***"great strategy on McCain's part, instead of covering key issues McCain can wiggle out and discusss Palin's pregant daughter, Bridge to nowhere, pork spending, etc, brilliant move isn't it, engergize the wingnuts but no one else! what a way to bring no new votes to the table and call it smart! you can here Obama saying "I shoulda thot a dat"***

Piss and moan all you want, but it was a great strategy. The move was intended to pull the spotlight away from Sen. Obama, so it soesn't really matter what Sen. McCain was talking about as long as it was McCain talking and not Obama. Here's the timeline: Obama makes great speech infront of 75,000 people. McCain gives it less than 24 hours to sink in, the media doesn't even get a full day to foam at the mouth about Obama being ready for office because this speech was so great (and it was a great speech). Next thing you know, McCain drops the bomb, and not just any bomb, a female, conservative, not bad looking bomb. I don't know for sure, but I would bet McCain/Palin got a hell of a lot more coverge this weekend than Obama/Biden. But you are right, I doubt it brought new voters to the table, but I bet some of those Hilary women are reconsidering their vote for Obama.

I think the selection of Palin stole some of Sen. Obama's thunder, otherwise I think it would have been a larger, but just as temporary bounce. Great strategy by McCain (or who ever planned this). Instead of people talking all weekend about Sen. Obama's speech, the MSM had to devote a great deal of time to McCain's VP selection. And good or bad, she's still in the news, and people barely even remember Obama spoke last week, thus the small bounce.