Déjà vu all over again

Palin's speech last night took me back to the waning days of the Dem Primary, as a (once again) re-invented Hillary wandered from bar to diner to bar and introduced herself as a hard-drinkin' hard-talkin' regular Jane who "got it" unlike them sissified Big City types who didn't understand the real needs and concerns of those "hard workin" (conspicuously WHITE - her words, not mine) male voters.

Adopting this persona, Hillary chewed the Obama campaign up in states that will be critical in the general election...and SOMEone on the GOP side was obviously paying attention because they found the real person that Hillary pretended to be with that particular audience and stood
her up next to McCain. In so doing, they may have altered the dynamics of the race - and possibly the dynamics of "race" for the election.

A lot of voters go on gut instinct rather than specifics of policy or experience. Palin appealed to those gut instincts last night and, for a candidate who is known for his cool, cerebral approach, that could spell trouble. In essence, Palin made the Obama campaign's sense of grandeur seem...a tad silly ("Yeah...what's up with those Greek columns, anyway...?"). Overblown ("I guess change really should be about experience rather than a speech") . Perhaps a bit un-American ("Why CAN'T we be proud of America?").

Hillary laid the groundwork for this Ms. Palin and this speech months ago. Now we will find out if Obama took away the right lessons from his experiences during those closing weeks of the Dem Primary.