HURRICANE SARAH

Huge hurricane grabs the headlines, leaving little room for any political news for anyone but the G.O.P.'s V.P. pick that the left is obsessing about, and that leaves Democrat Barack Obama out in the cold. Sound familiar? The same thing happened during the Republican convention, after Sarah Palin was named, and Hurricane Gustav forced McCain to cancel a day of the convention, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because (1) taking charge made McCain look presidential and (2) it made the convention turn out to more lean and mean (more Palin, less Dick Cheney). Well, it's déjà vu all over again, after the media's attempt to knock out Palin only lead to more time in the spotlight, and more opportunity for the American public to get to know her.

In the days after she was named, the media went into overdrive trying to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin -- under the pretext that, because she was such an unknown figure, she had to be investigated quickly. Never mind the fact that she's the governor of the largest state in the nation, and with an 80% approval rating, probably the most popular politician in the country. But, the East Coast establishment held up its nose and scoffed that she'd never even been on "Meet the Press." Horror of horrors! To their chagrin, after the frenzied spin cycle, Palin emerged more popular and compelling than any other political figure -- even the media's darling, the Democrat. The McCain campaign played its hand very deftly, as well. I remember in the days immediately after Palin's announcement, a liberal friend chided me (as his stand-in for the entire GOP) that McCain's choice of Palin "wasn't very presidential." Well, no one is saying that now, as McCain single-handedly changed the whole tenor of the campaign with his first act on the national stage in a presidential race. That's what presidential power is supposed to be like -- shrewd, swift, and awe-inspiring.

This week must have made Obama wonder if it was Groundhog's Day. His pals at ABC News decided wouldn't it be grand to mount an all-out ambush interview of Palin (while the ladies of The View went after Mccain) to try to knock down the GOP ticket once and for all. The strategy could not have backfired more spectacularly. To see Charles Gibson, peering down his professorial dem[[[[iframe]]]]d glasses, reading obscure factoids from his cheat-sheet and scowling at Sarah Palin while mis-identifying the "Bush Doctrine" was a pathetic sight. I think they meant for Palin to look pathetic, but it was Gibson who looked desperate. It was a game of gotcha, and he never gotcha-ed her. (There is no such thing as the Bush Doctrine, Charlie. First of all, it's your guy who is "The One" and may decree dogmas and doctrines, but Republican presidents simply make policy. Second of all, scholars have not yet published an encyclopedic definition of "the" Bush Doctrine. Bush critic Jacob Weisberg, for example, has identified six Bush doctrines.) Then Ike hit, and Obama had to cancel his SNL appearance (which would have been his only interesting media coverage this week.) Again, McCain was smart. By sending Palin to do a single interview, he set a trap for the liberals to work themselves up to a frothy frenzy over Sarah Palin, while Obama struggled to find something to say that anyone would care about. His best effort was to criticize McCain for not being more familiar with computers and email, another veiled attack at McCain's age. They just don't get it: Americans now LIKE Sarah Palin, and they would not be scared that McCain is old and Palin would get to be president.

On September 11, both candidates took a day off from politics. Well, John McCain took a day from politics. Obama had a political lunch with Bill Clinton and immediately released his attack ad as soon as the first ray of sun appeared on Sept. 12. But his attempts were drowned out by Hurricane Sarah. Next week, they will try again, friends. It's like watching a kitten continue to pump against a wall, isn't it? Or, is it a pig in lipstick? :-)