Legal Commentary

McCain-Palin Ticket Injects Culture Wars Into Election

By Jeralyn

US News and World Report has an article on how Sen. John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate has injected the culture wars into the election, positing that it may cost him in Independent votes.

McCain's senior advisers have themselves admitted that Palin was picked to ensure a strong conservative turnout in such decisive battleground states as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. She should also shore up traditionally Republican western states, including Colorado, which has shown signs of going Democratic. But if Palin draws too much attention to issues such as abortion, if the culture war heats up and comes to dominate discussion, there is a danger that she could weaken McCain's appeal not only to moderates within his own party but also to independents and conservative Democrats—in short, to the vast slice of American voters that decides national elections.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 09, 2008 (boomark / email).