December 2, 2008 7:52:23 PM CST
(Newser) – Vice-presidential nominees usually have little direct effect on the outcome of an election, writes Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal, but Sarah Palin could be the exception. Rove consults two experts, who agree that some VPs can have an unusually large “indirect effect,” as they underscore a candidate’s virtues and flaws. McCain chose Palin as "someone who shares his maverick outsider attitude and is willing to challenge party orthodoxy and politics-as-usual."
"Taking on Alaska's good-old-boy politics and beating the incumbent Republican governor might be seen as evidence of the political courage and independence voters are looking for this year," he writes. "And with women more undecided than men, Mrs. Palin could add more than a point to Mr. McCain's total—maybe two or three—which could make the difference in a close contest."
Source Wall Street Journal
Nov 25, 08 2:24 PM CST Sarah Palin will lend her star power to Saxby Chambliss in his Senate runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin, Politico reports. Palin will appear with Chambliss at rallies across Georgia the day before the Dec. 2 runoff, capping a GOP full-court press that has seen Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain drop by to try to keep Chambliss’ seat in Republican hands. More »
Nov 19, 08 1:55 PM CST Missouri, the last state up for grabs, looks to have gone Republican by less than a 1% margin, leaving John McCain with 173 electoral votes to Barack Obama’s 365, the Kansas City Star reports. There are still 3,000 uncounted provisional ballots, but McCain’s margin is large enough to declare him the winner of the state’s 11 electoral votes. More »
Nov 17, 08 4:45 PM CST Sarah Palin made such a splash in American politics this year that she deserves consideration for Time magazine Person of the Year, Kathryn Jean Lopez writes for the National Review. “They’ve probably long picked The One,” Lopez writes, referring to Barack Obama. But “like Obama, all you had to do was look at her to see that she offered something different on a national ticket.” More »
Nov 17, 08 2:41 PM CST Barack Obama and John McCain met today in Chicago, and reaffirmed their call for bipartisanship and cooperation, the Tribune reports. The 90-minute meeting, at Obama’s transition headquarters, was described by the president-elect as a “conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country.” McCain, asked if he would help see that goal through, was clear. “Obviously.” More »
Nov 14, 08 5:08 PM CST Barack Obama has won a single Nebraska electoral vote in post-election counting, the first time the state has split the vote since a 1991 law allowed the practice, the AP reports. No Democrat has gotten a vote in the state since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. More »
If Mrs. Palin is seen as a defective candidate, it will hurt Mr. McCain. On the positive side, however, Mrs. Palin's background could lead voters to see her as someone who understands kitchen-table concerns. -
The danger for Democrats is twofold: in highlighting Mrs. Palin's inexperience, they may focus attention on Mr. Obama's; and the harsh attacks levied against Mrs. Palin could completely undermine the Obama promise of a "new politics."
Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • Sarah Palin • Joe Biden • vice presidential candidate
