Legal Commentary

In all the hubbub about the Republican VP pick, I have seen little on something that I thought was quite remarkable: the populist rhetoric in McCain's introduction.  Here are some excerpts from his speech:

I'm very happy today to spend my birthday with you and to make a historic announcement in Dayton, a city built on hard, honest work of good people.  Like the entire industrial Midwest, Dayton has contributed much to the prosperity and progress of America, and now, in these tough, changing times, after all you've done for our country, you want your government to understand what you're going through, to stand on your side and fight for you. . . .

Friends, I've spent the last few months looking for a running mate that will who can best help me shake up Washington and make it start working again for the people that are counting on us. . . . And it's with great pride and gratitude that I tell you I have found the right partner to help me stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities, who put power over principle, and put their interests before your needs. . . .

The person I'm about to introduce to you was a union member and is married to a union member and understands the problems, the hopes and the values of working people, knows what it's like to worry about mortgage payments and health care and the cost of gasoline and groceries . . . . She's fought oil companies and party bosses and do-nothing bureaucrats and anyone who puts their interests before the interests of the people she swore an oath to serve.

Many have suggested that McCain selected Palin to help win over Hillary Clinton voters -- middle- and working-class folks who live in the heartland and are feeling the brunt of our economic woes.  And indeed, if you were reading the above speech without any other context, you'd probably think it was a Democrat talking.  McCain seems willing to take his campaign on a much more populist turn.  He's going after the union vote.

The real question, in my view, is whether policy will follow rhetoric.  Will McCain-Palin advocate for greater restrictions on trade?  Will they adopt a more restrictive position on immigration policy, or will they drift back towards McCain's more pro-immigration views?  And given that Palin is a former union member, and her husband is a Steelworker, will they support the Employee Free Choice Act?