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The question isn't how good or bad McCain/Palin are compared to Obama/Biden. The question is how stupid are 51 percent of Americans to vote Republican.
Actually, not even 51 percent are needed. Anything less than a 10 percent victory margin of the Democrats over the Republicans will allow them to steal the election as they did in 2000 and 2004.
Democrats have had their laugh. Now get serious about winning this election. The first order of business is to NOT underestimate the cleverness of the Republicans and the gullibility of the average American.
As other posters have pointed out, the "surprise" Palin selection together with hurricane Gustav have already deflected attention from the issues such as the economy, Iraq war, and health care. If you can't give them "bread", give them circus.
If the Republican spin machine can make an incompetent loser like George Bush into "the guy you would rather have a beer with...", then they shouldn't have too much trouble making a relatively young, slick-talking, attractive beauty contest winner acceptable to enough right-wingers to enable them to steal the election.
"Who would you rather have a mooseburger with..." will become the advertising campaign for the Republican ticket. They will invent a whole fantasy scenario about her (and McCain) equivalent to the selling of toothpaste. Democrats will ignore this reality to the country's peril.
Remember! It isn't how good their candidates are. It is all about their creating the right marketing campaign to sell their slate to enough of a dense American electorate so that they can steal the election.
There is also the possibility that the Republicans will switch candidates at the last minute. The Democratic campaign has to subtly paint the entire Republican Party as against the interests of the United States (as can be seen by what Bush did to this country in the last seven plus years). Then whoever the Republicans pick will be tainted merely by being Republicans.
Democrats can win this by getting out the vote for Obama/Biden. Overconfidence is our biggest danger. Don't dwell excessively on the McCain campaign. Keep reminding our side of why change is needed. Keep the people energized, but don't exhaust them. We can win this election. We must win this election.
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