Over the past week since Barack Obama’s victory, there has been a lot of stone-throwing at Sarah Palin. On Thursday, reports surfaced from Fox News that the former Republican vice presidential candidate could not name the countries that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and did not know that Africa is a continent. What is particularly incredible about this news is that it reportedly comes from McCain/Palin campaign insiders. Palin denies these claims.
Palin no doubt was a large factor in McCain’s loss. I know plenty of conservatives who told me they could not vote for John McCain simply because of Palin. I personally was never a supporter of Sara Palin, particularly after her mud-slinging antics on the campaign trail, or her comments about which areas of the country are or are not “pro-Amerca” or her $150,000 wardrobe. And oh yes, then there’s the more recent question about voter fraud in Alaska.
But whose fault is it that she was tapped in the first place?
Here’s some analysis from various publications on why the McCain ticket failed, including: The New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Reuters, BBC News and Fox News.
Yes, Palin was clearly a major thorn in the paw of John McCain. But the campaign suffered several other critical flaws, including a campaign team that just did not have the strategic mindset of the Obama camp. McCain couldn’t raise as much money as his opponent. He insulted Americans with fabricated stereotypes like Joe the Plumber.
But most of all, he failed to show us the real John McCain–the committed politician who, in better days, was willing to stand up and argue for what was right instead of what was popular, even if it went against his party. He could not adequately distance himself from George Bush, and was unable to connect with and inspire the millions of Americans who are uncertain of the future and long for change. Many agree that his most inspiring and seemingly genuine words, in fact, were said during his concession speech.
As for Sara Palin…it will be interesting to see where her political career goes from here.
