Much is rightly being made of John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. It's a breakthrough moment for the Republicans to put a woman on the ticket.
The early discussion is focused on McCain's concerted effort to court Hillary Clinton supporters. There is no doubt that's a major factor. But I wonder whether Palin really helps McCain with his other women troubles. When I was watching the video of Palin's speech, I noticed Cindy McCain in the background. She was center, but not front and center. Doesn't picking Palin help get the negative focus off the way McCain left his first wife and the wealth of his current wife? It seems to me that it has accomplished that so far. Pure speculation, of course.
Like it or not, questions of gender are not going away in this campaign. Journalists will have to be willing to take some risks in exploring the topic and the way it is shifting almost daily.
No comments:
Post a Comment