John “Hannibal” Smith, played by George Peppard of “A-Team” fame, used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together." In similar fashion, I love it when a Republican presidential campaign comes together.
Cal Thomas asks “What is it about Sarah Palin that has gotten the liberal media’s knickers in a twist?” The answer is not a simple one.
Of course there are some obvious replies: Sarah is a woman (and what a woman!), she is a “mom” and a working mother, Sarah is a reformer like John McCain purports to be and did I mention Sarah is a woman?
But the real problem for Democrats is that Sarah is gritty, she hails from Alaska where self reliance and individualism are the norm, she is not an eastern elite and she doesn’t care a whit what the Washington press corps thinks. It also doesn’t help Democrats that Sarah is a young, attractive, unapologetic conservative and comes from a place farthest from the east coast establishment and that she is able to relate to most Americans better than the stammering (away from a teleprompter) Obama and the career senator from Delaware. Perhaps the worst nightmare for the Democrats is that Sarah has awakened the masses of potential Republican voters who are not happy with the choice of McCain.
So what is the “plan” that has “come together” ala The A-Team; it is the synergistic combination of a soft Republican and a hard line conservative. While McCain does his thing to attract wishy washy voters who think it’s great to “work with those on the other side of the aisle”, Sarah appeals to those of us disappointed with the McCain’s role as a “maverick” in the senate. After all what makes McCain a “maverick” is his departure from traditional conservative ideals and his penchant for introducing legislation no self respecting conservative would advance. Some of us cannot forgive McCain for the anti-First Amendment McCain-Feingold law and for the attempt to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. Many are also not happy with McCain’s acceptance of the ridiculous idea that you and I are causing climate change and therefore we must exchange our lifestyle for sack cloth and ashes.
I would like to think creating a combination of John McCain and Sarah Palin is the work of really smart Republican “operatives” but unfortunately a dearth of such foresighted advisors on the Republican side makes that difficult to accept. Sometimes people get lucky, why else are there lottery winners? Nonetheless, putting shear good fortune aside, we can revel in the notion that a good plan has come together.
Vincent Gioia is a retired patent attorney living in Palm Desert, California. His articles may be read at
