Go Ahead and Laugh - How Palin matters

Go Ahead and Laugh - How Palin matters.

By John J. Pitney Jr. September 01, 2008

There’s a great deal of talk that Sarah Palin will be a “game-changer.” She may well live up to that billing, but not in the way that many think.

Palin has praised Hillary Clinton and promised to crack the glass ceiling. But she is probably not going to draw massive numbers of Clinton’s female supporters to the Republican side. Some of them still resent Obama, and they all like the idea of a woman on the national ticket — in theory. A pro-life, pro-gun conservative woman, however, is not part of that theory.

So far, she is causing only modest movement in the general electorate. In a USA Today poll, 67 percent of voters say that she does not affect their vote choice. Eighteen percent say that she makes them more likely to vote for McCain, but 11 percent say that she makes them less likely.

[…]

And yet Palin is doing something very important. Until last week, Democrats were much more passionate than Republicans about this election. Accordingly, it seemed likely that they would have an edge in motivating volunteers and getting voters to the polls. Palin is suddenly closing this “enthusiasm gap.” According to Jonathan Martin of The Politico, her selection “ignited a wave of elation and emotion that has led some grass-roots activists to weep with joy.” According to a McCain staffer, the campaign raised $7 million right after the Friday announcement.

[…]

The sneers may amuse fans of Keith Olbermann and the Daily Show, but they might not go over well with … you know, the kind of people who cling to guns and religion. Some of them may have been thinking of sitting out the election or even crossing to Obama. But if they get the idea that liberals are laughing at them, they might regard a vote for the McCain-Palin ticket as a good way to register their disapproval.

Read the entire column here: Go Ahead and Laugh How Palin matters

— John J. Pitney Jr. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDNjNDVkZDQxNGNhMDkxNTE3ZjJlYjE5ODFjM2IwOGE=

20080901 Go ahead and laugh How Palin matters by John Pitney Jr