Trader’s Narrative

Rove could teach Machiavelli a few tricks. But he isn’t infallible by any stretch of the imagination. In classic Rovian style, he brought in Sarah Palin to persuade disenfranchised Hillary Clinton supporters to vote for the McCain ticket. He knows that the GOP desperately need the woman’s vote to stand a chance in this election:

As one McCain aide put it: “We either get Hillary’s voters and we win, or we don’t. It’s not a mystery.” Said another: “This campaign is all about the middle.”

But he accomplished more than that. With Palin, he also makes it politically incorrect for either Obama or Biden to go after McCain’s VP because she is a woman. It would look unseemly to have two seasoned, eloquent politicians wipe the floor with an attractive mother of five who has no experience and no relevant qualifications.

Here is an easy way for the Democrats to checkmate Rove’s move: Have Hillary Clinton rip Sarah Palin apart.

She is more than capable. If she devotes half the tenacity she showed in the Democratic party nomination process, Palin doesn’t stand a chance.

She is the only person who can do this. Not only is she the right gender, she is eminently more qualified, experienced and educated. If I were advising Obama, I’d have him suggest the possibility of an appointment, say, Secretary of State - depending on how well Hillary demolishes Palin in the run up.

Oh, and by the way, three years ago we were told that Katrina was God’s punishment for all the sin in New Orleans. So how are we to interpret Gustav interfering with the GOP convention this year?