Week 3: Is the Honeymoon Over?

It's difficult to believe, but it hasn't even been a month since Palin was announced as the back half of the Republican ticket. Yet, whatever magic the Palin pick has given McCain on the national level may be starting to fade.

This will become even more true if the Obama campaign avoids taking her on directly and minimizes any references. Let other folks not actively engaged in the campaign rip into her and take her on.

As sexy as the Palin pick has been for the news folks, there's really only so much new on the trail drama she can add if she doesn't have someone to really spar with. Which is why taking on the news outlets as a nemisis will be a good story for both both McCain-Palin and the press themselves, and will further shore up an already news sensitive Republican base, but may leave the Republican ticket cold with independents and particular conservative factions.

Obama might do well to remind voters that over the last 8 years, the White House and Republicans have done more public bitching about the media than at any other time in the history. And look what the result was: closed door meetings, lying, blurring of the facts. So when the McCain camp, who once embrassed the media, continues to turn on the media more and more each day--Cindy lashed out at The View recently--it really does feel like McCain is taking on the spirit, if not the entire policies, of the Bush administration. Clinton's "message control" was outdone by not only the effiency of Bush's, but also by how hard Bush's message control also came crashing to earth.

One other area that the Democrats shouldn't be concerned about is if Biden is hot or not in comparison to Palin. Let him be workman like in getting out and about as he stumps on the trail. The more Palin is a superstar, the more she has to perform at the debates. And the more she's a superstar, the weaker it makes McCain look. McCain with and without her is a stark contrast and for someone who's been such a major factor in American politics for the last decade plus, that's not a good thing.