Laura McGann: John McCain's Legacy: Sarah Palin, and the Rise of Reality TV Politics: "McCain empowered a demagogue who put the Republican Party on the path to Donald Trump. The party of Donald Trump began almost 10 years ago to the day, when John McCain tapped Sarah Palin to join his ticket...
...It’s one of the most important moments of McCain’s career. He proved willing to empower a demagogue when he thought doing so would improve his political fortunes, exactly the sin so many of his colleagues in the Republican Party have committed since Trump won their party’s nomination. “She’s not from these parts and she’s not from Washington, but when you get to know her, you’re going to be as impressed as I am,” McCain said when he announced his decision. “She’s got the grit, integrity, the good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today.” Palin’s big moment in front of a national audience was the first live vice presidential debate with Joe Biden. Her big opener was to ask the crowd: “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” Her answer: “Lipstick.” Things went downhill from there. She dodged questions, offering no real or substantive answers. And still, the event drew 70 million viewers—the largest audience for a vice presidential debate in history. She dazzled conservatives.
National Review editor Rich Lowry described her as “so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing, [sending] little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.” Palin’s run solidified the Republican Party’s comfort with a candidate who would say absurdities. When Katie Couric wanted to know what newspapers she read, Palin answered, “Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.” Even though McCain and Palin were bested by Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Palin inspired a slew of copycats, unleashing a political style and a values system that animated the Tea Party movement and laid the groundwork for a Trump presidency. McCain, who passed away at age 81, is remembered as a maverick, a man who crossed the aisle and built relationships with Democrats. But he also betrayed his own values hoping to win a presidential election, and sent the Republican Party down the path to Trump...
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