eyes on the prize..

A good post from 538 on hockey and 'the hockey mom' on the republican ticket, and advice for the dems:

"Sarah Palin is not a hockey mom"

She's a hockey player. She’s a fourth-line hockey agitator, beloved by the home crowd, loathed by the opponents, injecting passion into both fan bases, the kind of home-team hero that no Stanley Cup winner goes without.
Once upon a time, I applied an NFL-replay mentality to hockey playoffs, holding on to outrages over missed calls, blatantly unfair officiating, double standards, and outright getting-away-with-stuff (which always led to an early spring exit for my beloved Blues). I wanted – and unreasonably expected – bad behavior to be proportionally punished.

I've been a hockey player on and off for over 30 years and 538 nails it.  I typically eschew sports and military analogies but this is a good one.

I've already spent far too much digital ink on the Palin issue.  For me it is an issue because it touches a nerve.  Simply put, I am afraid of theocrats (religious fundamentalists) gaining too much power, and McCain's choice puts a hard-core theocrat too close to large levers of power.

So.. game on.  No more hand-wringing posts.  Time to mobilize and get to work.  Only a couple of months until election day.

Comments

[Francois]

Hi Michael,
Viewed from Europe, this whole thing looks surreal... It seems very clear that there is a candidate who has intellectual power, balance, knowledge and ability and a good VP choice too and there is an aging agitated wanna be maverick has-been, with a VP choice that is at best weak (and quite probably corrupt). In any other place, this should really be a no brainer.. anywhere but in America... It really pisses me off but you guys (collectively) are becoming a laughing stock... Last chance to change this for the next 4 years is coming up...

[misha]

Bonjour Francois!

Of course I agree w/you on all points. Shocking and sad, isn't it?

I only hope we do the right thing come November.

[misha]

You must laugh otherwise you'll cry... try this:

http://video.236.com/services/link/bcpid1612766543/bctid1776561712