Newsday: Knocked off message by Palin baby news

[Bluebear]

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sarah Palin was on a roll, fresh-faced and fiery, just the boost of energy John McCain's slow-but-steady campaign needed. Now that's over. So far anyway, it doesn't look as if news that Palin has a pregnant teenage daughter is enough to knock her off McCain's ticket.

But the news does seriously knock Palin and McCain off-stride and off-message -- just as they were trying to introduce her to a broader audience -- and just as the public was trying to fix an image of Palin as a would-be vice president in their minds.

No matter how sympathetic voters are to her plight, or how much parents might believe it could happen to their daughters, this is not what McCain's camp wanted people to hear in the first 72 hours after introducing Palin. "It changes the story line from cheering to 'Let's look at the real Sarah Palin,'" said Michigan pollster Ed Sarpolus, an expert in one of the states where Palin is expected to campaign heavily. "It puts a stall in her momentum."

Added independent analyst Stu Rothenberg: "They're trying to introduce this woman as a potential vice president of the United States. You want to demonstrate stature and intelligence and maturity and thoughtfulness, and instead, the angle is sex, and that's a very different kind of message than the Republicans would want to convey about their nominee."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-usanal0902,0,4643977.story

[otohara]

1. Then She Should Have Disclosed It From DAY ONE

instead of allowing this media shit storm to happen. She and McCain were incredibly stupid to keep this under wraps.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. I don't see it as "sex"..but as poor decision making on the part of everyone involved.

That is scarier than just plain sex...