Posted by WLS:

The selection of Sarah Palin, and the information overload of the last 48 hours, has fed into the press meme that the McCain campaign is in disarray, and the “failure” to sufficient vet her is just the latest example.

Chief among the contentions of the Obama-edia is that by selecting Palin, McCain has undercut his primary argument against Obama — his lack of experience.

This, my friends, is emblematic of why Democrats lose national elections and Republicans win — always fighting the last war.

For about 60 days, and especially since the Berlin speech, the McCain campaign was relentless in pounding home the “too inexperienced” theme on Obama with paid advertising in battleground states and surrogate appearances in the press. Obama was mostly out raising money, and didn’t begin to respond effectively until McCain was scoring some points. Sound familiar John Kerry?

One effect of this was that Obama was pushed into a completely ordinary and uninspiring selection of Joe Blowhard Biden as his running mate. And the nation yawned.

McCain acts — Obama reacts.

So what about that “experience” issue now with Palin?

Well, that narrative is already established in the minds of swing voters — Obamamaniacs in the Dem party are never going to be swayed from their views on him. Pounding away with that issue alone for the next 9 weeks would be stupid.

So the topic of the fall had to be different from the topic of the summer. Just like Kerry was stood up straight with the Swift Boaters claims — getting him out of his comfort zone — and later taken down with his liberalism, that will be the same “Rovian” playbook that McCain’s camp will follow from now to election day.

The game now will shift to “conservatism” v. “liberalism.” It’ll be “genuine reform” v. “South Side machine politics.”

It’ll be “McCain/Palin and the NRA/Drill-Drill-Drill”, v. “Obama and Ayers w/$4 gas is just fine because it means we consume less.”

The battleground for the fall campaign is different than it was for the summer.

The Dems/Obama are in the process of fighting over ground – experience – that McCain has already won.

The GOP/McCain have moved on and will begin breaching the Dem lines on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mobility is lethality, both in war and politics.

UPDATED – The NYT Caucus Blog has a new McCain ad out today hitting Obama for his intention to add billions in new federal spending:

“Take away the crowds, the chants,” and “all that’s left are costly words,” according to the Republicans ad, which is to be broadcast in 14 battleground states beginning on Tuesday.

Images of Senator Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, as well as Democratic Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, and Chris Dodd of Connecticut flash on the screen.

“Barack Obama and out-of-touch Congressional leaders have expensive plans,” an announcer says. “Billions in new government spending. Years of deficits. No balanced budgets.”

Posted by WLS:

Rather than violate my own link ban on Sullivan, I’m just going to quote this inanity from his site earlier today:

Mickey’s Got My Back

02 Sep 2008 02:31 pm

Thanks:

P.P.S.–The Case for Excitability : Andrew Sullivan’s role in publicising the rumor seems legit too. The feeding frenzy of publicity is what flushes out the counter-evidence quickly (and then it gets a lot of attention).

But if you follow the link to Kaus Files, you find this:

The Case for Excitability :  Andrew Sullivan’s role in publicizing the rumor seems legit too. The feeding frenzy of publicity is what flushes out the counter-evidence quickly (and then it gets a lot of attention).

[Why didn’t kf, self-appointed Guide to the Undernews, write about the rumor?–ed. It seemed more likely that an older woman would have a Down syndrome child. Nor do I see what the huge moral scandal would be if the Palin rumor were true. So I didn’t get to it. I’m not Guide to the Undernews! At least not to All the Undernews. That’s a full time job.** My argument is that the Web as a whole potentially functions as the Guide to All Undernews, as bloggers argue about whatever rumors interest them. …

 So, Andy acknowledges that he no longer desires to be taken seriously as a public commentator on matters of politics and policies.  He’s now happy as a gossip hound along with the others at Daily Kos pursuing the “Undernews.”

Do you really suppose that Sullivan thinks Kaus is paying him a compliment in describing him in this way?

[Guest post by DRJ]

The second day, but the first full day, of the GOP Convention has begun. Feature speakers this evening will be former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, and reportedly a brief speech from President George Bush via satellite.

The theme is “Country First” and the full Tuesday schedule is here.

– DRJ

[Guest post by DRJ]

The furor and desperation from both sides over this election reminds me of sitting in the pediatrician’s office.

I sat in the pediatrician’s office at least once every other week for twelve years with a chronically ill child. You learn a lot about people at the pediatrician’s office and what I learned is that most parents melt at the thought their children will experience discomfort. Having a sick child, especially one with a serious illness, leaves most parents overwhelmed.

I’m not saying this to be mean because I include myself in this description and for most parents it gets easier with time or if we have additional children. One way or another, most parents learn that raising children may not be easy but it’s not impossible. Kids can be resilient and none of us are perfect. It’s enough to pay attention, ask questions, and do our best.

It’s a tense political time as we get down to the final weeks in this election. Participating in politics and government is a little like sitting in the pediatrician’s office. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t much we can do. In addition, the candidates don’t come from Central Casting and government will never be perfect.

Our job as voters is to pay attention, ask questions, and do our best, and I think we’re up to the challenge. Maybe it’s also a good time to remember none of us has to be perfect. So whichever side you support, take a few moments each day to step back, stop worrying, and be happy.

– DRJ

The announcement is at Michelle Malkin’s site. He’s moving on to bigger and better things. He’ll be missed.

I got to meet him personally some weeks back — something about collecting on a chimichanga bet — and he’s every bit as great a guy in person as you’d think from reading his stuff.

I still remember when he was a guest blogger here, lo these many years ago. He did an excellent job then, and continued to do so when he moved on to the Junkyard Blog, guesting at Hot Air, and finally guesting at Michelle’s.

Good luck to you, buddy. And remember that now, all your news tips are belong to us.

P.S. DRJ, who was filling in during my family vacation, has agreed to stay on for the foreseeable future. This is tremendously welcome news. I’m sure some day we’ll lose her to a bigger and better site, just like we lost See Dub. But we’ll keep her around as long as we possibly can.