THE GAME CHANGER

Posted at 6:55 a.m. ET

I've never seen a vice-presidential choice change a race the way Sarah Palin has changed this one.  The polls, as we've reported here, just stopped in place.  The Obama bounce turned into the Obama disappointment.  He comes out of his convention with very little. It wasn't worth the price of the fireworks or the rental of the hall.

Of course, the usual suspects are on the attack.  I'd imagine by this time that reporters from the mainstream media are bumping into each other at Anchorage Airport.  They rushed aboard jetliners as soon as Senator McCain picked Governor Palin, the better to record every juicy rumor or grudge.

Some of the stuff is getting ugly, real ugly.  For example, a story is being spread that Sarah Palin's newest child, the one with Down's Syndrome, isn't hers, but in fact is her daughter's.  This is absolutely revolting.  Sharp-eyed reader Jim Meyer alerts us to a piece in PolarTrec, a publication of teachers and researchers, that puts that one away permanently:

While delayed in the New Orleans Airport, I reflect back to my airport surprise when leaving Fairbanks after the PolarTREC Orientation in March...

...There were several of us PolarTRECers waiting in the Fairbanks, AK airport to catch our planes home. We were chatting about all we had learned when Kristen Timm, ARCUS administrator said “ Look, there is the Hottest Governor in the United States” as she has been publicly deemed by media and fans.

Of course I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote. Then it struck me as odd. Why is the Governor of Alaska in the airport and preparing to get onto my commercial flight?

I questioned PolarTRECer Craig Kasemodel an Alaskan resident. He let me know that Governor Palin sold the corporate jet after securing her official Governor position.

Enough said.

Then there was an awful hit piece in The Politico, whose biases are starting to show, claiming that "scholars" say that Palin is the least qualified candidate ever to be on a major-party national ticket.  Another eagle-eyed reader, Gregory Koster, refers us to the McCain camp response, which pretty much sends that story to the shredder.  To its credit, The Politico published the response:

After reading this article, the McCain campaign issued the following statement:

"The authors quote four scholars attacking Gov. Palin's fitness for the office of vice president. Among them, David Kennedy is a maxed-out Obama donor, Joel Goldstein is also an Obama donor, and Doris Kearns Goodwin has donated exclusively to Democrats this cycle. Finally, Matthew Dallek is a former speech writer for Dick Gephardt. This is not a story about scholars questioning Gov. Palin's credentials so much as partisan Democrats who would find a reason to disqualify or discount any nominee put forward by Sen. McCain."

Good.  Great.  The McCain team is increasingly on the ball.  This will be a tough fight, but our side seems ready to rumble.

September 1, 2008.