Sleepy and dreary John McCain was heading towards a 10% loss, or worse. Now it's going to be interesting again because everybody has someone they can identify with or against. I only hope there are enough voting machines out there to handle a 60% turnout. It may be too early to say, but this woman could do some damage to the Obama-Biden runaway combination.

We should check back next week after she has had more time to develop a stump speech, but will she "wear" well? The Mike Huckabee flash lasted about 10 days and people started to tune him out as a case of "NFW". I suspect this woman will be in our midst for longer than 10 days.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world will be holding their breath because much of this race will be determined on the basis of style and cultural values, which blows people away in other countries. This woman oozes charm and cultural values are about all she has. Aside from the debates, it will be light on substance because it is too difficult or almost impossible to deliver a knockout punch on the policy points. Swing voters are not swayed on the basis of arcane policy issues unless, for example, somebody conflates universal healthcare with illegal immigration, or something like that. Obama dreads these "gotcha" issues because he feels compelled to triangulate his way around or through the issue. McCain makes no such attempt and falls back on sloganeering or something safe. We have no idea what this woman will say because she is not experienced enough to know when to dodge the question or change the subject. She could say something simply charming and the whole world will be charmed with her simplicity. That is the big risk for a "deep thinker" like Obama.

The Dems are always too rational for their own good. The repubs load up on symbolism that reinforces their message. They do it all the time and it influences how people feel and, ultimately, how people think. It even affects how people vote. Now isn't that a clever idea. The repubs rely on symbolisms and generally avoid complexity at all costs. They understand that the average voter is driven primarily by cultural values and does not have the patience nor understanding for complexity. A good example is Palin parading all the kiddies on-stage which reinforces a number of postive perceptions about who this woman is. It's just hard and politically dangerous for any man (Biden) to throw punches at a woman with 5 kids and wearing glasses. The Dems don't know it yet but she might just be inoculated against attack. What struck me first about Obama running his 2 kids and wifey on-stage was that here was an African American guy who actually has a family. I had to overcome those negative sterotypes first in order to appreciate the fact that this was also political theater. It seems that the Dems struggle with the simple stuff like showcasing their families in public. Can Bill and Hillary share the same stage? Maybe not after Hillary's speech last week in which she did not acknowledge in her opening part that she was also the "proud wife of a former president". And Bill is sitting a few feet away from her. I am surprised nobody has picked up on that.

The examples go on and on where the Dems fail by trying to take advantage of presumably "safe" symbols that the Rebubs take for granted. They usually backfire like Kerry windsailing on Nantucket, Dukakis driving a tank wearing a stupid helmet, like Kerry parading all his war buddies at the convention only to find himself "swift-boated" the very next day. Nothing is simple in the Dem world. Simplicity is discouraged because it smacks of a religious experience. I cannot think of any Repub who is referred to as a policy expert or a "wonk". They tend to be only Democrats. Even Joe Biden is an acknowledged "foreign policy expert". Is Dick Cheney an expert? Not if he has any say in the matter. Sam Nunn is still called an expert even though he has been out of the Senate for 10 years. The only attempt at simplicity that a recent Dem pulled off successfully was the "it's the economy, stupid" line by Bill back in 1992.

The whole election will come down to the VP debate which will be watched by 100 million people, that is up near Superbowl Sunday kind of numbers. The Western world will literally stop moving for 90 minutes to see if SHE is real.

If SHE is real, McCain wins. It is that simple. McCain can flub his way across the finish line but if this woman is REAL, all bets are off. Not only is she a mother, but a mother of five and she wears glasses. I don't think she will forget to wear those glasses. It makes her appear brainy, more attractive, more conservative and also more defenseless.

I am sure that the Dem strategists think she is the most "dangerous woman in the world" right now. There is no obvious defense or offense against a woman of this type because she will attack you from a position of perceived weakness. The only person who can take her down and still remain standing is, of course, Hillary.