[Opinion] - The mavericks meet the media

The John McCain camp began a pre-emptive attack on Barack Obama last week, wolves included, but their strikes were no more thought-out than the Bush doctrine. After a series of proxy ad wars, the mavericks got put to the test Friday with unscripted appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The View” and the “Rachel Ray Show.”
An uncomfortable McCain took a lashing on “The View” about low-blow distortion ads that claimed Obama is for “learning about sex before learning how to read.” It was in fact a dug-up lie, conflating Obama’s approval of carefully warning young kids about sexual abuse with comprehensive sex education for kindergartners. With his pants on fire, McCain muttered, “Have you seen some of the ads that are running against me?” Luckily, McCain’s wife, Cindy, wore the real pants that morning and responded with actual answers to real issues like abortion and Russian aggression.
Gov. Sarah Palin took a harder beating in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska where respected ABC news anchor Charles Gibson carefully prodded her on some meaty questions. The Barracuda showed the power of her biting, defensive tone while straining to stay above water.
Gibson asked Palin if Alaska’s proximity to Russia was in fact a sufficient credential, in which Palin explained that, “You can actually see Russia from land in Alaska.” After Gibson explained George W. Bush’s controversial foreign policy principles on preventative war to a confused Palin, she exclaimed that she did in fact agree and strongly urged that, “We must do whatever it takes, and we must not blink.”
Her policy advisers will definitely suggest that she not blink during her two-week political cramfest, or she may miss important sections in her study manual, “The Idiot’s Guide to Running America, Commanding a War and Saving a Devastated Economy.”
Despite her inexperience and verbal fumbling, people still love Palin. Maybe it’s the sexy librarian glasses, maybe it’s because it’s fun to follow gun-toting granny gossip. For Republicans and Americans, it doesn’t matter. McCain has held a one point lead for over a week, and he’s not afraid of getting dirty.
With respect to the hurricane crisis early Saturday, Obama announced he would not be appearing on “Saturday Night Live,” his only scheduled network appearance last weekend. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s non-partisan political performance was probably the most honest account of the difficult dilemmas facing the democratic ticket —debunking the Barracuda and winning the women. Poehler’s Hillary Clinton invited the media to “grow a pair,” and said it is not sexy to question a female candidate on her credentials.
Meanwhile, Democrats continued to scratch their heads, formulating a new plan to reach out to women. At the end of the week, Obama decided it was time for plan B: Bill Clinton. If there is one man in the political world that knows how to handle a tough lady, it’s definitely Bill. The man has handled one of the toughest women in politics for 33 years, bless his soul. Even after the most dramatic scandal in marriage history, he has managed to tame the beast.
But is Hillary really an asset to the Obama Campaign? Voters might disagree with Palin’s principles and extreme views, but it’s hard to ignore Hillary’s fetid feistiness. What’s working for McCain? Distraction. Any publicity is good publicity for the Republicans, and Palin remains appealing.
The real test will come Oct. 2 at the vice presidential debate in St. Louis, Mo. Will two weeks of presidential training translate into knowledge, experience and credentials? Doubtful. Will slippy-mouthed Sen. Joe Biden blunder into a sexist slip-up? Probably. Will “SNL” slap the funny pants off the biggest battle of the sexes? Definitely.

Ashley Goetz welcomes comments at agoetz@mndaily.com.