, which has limited pertinence.

It would have been McCain's ultimate KMA dream to foist someone like Sarah Palin on the American electorate. Well, technically, he has. But now she is being unfoisted. Recent polls show a tailspin for McCain in the crucial swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Palin's approval rating is in the 30th percentile, and falling.

So, we think, McCain's final KMA move will be to dump her. It might happen sooner, it might happen later. Think of whichever makes the least sense, what will confuse and upset the most people, and that's what McCain figures to do.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca Blog