Since Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, the 2008 presidential race has been forever changed. Palin, a self-described hockey mom who lives the libertarian frontier lifestyle, seemed like an unlikely choice. The initial public reaction was mixed and still is, but a star was rising; McCain’s campaign was saved from obscurity, and the Republican Party was definitively taken off the endangered species list.
Gov. Sarah Palin. Photo Credit: asecopndhandconjecture(flickr.com)
As a mother of five with a blue-collar, working-class husband, Palin’s story is very relatable to American voters. Her small town, down-to-earth charm is a breath of fresh air, when compared to candidates that believe people in small towns “cling to guns and religion” or who can’t seem to remember how many houses they own. Whereas many candidates prattle on about stories of their parents’ or grandparents’ working-class origins, Palin is actually living it. Her outdoorsy, moose-hunting lifestyle epitomizes the limitless frontier culture that is uniquely American, yet rare in today’s urban-centered political culture. Conservative MSNBC commentator Tucker Carlson was quoted as saying, “Sarah Palin hunts and fishes. …So as a sportsman, I have a profound emotional attachment to Sarah Palin that a reason doesn’t touch.”
McCain’s bold, dark-horse pick made his campaign relevant again after a summer of media coverage dominated by his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama. The primary dilemma the Obama campaign faced since securing the hard-fought nomination was winning over disgruntled Sen. Hillary Clinton supporters. Instead of choosing Clinton, who had won almost nearly as many votes in the primary as he did, Obama chose Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
By choosing the first female Republican running mate, McCain added fuel to the fire. McCain had stolen the “change” issue by choosing a complete outsider and someone completely different than what was expected of him and his party. Obama’s pick, by contrast, did not evoke the sense of “change,” which his political movement embodies, and if anything may have only brought back memories of the Democratic party candidate’s 2004 defeat. If the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick, then the difference between Biden and Sen. John Kerry must be hair plugs.
While considered a safe choice that made up for Obama’s lack of legislative experience and foreign policy expertise, Biden did not generate the level of enthusiasm from voters that Palin received from independents and her party base. According to a September Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll, McCain leads Obama by 15 percent among independent voters. When both party conventions aired, viewers relatively tuned out to Biden’s speech but were glued to their screens a week later during Palin’s. While Biden received 24 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings, during the Democratic National Convention, Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention was on par with Obama’s and McCain’s audiences, estimated at more than 40 million viewers.
One major problem that McCain has had to face this election year has been an uninterested and lethargic Republican base. Palin has reversed that trend and ignited a newfound pride within the party to the point that some will ask: “Could Palin be the next Ronald Reagan?” Michael Reagan, son of the former president, seems to think so. In an editorial titled “Welcome Back, Dad,” he proclaimed that “Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he’s a she.”
While this is clearly hyperbole, Palin’s presence at the Republican National Convention did generate a level of enthusiasm that had been unseen since “The Gipper” first appeared on the national circuit. While Palin is clearly not Reagan in a dress (and it’s not a pretty image), she does share a quality with the late former president that McCain does not. Like Reagan, Palin has a strong appeal to the two primary groups that make up the GOP; social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. Palin, like Reagan, has the ability to unite the Republican Party in a way that hasn’t been seen since the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress. Palin is applauded by the Religious Right for her “pro-life as any candidate can get” stance on abortion, and at the same time is praised by the more fiscal and liberty-minded conservatives for cutting almost $500,000,000 in Alaska’s state spending, as well as having a lifetime National Rifle Association membership.
Palin’s wide popularity among these coalitions is a valuable and essential component for a McCain victory. McCain, against all odds, secured the Republican Party nomination, despite being quite possibly the party base’s least favorite member. Over the course of the primary season, McCain drew criticism from social conservatives such as the evangelical leader James Dobson who in 2007 declared that he “would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.” Likewise, fiscal conservative groups such as the pro-free market Club for Growth PAC criticized McCain’s record of voting against Pres. George Bush’s tax cuts, highlighting his class-warfare rhetoric that was more in line with the Democrats’ position than the Republicans’. Since Palin was announced as McCain’s running mate, both of these detractors have thrown their support to the ticket.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, Palin already has a bright future ahead of her in the Republican Party. She has already secured her spot as the presumptive frontrunner for the 2012 or 2016 Republican primary, leaving Gov. Mitt Romney long-forgotten and yesterday’s news. As premature as it may seem, polls are already being administered for the next presidential election. A Rasmussen poll has already been conducted, pitting Palin against Clinton at 41 percent to 52 percent, respectively, for the battle to be the first female United States president. While it remains to be seen whether Palin’s appeal can stretch across party lines in the long run, it can certainly be said that her presence on the Republican ticket has saved McCain from a Bob Dole-like defeat and reignited the fire in the belly of the Republican Party.
Written by Alex Hoffman, 2L
