Paul Ryan was selected by Mitt Romney to appeal to the far right, as Mr. Romney himself is rather progressive (he was, at one point, a democrat). In 2008, after defeating Romney in the primaries, McCain found himself inheriting a rundown GOP owning to Iraq, the financial crisis and Bush. He chose Alaskan Governor Palin, an attractive ultra-conservative who would appeal to the female vote. It was meant to be a game changer, one to match Obama’s ground-breaking campaign. But in their haste, the strategists failed to recognize Palin’s lack of any general knowledge precluding that of the energy sector.
How she could be elected as such a prominent figurehead (albeit of Alaska) with no understanding of the world is confounding. Both Obama and Palin are celebrities in their own right, but as chief strategist Steve Schmidt presciently says, “Primary difference being Sarah Palin can't name a Supreme Court decision, whereas Barack Obama was a constitutional law professor.” I might have fallen into the same category as Palin on this distinction until the recent Supreme Court ruling for Obamacare. Though the landmark case Palin should have cited was Roe v. Wade, given her outright stance against abortion. Thus she might best be described as an ideologue – someone who is dogmatic yet cannot provide any intellectual justifications.
Neither Palin nor McCain agreed to watch Game Change, though the movie was not political (or condoned by the Democrats) at all. In fact, McCain is portrayed as an upstanding war hero. He campaigned and lost with great grace, at odds with his unabashed advisors. He was kind to Palin and at no time did he blame her for his loss. Palin, though, was portrayed as ungraceful, daft, childish and stupid. But an accurate portrayal cannot necessarily be called slander. The movie does sympathize with Palin and gives her the benefit of inexperience. It feels very much as though she had little idea what she was getting herself into.
The most interesting tidbit was that Ronald Reagan once said that trees cause pollution. This pleased Palin, seeing her idol commit a mistake almost as frivolous as hers (“I can see Russia”, “refudiate”). The whole affair is quite fun to scoff at. In 2012, there is much less laughing. A decidedly uncharismatic capitalist takes on an unaccomplished incumbent; in their hands rests a nation struggling to stay at the top. Obama still needs to select a running mate but it looks as though the vice-presidential race will be nowhere as colourful as four years ago.