The GOP Overreach on Palin

It's been entertaining watching GOP surrogates try to defend McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Most of them are clearly very uncomfortable and often at a loss for what to say. In the last day or so, however, most of them have settled on one particular talking point, the one that is indisputably true, that Sarah Palin is "not from Washington." For example, here's what Fred Thompson said in his speech last night:

Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan Governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the Union -- and won -- over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week.

This same argument is being expressed, usually less effectively, in most interviews with GOP politicians. They call her a "breath of fresh air" and contrast that with the "putrefied stench of Washington."

The reason GOP politicians are relying so heavily on this talking point is that it undoubtedly tests well in focus groups and they really don't have much else they can say. The problem, of course, is that over-reliance on this talking point may actually hurt John McCain, who is unquestionably a creature of Washington and a fixture on the "Washington cocktail circuit." If you convince people that what we really need is someone "young and fresh" who will come into Washington and shake things up, aren't you pushing them towards Barack Obama? There's a real risk of overreach here.

I realize that this contradiction exists to some extent on the other side as well. When Democrats praise Joe Biden's experience and tenure, they risk making the case for John McCain, who is similarly experienced. But I think that's why Democrats have been careful not to overdo it in that department. They've tried to let Biden's experience speak for itself and have emphasized instead his working class roots and nightly commute back to Delaware.

It will be interesting to see how Palin herself approaches this issue tonight. My guess is that she'll spend much of her speech touting her outsider status and the need for change in Washington. And that's a double-edged sword. The more effectively she makes the case, the more she may end up reinforcing Barack Obama's central message.