The Hot Mike of Truth - Two Cons Turn Thumbs Down on Palin

"It's over." - Peggy Noonan

Caught in a hot-mike moment [1], conservative pundits/advisors Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy reveal their feelings about McCain's VP pick to Chuck Todd:

Murphy (or maybe Todd): They’re all bummed out. I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.

Progressives might want to keep the eye on the McCain ball over the Palin pick. Too much focus on Palin's negatives (or lack of positives) plays badly. The problem for McCain is McCain and his under-vetted selection of Palin. That's where the focus needs to remain. This was a panic pick.

In addition to what the conservative punditocracy thinks, the Palin pick might not work with women as McCain might have hoped. Polls released [2] since the Palin announcement suggest the strategy (if that's what they call it) may backfire. Gallop [3]:

These data show, however, that at least initially, McCain has lost ground among both white independent women and white independent men (and among Democrats of both genders) since the convention and his vice-presidential selection.

Editor & Publisher reports [2]:

From Rasmussen: Some 38% of men said they were more likely to vote for McCain now, but only 32% of women. By a narrow 41% to 35% margin, men said she was not ready to be president - but women soundly rejected her, 48% to 25%.

Anecdotally, a conversation with a Catholic mother of seven mother yesterday confirms what the polls report. Over the weekend, she and friends discussed the Palin pick. With Palin having young children (one, an infant with Downs) and a pregnant daughter, she said, McCain had no business offering - and Palin had no business accepting - the Republican VP slot.

[h/t Crooks & Liars]