Republicans had no choice but to embrace Palin

[JohnnyRingo]

And embrace her they did, but no wonder:

Given her stated views against climate science, paleontology, and reproductive choice, she's almost tailor made for Republican talking points. Her ambition to bring jobs to her home state through oil exploration and promote Alaskan hunting via paring the endangered species list meshes perfectly with current right wing ideas on conservation.

My theory however, is they had no choice but to rally 'round Palin. With wing nuts like Limbaugh, Coulter, and Dobson spending the primaries exorcising McCain as "too liberal", "too willing to work with Democrats", and "out of touch with conservative principles", they painted their sad asses into a political corner.

When McCain won the primary, in spite of all the AM radio squealing and pleading to endorse one of the more conventional hopefuls, the Republicans voted for the the most apparently moderate candidate on the ballot.

Unable to flip without a good reason and begin praising McCain, the scions of talk continued to excoriate him, with Ann Coulter promising to stay home in November, and Dobson considering a third party choice. Hannity and the others vowed to hold their collective noses and wait for his VP selection before completely writing the "maverick" off the ticket (as if).

Though I'm sure they all had their favorite pick for the slot, I believe the mouthpieces of the Republican party were all ready to have a sudden change of heart no matter who McCain picked for the position. It was all in the script well before September.

On teh day of the announcement, I imagine the Nazis of right wing media scratched their heads in puzzlement at first (like the rest of us) as to who this unknown governor is, then proceeded to cross out the word "him", replacing it with "her" on their copy for day-after airing. It didn't matter who he gave the nod to as running mate, they saw it as the chance to renew their Republican support and rally around the team.

The fact that she appeals to the lowest common denominator of ignorance just makes it easier for them to sell the ticket to the base.