Sarah Palin's

Recently, there has been a bit of negative attention directed at the McCain campaign with claims that Sarah Palin is "going rogue" as one advisor to the campaign put it. Most of us have been aware of the attention that Governor Sarah Palin is bringing to the Republican party since word got out that she was McCains V.P. nominee. With publicity from interviews such as the one with Katie Couric as well as the vice presidential debate and SNL skits, it seems that Palin is receiving more attention than McCain himself. This is debatable; however, the publicity "differential" between Obama and his vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is much greater than that of McCain and Palin. This begs the question of whether or not this attention placed on Palin and, in turn, the McCain campaign is detrimental or vital in gaining votes for the Republican party while solidifying the already strong base. At the moment, with articles such as those being written for CNN, it seems that most of the recent publicity has been doing the opposite; not only strengthening the disparity between party lines, but also causing Conservatives to renounce support for the McCain campaign.

CNN released an article claiming that Palin's recent antics and coverage in the media have created controversey within the campaign itself. One may question why McCain picked a Palin as his V.P. candidate though it seems as though it was not based on her political merit but ulterior motives. This is the area in which she is being called out on resulting in unintended consequences for the McCain campaign. It is clear that her charisma did freshen the campaign at first but then, as her political rhetoric began flowing, all of the benefits in Palin where brought into question. Did McCain foresee the chocie of Palin developing into what is happening currently, or did this choice lose its "edge" shortly after his decision to choose Palin? The answer is unclear though it is certain that a division has come into being within the McCain campaign between advisors with regards to Palin and her abilities and personality. With labels such as a "Diva", Palin's reputation and credibility are being questioned within the McCain campaign. One even said of Palin, ""Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic" continuing by saying that Palin was probably the "Hardest... to get up to speed than any candidate in history." It is attention and publicity like this that the McCain campaign needs least right now. There is always the notion that any publicity is good publicity, but such an ideology does not seem to manifest itself within the McCain campaign as of right now, and much of this attention could easily be attributed to Sarah Palin. However, looking back, who's decision was it to choose such a person as a V.P. candidate anyways? It can be thought by many (both Republicans and Democrats) that the selection of such an unqualified individual "doomed" the Republican campaign from the start. Interestingly enough, however, it was said of Palin that ""She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," so perhaps, with a loss in the 2008 elections, it is possible that she will be back for more.

To read the article, go to http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html

John