McCain just lost his 'base'

I have nothing more to add about Palin herself. For once, I can say that I’m actually quite satisfied with the job that the mainstream and independent press is doing in devouring the stupidity of McCain’s selection, and having the common sense to recognize that real story here isn’t the fact that Palin is a book-burning, Christianist, secessioniast. The story is McCain and his appallingly slipshod decision-making process.

And that, I think, will be the real fallout of the affair, regardless of whether Ms. Palin recuses herself. (Yesterday, I’d have said ‘no way’. I have to say, today, I’m not so sure, but if I were Tim Pawlenty, I’d made sure my cell-phone was charged.)

The fall-out is that this entire imbroglio has finally given the press license, and the apparent willingness, to do what it has been so unwilling to do up to now: criticize John McCain. Shine the light on him. Make this election as much about him and his judgement as it is about Obama. I frankly wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen, and my fear was that the fundamental imbalance of the TM's overriding campaign narrative – that this election was a referendum on Barack Obama, not John McCain – was going to keep this race so annoyingly, unnecessarily, and ridiculously tight.

I think that whole frame is gone now. Being a POW is apparently no excuse for not even vetting your VP pick. I think the Press now sees and openly admits, this is not the man they came to know and love back in 2000. Just as important, McCain is now discovering that this is not the same press either. This is not his 'base’ as he so charmingly used to like to call them. And having lost them – through this single act of stunning arrogance and laziness – he’s kinda got nothin’.

Look for much anger and recrimination from the Right, that the current firestorm just goes to show that the 'liberal' media is out to get their candidate. Look for the silent majority of Americans to once and for all flip them the bird they so richly deserve.