Is Palin a Woman's Woman?

McCain's veep choice could draw some vital votes away from the all-male ticket

(NEWSER) - The GOP is betting that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate will put 18 million dents in the Democrats' White House hopes, the Washington Post writes. The party hopes the choice will woo disaffected Hillary Clinton voters, while many Democrats dismiss it as pure political pandering. "It's basically the equivalent of a midnight raid behind enemy lines," one GOP strategist notes. More»

Alaska gov. helps with women, conservatives, but lacks experience

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin is an unconventional vice presidential pick for John McCain, the Wall Street Journal notes. Her selection seems like the latest ploy to lure Hillary Clinton supporters to the Republican ticket, while simultaneously appeasing McCain’s conservative base and burnishing his reformer credentials. But Palin also lacks experience, undermining one of McCain’s main criticisms of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. More»

Campaign aims to do the opposite of McCain

(NEWSER) - Team Romney’s rule of thumb: Do the opposite of everything John McCain did in 2008, or so reports Politico in a look at the campaign's strategy. The approach applies broadly, say advisers—focus hugely on the economy, fully engage in fundraising, integrate early with the Republican National Committee—but comes most into play in the search for a VP. The campaign doesn’t want to end up with its own version of Sarah Palin, so it is going to great lengths to avoid anyone who could be seen as unprepared. The goal, according to one official: Go with an "incredibly boring white guy." More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin's resignation speech on Sunday showed how far she's fallen, writes Maureen Dowd: "Once a blazingly confident media darling," the now-former Alaska governor has become a ranting, whiny "Nixon with hair extensions." It's a marked contrast from Hillary Clinton, who on the same day gave an hourlong interview to Meet the Press. Her trajectory has been just the opposite—once "paranoid and press-loathing," the secretary of State is now radiating self-assurance. More»

(NEWSER) - John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin continues to hurt his chances of winning Tuesday's election, a poll from the New York Times and CBS shows. In the survey, 59% of voters said Palin is not qualified to be vice president, up 9 points in a month. About a third of voters said the VP choice would be a major factor in how they vote, and most of those people are picking Barack Obama. More»