A "PALINOSCOPY" FOR MCDONNELL: What Should Bob Do About Sarah?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
(Arlington County Democratic Committee)
Report from the
Chairman
Peter Rousselot
Poor Bob.
Virginia's
Republican nominee for Governor, Bob McDonnell,
is having a tough time trying
to decide: what to do about
Sarah?
That's Sarah, as in Sarah Palin--on her way out
as Governor of Alaska, but eager
to capitalize on her strong standing in the
Republican Party nationally.
Look
carefully at what Bob has said about Sarah: she
would
be a "good spokesman"--if she still wants
to come to Virginia
to campaign for him this year. "She was a
successful governor in Alaska," he
said. "She
was a popular governor in Alaska, got a lot of
things done on taxes, and
government regulation and ethics, and you know,
those are some of the things
that I'm interested in getting done here in
Virginia. I think she...added a lot
of enthusiasm to the Republican ticket with
John McCain last year. I think
she'll stay a voice in national politics to
some degree," McDonnell concluded.
But, when
pressed to say whether the McDonnell
campaign actually has invited Sarah to campaign
for Bob in Virginia,
or has any specific Virginia
events with Sarah scheduled, the McDonnell
campaign has said, in essence: none
right now, maybe in the future. Notice, they
haven't said: "thanks, but no
thanks."
Poor Bob--he
just doesn't know which way to
jump.
And, that's no
surprise because Bob's dilemma
in Virginia
is also the dilemma of the Republican Party
nationally: Sarah Palin is
enormously popular with the Republican base,
but the reasons for her popularity
with them are the same reasons that energize
the Democratic base in the
opposite direction.
Poor Bob--he's
going to alienate a lot of Virginia
voters no
matter what he decides to do about Sarah. Isn't
that a shame?
So, here's my
thought: let's keep asking Bob:
Where's Sarah?
Let's give him
a time-tested suggestion from
many high school dating advice columns: Why
haven't you invited her?
Bob's in a box
no matter what he decides: I
have invited her; I haven't invited her; she is
coming; she isn't coming; I
don't know if she's
coming.
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