I often find myself agreeing within Lenin (Richard not Vladimir) and this piece on the nightmare ticket of McCain and Palin is no exception. Far more rarely (if ever) do I agree (even partially) with Martin Kettle. Kettle is right, however, to argue that the US media is completely overplaying the Palin factor and have lost their judgement and sense of proportion. Kettle was talking about the US media but much the same could be said regarding the UK's commentariat. Putting a candidate up in front of a stage managed crowd is one thing, winning over the wider public is another. It certainly is the case that in the calculus of the 'culture wars' Palin may consolidate the conservative base but even that is far less homogeneous that commentators like Jonathan Friedland like to suggest. Palin's personal story is likely to play quite differently around the country and the it remains to be seen how the artificial synthesis that is the Republican programme will stand up when tested against the priorities of the US public. Today's New York times contained an interesting graphic depicting the rhetoric deployed by the two candidates. Now one can make far too much of all this, particularly as Obama's policies and promise have been similarly overstated. For the Left both have to be seen as tribunes of big business and US imperialism. However, it is significant that where the Democrats lead on the economy, business is the most important term in the Republican lexicon, similarly jobs loom large for the Democrats, taxes and God for the Republicans. As much as McCain wishes to portray himself as the maverick, the reality is that he has tacked right to please the conservatives in his party and that places him in much the same mould as his predecessors.
