My oh my, what Salon's commentocracy has deteriorated to. The choice of Palin (or as I call her, Georgia Bush) is having precisely the effect it's supposed to: sending liberals into a "what do we do now, she has ovaries?" panic. Simmer down and let's look at this rationally.

First of all, it's early September. There's lots of time yet.

Second, in a few weeks NO ONE is going to care who Sarah Palin is other than to take shots at her. We are not electing a vice president; we're electing a president. The bottom half of the ticket is nothing more than a sideshow. If it mattered, then Lloyd Bentsen's, "You're no Jack Kennedy" takedown of Dan Quayle in 1988 would have swung the election. The prospect of Sarah Palin as a heartbeat from the presidency is terrifying, yes, but as far as the general election she's NOT GOING TO MATTER unless you're an evangelical. She's an über-distraction, nothing more.

Next, even if McCain wins, somehow I think Salon will survive. Jesus, the histrionics are amazing around here.

I agree that going after Palin (as should be left to Biden, the press and the blogosphere; Obama should not dirty his hands) should not be based on gender any more than attacks on Obama should be about race. There appears to be plenty about her that can be torn to shreds (and more appearing daily) and should be torn without mercy. I do think her family situation, however, is fair game, since she's put herself forward as anti-choice and pro-family in the Christian sense (meaning you can screw and impregnate all you want as long as no one finds out).

Most of all, if the Dems are smart, they make this election about the issues, but in a way that gets to people's gut. The economy and the suffering it's causing. The lack of healthcare and more suffering. The war, its cost and the scandalous way we treat our veterans. Energy and how we continue to suck up to the Saudis, who harbored most of the 9/11 terrorists. Our monster debt and how we're passing it to our children. And how McCain represents Bush's third term--the Dems need to hammer on that idea. Then dissect McCain's support for all the policies that have brought those disasters to life. Hammer and hammer and hammer on the issues. The reason the GOP wants to make this election about personality is because they know if it's about issues, they lose.

So everyone, please calm down. Sarah Palin is not Wonder Woman and Karl Rove is not Antonio Machiavelli.

The Democrats choose candidates whom they believe will be good at governing. The Republicans choose candidates whom they believe will be good at winning elections, governance after the election be damned. That's how we got Dubya. That's how we got Obama, who appears to be wavering and passive, and Biden, who's vanished. And that's how we got McCain and Palin, who are archtypes: the War Hero and the Plucky Underdog Mom. Archetypes win elections when the electorate is too small-minded to vote for anything else. The GOP knows this, which is why they're great at winning elections and piss-poor at governing.

...to the poster who said that Democrats aren't very good at playing defense, that's beside the point. Being defensive is a sure way to guarantee a victory for your opponents in anything, whether it's football or politics. When you "play not to lose," you lose.

The only way the Dems make it happen is to launch a multi-point strategy of sharp, smart ads and blistering public appearances: Obama talking with vision and candor about issues and solving specific problems that struggling Americans want and need to hear about, Biden going into attack dog mode to take down both McCain and Palin, surrogates like Hillary hitting on emotional talking points like "Bush's Third Term" and "If McCain dies in the White House, do we really want Sarah Palin as president?", and finally, a series of great TV spots that strike hard at the lies and misrepresentations and corruption of both candidates and link them to the worst president in US history, Shrub.

That's the only way they win this thing: by going on the offensive and attacking from multiple directions at the same time, relentlessly for the next two months, while Obama hopefully cleans McCain's clock in the debates. They've got to be aggressive and set the agenda and they have to appeal to the emotions, since people make their decisions based on emotion, not intellect.

You think the voters are going to give a rat's hindquarters about the nuance behind the Bridge to Nowhere. Let's get this one down right now, Democrats: If you have to start an election statement with the word "Technically..." then it's a loser. Stop talking. Regroup.

Simple. Powerful. Candid. Gutsy. Factual. Centered on the issues Americans care about—the war, the economy, healthcare. No one cares about the Bridge to Nowhere...which is precisely where Obama's campaign will end up if the Dems don't knock off the hair splitting and get to some haymakers.

This is lovely, but Democrats, STOP PLAYING DEFENSE! Instead of reacting to the shit the GOP slings, come out fighting and define the battle. Define McCain and Georgia Bush in the eyes of the voters: the waffling old man with the out-of-control temper and the anti-science wacko with no experience and a power-mad streak. Come out with knives and guns and take the fight to them and rip their throats out. It has indeed come to this if we ever hope to take our nation back.

We should be working with Democracy for America to turn THIS into a killer ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KjsEs46C70