Look, here is how I see it:
I used to have a lot of respect for McCain. I disagreed with him over his policy on Iraq that seems/ed to favour some mythical face saving 'Victory badge' before we could leave in a logical and staged manner but I admired the guy's conviction and the obvious strong feelings he had about the war. He prided himself on 'straight talking' and for a while at least he did seem to do pretty well at cutting through the usual political rhetoric. Ah, memories...
The guy is an actual hero (though I'm not sure on his piloting skills) and does have a vast wealth of political experience behind him. In many ways McCain has fallen victim to the the glitz, glamour and fast flashy edits that everyone craves these days. He's too old, it's hard to look at him without realizing that he would be dead if he didn't have a a team of doctors from the USS Pastuer and he's not really exciting...at all.
Then we have Obama. He's young, he's dynamic, he makes politics exciting again and he's runs on a ticket of "Change and Hope."
Since Bush has left America, and to be fair, most of the WORLD in dire straits it's not hard to realize why someone like Obama becomes so appealing. People want to shake up the Status Quo and see if this "change" is going to bring The States another period of prosperity but also respect as it did under Clinton and Kennedy.
I'm still far from convinced that Obama will actually shake up the Status Quo to the degree he seems to say he will. He's very good at what he does and I believe that America badly needs an Obama/Biden Presidency when you look at the potential alternative; and I'd go so far as to say they would be a strong ticket against any opposition but I would have much preferred Dr. Ron Paul to get the Presidency.
Yes, yes, he's a cult internet legend now and that's all well and good but he is for good reason and in this economic crisis you need someone who has a clear plan of action and is an economic genius. That's Ron Paul. At least he told everybody what he was going to do and some of his measures were drastic and would have fundamentally changed how things work in Washington. We hear the same "change" card from Obama but no actual strategy for doing it and I doubt he will change things in Washington that much when all is said and done.
Anyway.. Obama is still my guy for this Election. Obama and Biden are both smart and have some competence to show for themselves and that's a big deal to me.
So, McCain has to choose a running mate and he's lagging in the polls. 'They' choose Palin after he meets her once, basically just to make his campaign the talking point in the news and at the water cooler. It worked. Palin has no problem getting people's attention and it looked like a half decent strategy for the first week or so. The Katie Couric interview changed all that and the fact that Team McCain were so visibly desperate to protect Palin from any real scrutiny..you know, conversations about political stuff turned on them. She's about as bright as a box of bricks and it's obvious to all now.
As it stands now she is sinking ship McCain with the same enthusiasm that McCain downed planes. She is a massive liability and I think it's obvious to everyone, especially McCain, that they probably threw away the election. But he is to blame himself. He pandered to the Neo-Con base the entire campaign when he should have been the "Maverick" he sees himself as and distanced himself far more from the Bush Administration.
Look at the whole Bill Ayers debacle. They labelled Obama a terrorist for all intents and purposes and that has backfired big time because there is no evidence that Obama ever "palled around" with him at all. It all reeks of desperation.
By going on the hard attack they have turned the whole Campaign in to a witch hunt and when you're trying to win Independent voters that's not a good idea.
McCain has been trying to calm his own base down and has had to resort to defending Obama to the angy mobs that turn out for him. It's gotten so bad he even had to defend an Obama Presidency!
Regarde:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhJa8xgLE40
What a mess!
I honestly think it is too late for McCain to pull this one back. Something huge would have to happen now and it's not looking likely.