« Sexism versus shoddy journalism and elitism in the stream of Palin invective | Main | Meanwhile, in the convention hall »

Thursday, September 04, 2008

The Palin nomination had plenty of foreshadowing, despite MSM meme of it being a bolt from the blue

Simon at Stubborn Facts has a link-filled post (h/t Althouse) which refutes the MSM's meme that the Palin nomination "came out of the blue." Lots of people were becoming "Palinfatuated," and it wasn't just bloggers: Gov. Palin placed a close second behind Mitt Romney, for example, in the Pajamas Media online poll that began in mid-June and ran for several weeks, and Simon mentions a couple of other online polls in which she was clearly a favorite of internet-savvy conservatives.

Gov. Palin on Sept. 3 at the RNC

That said, I was still surprised. Or, more accurately, I had methodically conditioned myself to be disappointed by a bland, safe, and uninspiring pick. And as it turned out, that expectation only made the exhilaration from the announcement doubly electric. But my surprise wasn't because she was unknown to me; to the contrary, it was, in my case, an instance of fondest hopes suddenly realized.

Posted by Beldar at 08:35 AM in 2008 Election, McCain, Obama, Palin, Politics (2008) | Permalink

TrackBacks

Other weblog posts, if any, whose authors have linked to The Palin nomination had plenty of foreshadowing, despite MSM meme of it being a bolt from the blue and sent a trackback ping are listed here:


Comments

(1) Simon Dodd made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 8:57:25 AM | Permalink

I think you're right about the self-conditioning. To be sure, a lot of conservatives were surprised by the Palin pick - but not in the sense that the media is suggesting. The surprise was that he actually picked her!, not that he picked who?

(2) Michael A. Cleverly made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 9:37:39 AM | Permalink

I'd hoped McCain would pick Palin but was afraid he'd pick Romney (and I say that as someone who voted for Romney in the primaries). I was thrilled when I heard the news.

(3) dchamil made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 9:57:12 AM | Permalink

What is telling is that people keep comparing Sarah Palin to Obama, rather than to Biden. She's punching above her weight, to use a metaphor from boxing.

(4) Bob made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 9:58:26 AM | Permalink

Go Sarah!

When you think about it there were only two serious reform choices in the Republican party -- Palin and Jindal. I was pulling for both.

And you might want to check out the post at the top of my blog right now about lipstick for a good laugh. Once in a great while I come up with a good one on my own and this is one of them...

http://wethefree.com

(5) Christoph made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 10:13:01 AM | Permalink

Hear, hear, Beldar! You're right, unlike the many times where as crusty Texas lawyer with its bizarre culturally-inspired interpretations of laws you were so often wrong.

(6) JPR made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 10:18:17 AM | Permalink

Sanford should have been on the list too. A deep bench is a very good thing.

***

There were a lot of factors in the timing, such as tending to a newborn, recovering from the pregnancy and creating a great political moment. Did he wait too long?

I would love to have her working on taking back the Senate too.

Beldar, As a long-time Texan, do you think Ann Richards is fair historical model (realpolitik not philosophy)? I think its too early for some of the other suggested comparisons.

(7) Onward to Pakistan made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 11:23:33 AM | Permalink

I know this is off-topic, and I duly apologize, but this is rather amusing given your outrage over Obama's statement about McCain & not being willing to follow OBL into Pakistan:


WILL MCCAIN CONDEMN BUSH'S INCURSION INTO PAKISTAN?.... This isn't getting too much attention from the political world, but it's worth considering the implications.

Helicopters carried U.S. and Afghan commandos many miles into Pakistan on Wednesday to stage the first U.S. ground attack against a Taliban target inside the country, Pakistani officials said. At least 20 local people died in the raid, according to the officials.

Pakistan filed a formal protest with the U.S. government, which had no comment on what appeared to be a new escalation of U.S. pressure on Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan's mountainous border regions.
...
Barack Obama has said, on multiple occasions, that he supports taking actions against terrorists who flee across the border into Pakistan, if Pakistani officials are unable or unwilling to act. Obama's position is consistent with U.S. policy, which Bush has acted on.

John McCain not only disagrees, he's repeatedly criticized Obama's policy, accusing him of wanting to "bomb our ally." Indeed, McCain recently suggested to CNN's Larry King that he, as president, wouldn't even pursue Osama bin Laden if he slipped past the border because "Pakistan is a sovereign nation."

With that in mind, what, pray tell, does the McCain campaign think of yesterday's strike against the Taliban? If he's consistent -- I know, that's too much to ask -- McCain is presumably offended by this violation of Pakistani sovereignty.

I wonder, though, if the McCain campaign would be willing to say so.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014552.php

(8) Milhouse made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 2:35:21 PM | Permalink

"Onward to Pakistan", that is a decision for the President alone to make. It is highly irresponsible for candidates to suggest that they would do such a thing, let alone to challenge their opponents to say they'd be willing to do it. McCain didn't say he'd never do such a thing, he said he refused to discuss it, and he was quite right. If he becomes president, there may be times when he will have to make a decision like this one, and he will make it based on the circumstances that exist at that time; the same I'm sure is true for Obama. Neither of them should be discussing it in advance, or commenting on the current president's decision.

(9) cdor made the following comment | Sep 4, 2008 7:30:20 PM | Permalink

Way to go Beldar. My joy is only constrained because, at my age, I have learned to be careful what I wish for. Her first at bat was a home run. Her second at bat was a home run. She's bound to strike out at some point. However, I have confidence in the purity of her heart. She'll laugh it off and come right back to the plate. Obama can screw up all day long and get pass after pass. Sarah will get excoriated with one little slip. But she's tough and grounded and she has energized us. Win this time, or not, Palin, Jindall, Cantor are the future of conservatism and, hopefully, America.

The comments to this entry are closed.