Palin II

She's a wingnut soul hiding behind a box of Tampax and a pretty face. If -- and I don't think they should -- the Dems decide to hit her, they need to do it on the issues. It's possible the Reps miscalculated somewhat: a lot of the sympathy Clinton got was because the nature of the media attacks against her was so ugly and personal and dishonest; attacks on Palin that are issues-based shouldn't be seen in the same light. At the same time, there are some raw feelings out there, and McCain will try to exploit any attacks at all to the fullest, and play the gender card for every spot it's worth, just when his POW card is expiring. She's bait, and the Dems are best off leaving her to soak in the water.

Ultimately, all this comes down to one of the many key failures of the liberal "netroots" during the primaries. Had they not been eager to play along with all those insults and inventions from Chris Matthews and the rest of the gang, Hillary's backers, and women in general, would have been a lot less pissed off. Of course, had they decided not to play along, Hillary would have been the nominee and all this bullshit wouldn't be happening. True, there would be other bullshit, but if the Republicans manage to put a permanent dent in the advantage Democrats have had in recent history with women voters, it's going to create a ripple felt in places a lot further off than this election. And one last thought. Everyone's talking about how McCain is going after "disaffected Hillary voters." Sure he is. But that's not the actual point. He's going after women voters. Most traditionally liberal Hillary voters won't want anything to do with Palin. But there are more voters out there than just Hillary voters, liberal and otherwise.