Osler's Razor

First, IPLawGuy wants to know: Should he go see Ben Stein, or some guy named Luntz who worked on the Contract with America?

Secondly, he sends this report:
It’s almost 3 PM Central Time here in Minnesota and I am waiting for this evening's events. The convention session starts at 6 PM CDT, so of course, buses leave the hotel at 4 pm…. Fortunately, there's an event beforehand featuring actor Jon Voigt and others.

Missed the Daddy Yankee show in support of McCain last night. But I hear it was a good show. Even though I am a proud Republican, the idea of young musicians supporting establishment figures in either party strikes me as odd. I still remember the air of rebellion that surrounded 60's era rock and roll and punk rock in the late 70's. Those guys (and gals) wanted to change the world, not support the major party candidates.

This morning's breakfast briefing for the Virginia Delegation was great. This time we got real food: bacon, sausage, eggs, waffles, yogurt, etc. Yesterday's fare of muffins and fruit was not good. Our speaker was a noted pollster who shows up on CNN, Fox, etc, made many great points and had the crowd cheering and laughing. Naturally it was off the record, so I don't feel comfortable saying much about the speech.

But here's a highlight.

"He who sets the agenda wins" is an old political adage. For instance, if the issue is taxes and spending, it used to be the case that the GOP had a better argument. Those of us who know McCain and his record know that he's a famous pork buster. But that message could get lost and the "McSame" tag could stick if we can't spread the story to the rest of the country.

The speaker explained that this goes beyond issues… it goes to words too. The word "liberal" polls badly, so Democrats now like to call themselves "progressives," not liberals. "Conservative" polls well, but right now, "Republican" does not. "Moderate" does fine too. So the smart move is to talk about support from conservatives and moderates, not necessarily from Republicans.

There was more, including thoughts on recent developments.

After tonight's session, I hope to have more and better observations.

As for Palin, the consensus amongst those who know more than I do is that McCain likes her as a person and likes her record of bucking the establishment and pushing for reform. He did not and does not care about the other stuff and figures no one is perfect and that she would be a good teammate.

Let me once again reiterate that this is SPECULATION on my part. I have no official role in the campaign and have never had a serious discussion with anyone in a leadership position inside the campaign about anything.

Those that loved her seem to love her even more and those that were skeptical remain so. Politicians do that to people...