I forgot to say that what I find most distasteful about the handling of this announcement so far is the dearth of nuance, not only in courting Hillary's disaffected voters but in other arenas as well. The political has become so center-stage that there seems no longer even a pretense of a substantive rationale (The very existence of "spin rooms," speaking of foreshadowing, was absolutely the beginning of the end.)

Palin publicly prostituted every single political advantage she offers McCain in her speech: She got into detail about the son in the army, soon to be deployed to Iraq; the Down's baby; her anti-corruption cred; her appeal to the "two women who've gone before her," paying special attention to Hillary. Does anyone doubt for one single moment that this very woman has trashed, absolutely excoriated, Hillary Rodham Clinton from the safety of her PTA meetings or family room playgroups? I live in the reductive world of Republican suburbia--I know this woman very well (figuratively), and she has no love for Hillary Clinton.

My beef--and it's cosmetic, really--is that she just lay it out there without letting anyone find this stuff out later, without the extra admiration that comes from having learned of it from different sources. Something about the Down's baby kind of got to me. She couldn't merely have mentioned proudly her five children--no, she had to actually make a show of the Down's baby and how it was such a spiritual trial for her family.

And Ralph Reed on NPR got right to business: His very first words after the press conference suggested that HRC supporters might want to look their way after Hillary's "shameful mistreatment during the primary." I wanted to scream at the radio that the media's sexist treatment of Hillary offers no logical reason to move to another governing philosophy. It's not like the Obama camp was sexist for goddsakes. The conflation has begun.

We can admire this woman for her anti-corruption stand (the best thing about her, imo) and her apparent ambition (something I've never valued personally, but of course all pols have to have it), and still see her selection as the cynical political move it is.

Jeb, when you say that "at least McCain is addressing the alienated 18 million women" (paraphrasing), you sound naive. He doesn't care about you and your 17,999,999 like minded cohorts. It seems clear that he wouldn't have chosen Palin had HRC won the primary or been named VP. McCain understands that charges of sexism threw a wrench into the primary, and he's taken full advantage of it. He knows that whether or not actual sexism happens, charges will be thrown around and feelings hurt and grudges held nevertheless. He also knows, and this is important, that even if the media is the culprit of sexism, the conflation of Obama's campaign and sexism will happen anyway. Finally, he knows that even if, at the end of the day, the smart HRC supporters would never vote the regressive policies of his ticket, this move perpetuates the narrative that there's dissension in the Democratic ranks--just at the point where the dissension was waning--and the truly independent and politically homeless voters who may like the excitement of his choice or are swayed exclusively by gender might move over into his column.

I think it was a brilliant move on his part and I'm worried. The two best things that can change this:

1. An unknown skeleton or a tendency to say the wrong thing in a big way that highlights her "youth."

2. Hillary Clinton. Obama needs her like never before, and my hope is that ole Hill's competitive instincts come out in a big way: Ain't no one but her (in 2016) or Chelsea gonna be the first woman Pres.

As an aside, I've always maintained that the first black or woman to be P or VP will come from the Republican Party. I sure as hell hope this isn't what we English teachers like to call "foreshadowing."

Obama spokespeople should come out on message (Get rid of the guy on CNN who ridiculed Palin's inexperience, btw), saying what NYL just said--that McCain is obviously playing defense, that his choice is a sign he's in trouble, that he's reactive, that he wants to interrupt the cycle of positive news after the excellent DNC convention, that he probably made the choice late last night in response to the wild success of Obama's wrapup, and that those are altogether not thoughtful reasons to choose a VP.

As an aside, I'm appalled to learn that Palin's Down's baby is merely one year old. Quite honestly, I wonder if she knows what she's in for.

Jesus, add it to my list. The thing is, notimpressed, this stuff really does get votes. (Always remind yourself there's no IQ test for the franchise).

You made me laugh out loud.