Of Mice and Mavericks . . .

In a just world the first paragraph of this AP article would be the real story surrounding the VP nomination of Sarah Palin and her post convention interaction with the media.

John McCain took a risk in picking little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate, but now the campaign's playing it safer. She's sticking to a greatest hits version of her convention speech on the campaign trail and steering clear of questions until she's comfortable enough for a hand-picked interviewer later this week.

If I were to re-write that paragraph in simple language that your average American voting dolt could understand it would go something like this:

Not so mavericky maverick John McCain took a risk in picking unqualified Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate, but now that the dog and pony show is over his campaign's is desperately trying to hide the phony Palin from public scrutiny. She's rehashing her deceitful convention speech on the campaign trail and desperately avoiding any tough or substantive questions until she's been coached enough to handle a hand-picked interviewer (right-wing milquetoast Charlie Gibson) later this week.

On the contrary Joe Biden is out and about mingling with the people, speaking in ad hoc public situations on a variety of topics important to all Americans without special handlers lurking nearby ready to intervene to shoo the media away if they ask too difficult a question.

Barack Obama went on Bill O'Reilly's hate-fest Fox show the other night. Wonder if the Maverick and the Hockey mom would dare go on Keith Olberman's show for an hour-long interview? Not in this life.

It really boils down to the cold, stark truth that McCain and Palin are no different from Bush and Cheney. None of them is capable of speaking in an unscripted, un-teleprompted event with real people as opposed to partisan-stacked audiences. They all fear the honest hard-edge journalists who ask substantive, tough questions. They all hide behind vicious, smear-merchant surrogates. In a nutshell - they're all cowards.

And that my friends is a load of bullshit change that you can count on.

----k