Gov. Sarah Palin "Conservative" But Obama-Biden Not Liberal?
The McCain camp tried to grab some of Obama's thunder with the surprise choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as running mate. It seemed to work: Friday's online filing from Denver by Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny on the Democrats hitting the campaign trail admitted that the pick had "eclipsed" Obama's speech.
Barack Obama and John McCain headed across the country Friday, campaigning for the first time with their new running mates, after Mr. Obama had accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday with a withering attack on Mr. McCain, arguing that he represented a continuation of policies that undermined the nation's economy and imperiled its standing around the world.
Mr. McCain announced on Friday that that he had chosen Gov. Sarah Palin, a solid conservative who has been governor of Alaska for just two years, as his running mate. The choice caught Republicans by surprise, and - as designed by Mr. McCain's advisers - eclipsed Mr. Obama's acceptance speech that he had delivered the night before.
The Times referred to Palin as a "solid conservative." By Times Watch's count the Times news pages didn'tapply a single liberal label to either BarackObama or Joe Biden during the Democratic Convention, even though Obama has one of the most liberal records in the Senate and Biden's lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 13 out of a perfect 100, putting him well to the left of center.
Michael Cooper's filing from the McCain camp in Dayton, Ohio has the Palin introduction story and also pinned an ideological label onthe Alaska governor(note that this is a constantly updating story and text may shift around or be eliminated throughout the day):
In choosing Ms. Palin - a 44-year-old social conservative and mother of five who has been governor for less than two years - the McCain campaign reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election in which the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change.
