McCain's Maverick Style is Backfiring

My hat is going off to those doing oppositional research and push-back. I'm so proud of Dems for finally fighting back and fighting hard. Seems like they did more vetting of Sarah Palin than the McCain camp did. Is that Change We Can Believe In?

Here are some fun yet informative things I have run across so far:

• Mudflats
• Progressive Alaska
• Huffington Post: On Vetting (or lack thereof), and on McCain's Decision Making
• CNN now on Palin's unmarried pregnant 17-year old daughter. Tell me, WHO vetted this woman and when?? And are they fired yet??

What's apparent to me is that McCain was desperate to appease two groups: right wing evangelical conservatives, and disgruntled Hillary supporters while pissing off Karl Rove. So, why not go for someone who might appeal to both, right? Wrong. By shooting for both ends, he completely distroyed his credibility with the middle. And in this election, it is going to be all about the middle.

I am heeding the warning of many Dems not to get too giddy over this. The "20 year VP" cycle is funny to me. But, come on. Could this get any more ludicrous? My prediction is that she will drop out within two weeks. Until then, she's going to get eaten alive.

Thank goodness Hurricane Gustav killed the Palin bounce. At least now the McCain staff can catch up on the vetting that they should have done last week.