People love to rewrite history 5 minutes after it happens. McCain was leading in the polls until the economy collapsed and he said "The economy is strong" while it was happening. He then became the "out of touch" candidate. But it takes sooo much less cognitive energy to just blame Sarah Palin.
OC, you leaving the country when BHO gets his 2nd term?--------
Laffy's GF cost McCain the election.
Why cant' you accept that Palin ended up being a huge negative for the McCain campaign. You can even claim she didn't deserve it if it makes you feel better, but you can't really sit there and claim that she was a positive, can you?
McCain never really had much of a chance anyhow, the anti Repubican sentiment was too strong for even a Ronald Reagan type candidate to have won it for the GOP, but just like I accuse Obama of inheriting a mess and making it even worse, McCain was not only dealt a bad hand but he played it very, very poorly to boot.
Dude, nobody brings up any other reason other than Palin and it is just so lazy. There have been so many horrible VP picks and only Palin catches the brunt. And it is usually so unimportant. Has there ever been a bigger VP mismatch than Dan Quayle vs. Loyd Benson? It didn't matter one friggen vote. Dukakis was killed.
I asked you if you seriously thought that Palin was a net positive to the campaign.
I can't possibly believe that anyone still believes that, but I want to hear it from you, do you think she was a positive or a negative?
She was as much of a net positive or negative as Joe Biden was. She brought in a lot of conservatives who were luke warm at best on McCain and I fail to see a circumstance where somebody was going to vote for McCain but they went with Obama and his right hand man because of Palin.
She become wealthy beyond her imagination and capability because of the selection and people paid money to hear her speak! That’s scary.
fifteen minutes of claim have turned into a very lucrative career.
Can you imagine paying good money to listen to her speak, I can think of a lot more people who would pay for her to STFU. She does especially well in the "heartland" She was in Tulsa with some other religious loonies and packed the place. go figure, She resonates with stupid, err I mean religious people.
Not both, or even 2 of several other factors that turned voters off from voting for him!
Another myth: "It has to be one thing or another!" 
Nobody brings up any other reason for McCain's loss other than Palin. Especially when he started dropping oin the polls and the circumstances behind it. Not when you can just say her name and feel smart.
I hate it when we say the same thing at almost the same time.
It kind of forces me to agree with you.
BTW back to our conversation of a day or so ago. If you voted for GHWB in 88, what caused you to vote for Clinton in 92?
and I am not trying to bait you or anything, This is an honest question in the spirit of our "civil" discussion, and again I'll even go first.
I voted for Bush 1 both times, the first was for very similar reasons as you did, the second was I blamed Greenspan for the recession that IMO cost Bush the White House and not Bush himself. I think Greenspan, far from being a genius, was quite heavy handed and quite frankly was horrible at his job. I give a lot of credit to Clinton for picking Rueben and give Rueben as much credit as anyone for our booming economy under Clinton. Of course all of this is with the benefit of hindsight which we didn't have in 92, which is why I voted for Bush, I look forward to hearing your rationale for your vote.
I didn't vote for Bush I the second time around because it just didn't seem like he was all that interested in getting re-elected. Didn't seem to have any passion for it. I didn't fault him for the "Read my lips! No new taxes!," and then changing his mind. I think he understood the need to do so, and it went against everything in his being to do so, but he felt it was for best for the country. In short Bush looked old and tired, and Clinton was young, full of energy, and a fresh face, during an economy downturn. I agree with you regarding Greenspan.
Of course I might have simply typed faster. lol
as for your reasoning in 92, fair enough. I can't fault that line of reasoning.
I'll grant you this, Clinton was one hell of a campaigner, and not a bad POTUS, far from this being criticism, but although I don't really give him CREDIT for the robust economy under his watch, he was mainly a spectator. I give him HUGE credit for not fucking it up, i think the hardest thing for a POTUS is to resist the temptation to tinker with something that is going well, and Clinton, with the advice of Reuben did one hell of a job letting the economy steam along.
Sept 15: McCain says the "economy is fundamentally sound
Sept 15: Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy
Sept 24: CBS airs Pailn's first interview with Katie Couric and country sees first hand what an idiot she is.
Any of those events could have imapcted the McCain campaign numbers. There would have to be specific polling data about Palin to determine if she was the cause of the campaign collapse. Well there is specific polling data about Palin and she was the cause of the campaign collapse. The simple truth is that the more American voters got to know Palin the less they like her.
Exit Polls: Palin Hurt Ticket with Large Number of Voters
ttp://jonathanturley.org/2008/11/05/exit-poll-palin-hurt-ticket-with-vast-majority-of-voters/
Polls Show Palin Is Starting to Drag Down McCain
http://www.alternet.org/story/99424/polls_show_palin_is_starting_to_drag_down_mccain?page=0%2C1
Perceptions of Palin Grow Increasingly Negative, Poll Says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102402698.html
Growing Doubts on Palin Take a Toll, Poll Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/us/politics/31poll.html
Palin did help McCain raise funds, and she certainly excited the base, particularly the Jesus Freaks, but she cost McCain big time too.
I have a few real redneck gun-toting relatives, who will vote Republican on instinct simply on the gun issue alone. In '08 a lot of them decided to stay home, or go out hunting instead of voting. The reason? Palin wasn't smart enough to be President.