An internet uprising is now being staged by women upset at John McCain's nomination of Sarah Palin for vice president.

Among the sites arguing that McCain's choice represents a cynical move to try woo both conservative Christians and former-Hillary Clinton supporters at the same time are:

womenagainstpalin.com

womenagainstpalin.org

and

womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com

Gloria Steinem, the former publisher of Ms. Magazine, and a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton's in the primary, spelled out her concerns about Palin in an Op-Ed for the LA Times:

She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

The question remains whether left-leaning women put off by the selection of Palin will offset the numbers of those on the right who are energized by the pick. That's the conclusion some papers are making. I think it's too early to tell. She gives a good stump speech, but how will she fare in interviews and debates? Time will tell. Only 2 more moths to go.

Talking Points Memo

There's a lot of complaining that the McCain campaign won't allow anyone to interview Sarah Palin. And for the major news outlets that would be in line for such an interview there's a logic to keeping up the drumbeat. But McCain campaign manager Rick Davis is right: It's their campaign to run. They can do it how they want. Everyone else should just shut up, stop complaining and call the reality for what it is.

Davis says Palin won't give any interviews until she feels "comfortable" giving one. And this morning he added that she wouldn't give any "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference."

Sarah Palin could be the President of the United States in four and a half months. We tend to think of this as an abstraction; but it's true. And yet today she's so unprepared and knows so little about the challenges and tasks facing the country that she can't even give a softball interview.

That's a little off as I think Davis makes clear that "softball" interviews are perfectly fine, if he can be guaranteed that will be the case. What the media wants is Sarah Palin vs. Sam Donaldson chock full of questions like this (via Biblical Christianity):

• "Do you think women should be pastors?"
• "Why can a woman be a president, but not a pastor?"
  
• "Do you think wives should submit to their husbands?"
• "Do you obey your husband in all things as to the Lord?"
• "Do you hit your children?"
• "Do you believe in evolution?"
• "Do you believe the world was created in six days, 6000 years ago?"
• "Will everyone who doesn't believe in Jesus go to Hell?"
• "Do you think the Bible is the literal Word of God?"

Questions like these are gotcha questions, because they are almost certainly designed not to satisfy curiosity, but to box the candidate out of the mainstream of American thought And this is what the McCain campaign is probably concerned about.

How to handle that? First she needs to get prepped on the issues of the day. This is a fair observation, up until about a week and a half ago she was mainly concerned with running Alaska. Her circle of concern has widened a bit lately and there are a lot of facts to get up to speed on. She could also stand some coaching on how to handle gotcha questions.

Second is to let the media focus, which is running white-hot right now to cool down a bit. Obama, Biden, and McCain, and the rest of the politicians in Washington will inevitably do something to take Palin out of the headlines, if not the front page. Let's hope anyway. Then the interviews can proceed as normal. Again I can't see that the McCain campaign has any concerns about Palin's poise or ability to think on her feet, but time cannot hurt her here.

In fact, just as in the speculation over the RNC speech, expectations over the first interview may also serve to blow back in Palin's favor once she shows she can handle the press as well as anyone. I've reviewed the debates and press conferences from her governor days. She does fine.

The press can howl as much as it wants to, but there is every reason to believe that the McCain campaign knows exactly what it is doing. Also we'll know soon, as the first interview is sometime later this week with Charlie Gibson at ABC, an excellent choice.

With the results I've seen so far I'm confidently declaring McCain the winner of the VP and convention bounce events. On August 24th, on the eve of the Lieberman selection, Obama was holding a narrow but steady 2 point lead in the race according to RealClearPolitics. First came Obama's underwhelming choice of Joe Biden as his VP, and then we had the DNC convention which was clearly a success and resulted in a 5 point bounce for Obama by late last week.

Obama's time in the news was extremely short lived as on Friday morning John McCain upended the contest as we thought we knew it and it hasn't been the same since. The polls tell the story that although Republicans immediately moved to support McCain and Palin, the general public was much slower and in fact no bounce started showing until Friday morning which would be the first polls to show since the Palin speech. But since then, it's been nothing but positive movement for McCain. It's likely that we aren't done yet moving in the McCain direction.

Currently Gallup has McCain at +3 and Rasmussen at even. (Zogby interactive also has McCain up by 4, but I don't trust that poll farther than I can throw it). Here's Gallup.



The very least we can say is that Obama's momentum coming out of his convention has been completely erased. Worse than that, no one is talking about him. He may take scant comfort in the fact that no one is really talking about McCain either. It's Sarah Palin's world and we are all just living in it.

Also my initial feeling that Biden was a horrible pick is confirmed. Biden is arguably a drain on the ticket, and is not a useful proxy for Obama in making his case to the target demographics that he needs (i.e. Women).

Republican supporters shouldn't get too comfortable as convention bounces fade as they inevitably do and this one will be no different. But the fact remains that we moved into these two weeks with an Obama clear advantage in enthusiasm, in a gender gap, and on the issues. We come out of this week with both essentially tied and the enthusiasm and gender gaps narrowed severely.

On to the debates!

Update: Reuters is reporting mixed messages from the McCain campaign on when Palin will face the newsmedia for the first time.

"Within the next few days and I'm strongly recommending that she come on 'Face the Nation' with Bob Schieffer," McCain said in an interview that was taped on Saturday. But McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, would not go that far. "She'll agree to an interview when we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it," David said on "Fox News Sunday."

Glad we got that cleared up?

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator and Obama running mate Joe Biden threw down the gauntlet for GOP veep nominee Sarah Palin to come out and, um, meet the press: (from Politico)

"She's a smart, tough politician," Biden told Tom Brokaw in a "Meet the Press" interview live from Wilmington, Del. "So I think she's going to be formidable. Eventually, she's going to have to sit in front of you like I'm doing and have done. Eventually, she's going to have to answer questions and not be sequestered. Eventually, she's going to have to answer on the record."

The McCain campaign says Palin will eventually do interviews, but none are scheduled.

Biden, too, took a weekend off from the Sunday shows after he was named as running mate for Barack Obama, although Biden appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes."

It was a strong appearance by Biden, as he also tagged as "demeaning" the assumption that Hillary Clinton supporters would vote for her polar opposite simply because she's a woman.

This follows closely on the heels of Barack Obama's first direct swipe at Palin yesterday, on the subject of Palin's rhetoric on pork and pockets full of bacon.

The McCain campaign's response to these challenges will be a real test of their ability to eschew the cheese with their whine, and tackle the substance of the contrasts the Democrats are drawing.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" on BlogTalkRadio, every Tues and Thurs at 9pm, Wed, Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

UPDATE: Palin agrees to ABC interview later this week - maybe.

I always like it when Fox News' Chris Wallace remembers that he's a journalist (h/t Paddy).

Interviewing McCain campaign manager Rick Davis, Wallace asks why VP pick Sarah Palin will not sit for interviews. Well, since last Thursday it appears the media has not been respectful or deferential enough.

It looks as though she won't appear for questioning until the media are properly respectful and fawning like Fox News' own Greta Van Susteren was in her puff piece that aired yesterday - Gov. Sarah Palin: An American Woman.

Here's Davis on Fox News Sunday today:

Major hat tip to Jenny over at YestoDemocracy.com for hipping me to the subject of my next 16-part series, and to Sarah Haskins, my new favorite person. She does a segment called "Target: Women" ( I guess "Kmart: Ladies" was taken ) on Current TV's Infomania.

P.U.M.A.s are for Hillary, Cougars bang young dudes but a P.A.N.T.H.E.R is for Palin. Get your P.A.N.T.H.E.R. pride right here.

Target Women is a recurring segment on Current TV's weekly television show, infoMania. In each episode of Target Women, Sarah Haskins takes a look at the often-ridiculous way the media reaches out to women.

You can even get cool PANTHER swag here. Enjoy, while I go and watch the rest of Sarah's videos.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" on BlogTalkRadio, every Tues and Thurs at 9pm, Wed, Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

On the campaign trail in Indiana today, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama took aim at John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, on the subject of earmarks. From AOL:

"I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she's change, and that's great," Obama said. "She's a skillful politician. But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up."

Palin, the article continues, has set a record pace for per capita earmark dollars, exceeding some states by a factor of 10.

It will be interesting to see how Palin and McCain react to Obama's first direct salvo at the GOP's newly minted Veep candidate. Actually, it will be interesting to see Palin react to anything with the press, as she has yet to field questions from reporters.

My guess is that Brian Rogers will issue a statement condemning Obama's highly personal attack on tax dollars that benefitted Alaskans that included Palin's family.

UPDATE: I guess private jets are not so bad after all. Palin has taken possession of an Embraer 190 Regional jet complete with campaign logo.

Remember the folksy, charming tale of selling the Alaska Governor's jet on eBay? Palin said Wednesday night, "While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay."

John McCain took the story even further. "You know what i enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay - made a profit."

This fish story is partly true - the jet was on eBay. Briefly. But it didn't sell and was later sold at a loss. The former governor bought it for $2.7 million and according to the NY Daily News "When no offers came in, Palin hired a jet broker - Turbo North Aviation in Anchorage - which sold the jet for $2.1 million to an Alaska businessman".

Look, all politicians exaggerate, and yes, even lie. But this one was too easy to check - why do it?

TMZ is reporting that a large number of "Us Weekly" readers have canceled their subscriptions in protest of the magazine's treatment of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin:

There were reports as many as 10,000 subscribers bailed, but US told Page Six the number was closer to 1,000. Apparently the mag -- and to be fair just about everyone else in the media -- misjudged Palin's impact once she opened her mouth.

Strangely, there has not been a concurrent spike in subscriptions to The New Yorker.

I'm not really sure how to feel about this. Less "Us" readership seems like good news at first blush, but I fear the end result will be a move from "low information voter" to "lower information voter," and finally to "Fox News Viewer."

"Us" brought this on themselves, to some degree. If they had gone with a headline like "Keep the Product of Your Rapist's Loins and Like it!" or "I Can See The Kremlin From Here, So I'm a Foreign Policy Pro," they might still have lost some readers, but gained my respect.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" on BlogTalkRadio, every Tues and Thurs at 9pm, Wed, Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

It's been only a week and I've already earned a degree in Palintology. I know way too much about this woman: her education, her eyewear, the origin of her children's names, her religion, her ex-brother-in-law, the number of broken bones she's sustained. Did you know that Sarah plays the flute? And that her husband Todd braids 7-year old Piper's hair?

I just watched Greta Van Susteren's hour-long special on Sarah and am waiting for CNN's. Does anyone know which digital cable package includes the Sarah Palin Channel?

Obviously I'm not alone. The web is burning up with amateur Palintologists searching for artifacts that will shed light on this woman -- authentic pieces of information that will flesh out this authentic iconoclast. (Whoever she is, she's unlike anyone else we've seen in American politics.)

There are two true originals in this race: Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. It's been two years since the Obamarama began, so we've been able to pace ourselves with the Illinois senator. But Palin has just burst onto the scene. And there are barely enough days left before the election to satisy our curiosity.

Some assorted thoughts/questions (synapses firing too quickly to write more cogently):

Miss Oprah Regrets

Honesty and plain talk have always been the coins of Oprah's realm. (She's a rich lady; she gets more than one coin in her realm.) Her excuse for not having Palin on her show is specious and disappointing: she says she's not using her show to promote any candidates. Now that's parsing.

Oprah should have Palin on the show and, if she wants, debate the lady. It's will satisfy Oprah's Republican and Independent fans, showcase a woman who's become a national obsession, and blow the roof off ratings-wise. A win-win-win.

McCain-Palin = Eisenhower-Nixon?

Is this the best comparison? Eisenhower was a war hero whose party affiliation was in question up until he threw his hat in the ring for the 1952 election. (Eisenhower, by the way, was the last president to wear a hat.) Likewise McCain has never been a doctrinaire Republican. In fact rumors persist that he considered running as John Kerry's veep in 2004.

Eisenhower chose Senator Richard Nixon, a red meat conservative and member of the House Un-American Activities Committee, to shore up the party's base -- much like McCain has done with Palin.

McCain-Palin = Charles-Diana?

Have you heard all the chatter about Palin overshadowing McCain at the RNC? Well it's true. So will McCain become consumed with jealousy, just as Charles grew to hate Diana because she was so loved?

Sarah Palin's Triple Crown

She's on the cover of three of America's most important magazines this week. No, I'm not referring to the fading Time, Newsweek or U.S. News. Palin graces the covers of People, Us Weekly and OK!. As I mentioned last week (before the covers were published), she has the makings of a tabloid superstar: looks, power and problems. This will only help the GOP ticket. Tabloid superstars are rarely disliked and usually objects of sympathy or empathy. (See: Kathie Lee Gifford, Naomi Judd, Elizabeth Taylor.) Most Americans don't care about politics - certainly not on a day-to-day basis - so tabloid superstar status is a boon. (Bill Clinton was never more popular than when he became a tabloid A-lister during the Lewinsky scandal.

Of course it's ironic that McCain and Palin are running as anti-celebrities when Palin's the one who's displaced Britney from the covers of all these magazines!

The Reagan Connection

No, I'm not going to be the 4,000th person to compare her speech-making talent to Reagan's. There's another way in which she's similar to the Gipper - and it's why she's so formidable:

She's a happy person. And happy people are likable. They're magnets.

Whatever problems Palin may have, she's comfortable in her skin. It was evident in her performance and when the family assembled on stage. You can't fake that. And when 7 year old Piper licked her hand and stroked baby Trig's head? i suddenly felt a contraction. (And her heroic decision to birth a child with Down's syndrome is impossible not to praise.)

Friends of mine keep calling Palin "scary." If Democrats want to defeat McCain-Palin, they better embargo the word "scary." It's a lazy, meaningless swipe and didn't work against Reagan. Plus the person deploying the swipe usually comes off as unhappy. Better to take a cue from Obama and dispassionately pick apart her ideas and record. Because if it's a personality contest, Happy Warrior Palin will trounce the competition.