Political Nanny: Is Sarah Palin a New and Improved Cindy McCain?

Madeline Holler — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:01:00 GMT

After the first night of the Democratic convention last week, even the least-rabid Obama supporters wanted -- in addition to ending the war in Iraq, funding education and alternative energy sources, and improving the economy -- to just hang out with Michelle and the girls. That's how appealing Michelle Obama is. That's how influential a political spouse can be.

Think that'll happen after Cindy McCain speaks at the Republican convention this week? Prooooobably not. No offense to Mrs. McCain, but she's not quite the big sister/fellow mom/woman-in-my-shoes that Michelle has presented herself as. Instead, when Cindy McCain talks she winds up sounding mean and/or pitiable.

Not to worry though. Her husband, Republican candidate John McCain, went and picked him another First Lady. Not technically, of course. He's not dumping Cindy from his life. Just from the stage. Now he gets to play one half of a happy, lively, relatable couple with Sarah Palin, Alaska's governor.

Gross notion? Yeah, kind of. But let's go beyond Palin's anti-choice, pro-intelligent design, drill-for-oil-until-the last-polar-ice-cap melts positions, and look behind Door No. 3 -- independent/undecided voter focus groups. Don't you just know the participants responded more favorably to the slides of John McCain after they were shown pictures of pretty, open, smiling Sarah Palin than when they were shown pictures of painstakingly groomed, distant, grimacing Cindy? Just look at the pictures and hear Palin's voice! So warm! So eloquent! So strong! So Michelle!

For all the talk of Palin guaranteeing McCain the evangelical vote and the likelihood of her scraping up a number of the flattened Hillary PUMAs, Political Nanny also suspects (quite cynically) that McCain's overnight decision -- after only a single meeting with Palin! -- has everything to do with focus group results. Let's see, Palin soothes pro-life evangelicals's souls and heartens at least a few disgruntled lady PUMAs. Heck, maybe even disappointed Ron Paul supporters have found a reason to love politics again. Though if they were going to vote, it would have been for McCain anyway.

Still, there's that group of voters who cast their ballots for all sorts of non-policy/non-ideological reasons and only Karl Rove knows how huge that voting population is. These people look at things like spouses. "I respect Laura/Maria/Michelle so I voted for George W. Bush/Arnold Schwarzenegger, California governor/Barack Obama." In close elections, every vote counts and there are plenty of voters who are very influenced by how much they like a candidate's wife (one reason why Michelle Obama's speech was so important). You don't start liking McCain because of Cindy -- she wasn't doing John any favors. One has to wonder if Palin -- who until November will be the person by his side in pictures, at rallies, on signs, on the news -- mitigates some of that.

Hey, Political Nanny is hardly saying pretty, warm, eloquent, strong women aren't qualified to lead nations (or play understudy to national leaders). But since national politics -- particularly presidential races -- are focus-grouped to the nth degree (granted, we're pretty sure Michelle's speech was too! Not to mention how Joe Biden and Obama looked together vis-a-vis height, age, all those hidden yet influential factors), it's just natural to wonder what about Sarah Palin put her over the top.

The Happy Couple!

One big happy family!

Photo: LATimes.com; mccainblogette.com

Strollerderby : cindy mccain

Political Nanny: Is Sarah Palin a New and Improved Cindy McCain?