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Palin-Obama Comparisons Ramp Up
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Published: September 5, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Exultant over having their own potentially history-making candidate, Republicans at their national convention have seemed intent on matching vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, rather than John McCain, against their opponent Barack Obama.
Arizona Sen. McCain's latest television ad compares Alaska Gov. Palin and Illinois Sen. Obama - not McCain and Obama or Palin and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
In speech after speech by McCain campaign surrogates and spokesmen to crowds at the convention, comparisons are drawn not between the two presidential nominees, or between Palin and Biden.
Instead, they're drawn between the bottom of the GOP ticket and the top of the Democratic ticket.
"She has a record of bipartisan reform," the new McCain ad says. "He's the Senate's most liberal. ... She's earned a reputation as a reformer. His reputation? Empty words."
As the announcer speaks, photos of Obama and Palin move onto and off the screen. McCain's face appears only at the end when he says, "I approved this message."
Political experts speculated on a couple of possible reasons for the frequency of Obama-Palin comparisons and rhetorical matchups at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
It may be a way of denigrating Obama by comparing him to the lower half of the GOP ticket.
Or it may be a way of countering the historic nature of the candidacy of Obama, the first black, major-party presidential nominee. Palin is the first woman on a GOP ticket and would be the nation's first female vice president.
"What they are saying is if you want to vote for history, now you have a choice," said New York-based national political pollster John Zogby.
Delegates seem thrilled to have a demographic and historic sizzle on their ticket to match the Democrats.
"Either way, we're going to have history made this year. And the possibility of the Republican Party having the first woman vice president is inspiring," said Jason Duke, 27, a Republican delegate from Fort Myers.
McCain campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky, asked about the Palin-Obama comparisons, said, "While this race is about the two candidates at the top of the ticket, we'll welcome a discussion contrasting Sarah Palin's years of executive experience overseeing 24,000 employees and a $10 billion budget and Barack Obama's complete lack of executive experience."
This convention is so taken with Palin that even McCain occasionally seems cast in the shade.
"I'll take Sarah Palin any day and John McCain to lead this nation in these turbulent times," said former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, speaking Wednesday to the Florida delegation.
He added, "She's got more executive experience and experience in government than Barack Obama."
In a roundtable with battleground state political reporters Tuesday, Doug Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser for the McCain campaign, compared Palin at length with Obama.
"It's remarkable that the discussion is between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin," Holtz-Eakin said. "Palin brings an authenticity that's powerful. It's not just Republicans, people are excited by her.
"She's an accomplished woman, she's got an extraordinary story. ... She's a real American. And he's, you know, been a lot of things. ... But he's not very authentic."
Holtz-Eakin denied that he meant to say Obama was not a "real American."
The Palin-Obama contrasts can help McCain, experts said.
"It diminishes Obama," said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan, a presidential campaign specialist. "It implies he's not on the level with McCain - that the best he can do is go up against this other rookie who, by the way, has executive experience."
Larry Sabato, veteran political analyst of the University of Virginia, said it's rare for a presidential campaign to make a comparison between a presidential and vice presidential nominee.
"You've had constant comparisons among vice presidents," he said.
Reporter William March can be reached at wmarch@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7761. Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@tampatrib.com or (202) 662-7673.
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