Who Did She Win Over?

From Daily Kos:

[Palin] lost thoughtful conservatives and independents, and Democrats were never her audience. Social conservatives and wingers like Pat Buchanan may love her, but who cares? Buchanan, I will remind the media, was a fringe candidate who did very poorly when he ran. Palin's audience may love her but they are a small portion of the electorate and they do not count any more. This is not a base election. It will take a loss for the media to get it.

This is one of the fundamental truths of this election, that McCain-Palin cannot win solely by courting their base. This is why you see the GOP co-opting the change slogan. But that doesn't mean it's going to work. The plea for change is, from a Democrat, a way of shoring up the base while extending a hand to independents and disgruntled Republicans. From a Republican the plea for change is a tin-ear slogan for anyone not already in the bag . Palin may have done wonders last night in rallying the base, but she clearly lost the battle where this election is being fought.

Friday, October 3, 2008