One of the most remarkable things about the extraordinary buzz that the selection of Sarah Palin has generated within Republican circles is this: The vast majority of the work is being done by enemies of the Right.  Sure, Sen. McCain had to have the courage to make the gutsy call.  And obviously, Gov. Palin deserves all the kudos in the world for being the leader and reformer and ideologue that she is.  But no matter how good this pick was, and make no mistakes about it - this has been Obama's worst possible nightmare - the fact remains that the mainstream media and the extremists on the far left have done most of the heavy lifting for those of us on the right.  They have teed up the greatest platform I could even imagine for this remarkable woman to demonstrate her courage, grit, and calmness.  They have made her an unbelievably sympathetic character, when just letting her alone would have revealed a woman who has taken to moose hunting throughout her life.  The independent voter in this country, of which I am surely not one, has spent a week seeing a woman with undeniable personal integrity and conviction be slaughtered by some of the most hypocritical tools on the planet.  The media brought 37 million people to see "what all the hype was about" on Wednesday night - virtually the same number that watched Obama's speech last week. 

 

And what did those 37 million people get to see?  A woman who made minced meat of the bizarre claim that she is unqualified to be VP, but Obama is somehow qualified to head a ticket.  They saw a woman who actually knows the energy issues facing this country, and has capably worked in the space of expanding supply and limiting demand for years.  37 million people saw a woman with a beautiful family, a supportive husband, and the authentic joy that comes with it all.  They saw a GOP base who has their new star.  They saw a woman who is everything the feminists have told us we need: A strong person with much acclaim inside the home, and outside of it.

 

I do not expect these attacks on Palin to end, but I do expect them to continue to flop heinously.  The backfire has been extraordinary, and Obama has only his own people to blame.  This professional politician, with all his talk of reform and change, now has to run against the ticket that really stands for such, and he has to do it now by demonizing two people that are hard to demonize.  The more he talks of issues, the more the public hears his rank class warfare, let-government-do-more, socialism.  The more he talks of international relations and the war, the more he comes off like an internationalist suck-up.  The only issue with any traction has always been the notion that "McCain represents more of Bush, and you Americans hate Bush, so vote for me."  With Palin on the ticket, the ultimate anti-Bush thing has been done:  Sen. McCain has bucked the trend, promised vetoes (the pen for which, President Bush could not find most of his Presidency), and excited a base of fiscal and social and patriotic conservatives that had up until now been disgusted by the idea of either a McCain or Obama Presidency.

 

The independent voter was always going to have to make a decision to get either one of these candidates elected.  Now, thanks to McCain and Palin, the independent knows which candidate really reflects the things they care about.  Now, thanks to McCain and Palin, the base is passionately involved in this election.  And we have the most evil, secular, left wing nutballs on the planet to thank for almost all of it.  Keep it up, New York Times.  With enemies like you, who needs friends??