The smug laughter among liberal elites at Sarah Palin is quieting down, replaced by low moaning. Clive Crook of The Atlanticadmits that there might have been just a bit of misunderestimating going on among the left:
...the Democrats have a problem. They had a few days of calling her a clueless redneck, a stewardess, a nonentity, and she has hurled that back in their bleeding gums. (If I were Joe Biden, I'd start practising for October 2nd right now.) Even before tonight's speech, they had backed off the "no experience" strategy, because (as the Republicans intended) that was sending shrapnel in Obama's direction. Their line right now is their default mode, that McCain-Palin is four more years of George Bush. But this too is a completely untenable strategy, since the Republican ticket now looks stunningly fresh to voters, as fresh in fact as Obama-Biden. Where they will have to end up is obvious: McCain-Palin is an extreme right-wing ticket. It is a team that will prosecute the culture war against all that is decent and civilized in the United States: that must be the line.
I think he's right. Expect the Democrats to caricature Palin (again), this time as a wild-eyed religious fanatic bent on imposing her views on others' lives. That's fine with me. Let's have a nuanced talk about the infanticide Obama supports, while little Piper Palin slicks down Trig's hair.
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