John McCain was on Saturday Night Live last night. The opening skit featured McCain and Tina Fey as Sarah Palin hawking merchandise on QVC. It was pretty funny stuff, especially when Palin/Fey went rogue. McCain also pitched "McCain Fine Gold" with Cindy McCain demonstrating the merchandise.
A starstruck Sarah Palin is pranked by two Canadian comedians. She thinks she is talking to Nicolas Sarkozy.
Which genius on her staff is screening her calls? Does this mean she is now ready to talk to foreign heads of state without preconditions?
The call is funny, and also a little sad.
John McCain has finally bagged the endorsement that will matter in this election.
Here’s the endorsement:
DICK CHENEY: And in three days we’ll choose a new steward for the presidency and begin a new chapter in our history. It’s the biggest decision that we make together as Americans. A lot turns on the outcome. I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain. John is a man who understands the danger facing America. He’s a man who has looked into the face of evil and not flinched. He’s a man who’s comfortable with responsibility and has been since he joined the armed forces at the age of 17. He’s earned our support and confidence, and the time is now to make him commander-in-chief. I’m delighted to support John McCain and I’m pleased that he’s chosen a running mate with executive talent, toughness and common sense, our next vice president in Sarah Pali
Congratulations to John McCain for securing this all-important endorsement.
Ken Duberstein, President Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff, has crossed the aisle and endorsed Barack Obama. He also strongly criticized John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin:
Says former Reagan Chief of Staff and longtime GOP insider Ken Duberstein of John McCain’s VP selection: "Even at McDonalds, you’re interviewed three times before you’re given a job."
It appears that the Palin pick is the "permission" that many Republicans have needed to support Barack Obama. John McCain went for a culture war at the expense of judgment and experience with his Palin pick, and with his pick he lost independents and non-culture warrior Republicans.
Do not underestimate the significance of Ken Duberstein’s endorsement. It is not that a Duberstein endorsement will move votes, it likely will not. But this endorsement represents a more general trend amongst Republicans. There are many Duberstein type Republicans in Northern Virginia, as well as elsewhere, that represent the non-culture warrior wing of the Republican Party. I would expect a fair number of these Republicans to come out and vote for Barack Obama next Tuesday. If that happens, we are likely to see Obama doing better than the 60% he needs in Northern Virginia to carry the state.
If a number of traditional red states flip to Barack Obama next Tuesday, we will look back at John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin as a major contributing factor.
