That might explain (i.e, are you ever right about that!) why McCain’s urgent fund appeal of a week or two ago was framed entirely in how we agree on the importance of stopping Obama. If there was anything about what a good President McC will be, I missed it. OK, I really might have, you don’t think I read the whole thing, do you? But you don’t have to read the footnotes to see the frame.

Oh, and take some comfort in the money they’re wasting in mailing this stuff to people who get on their mailing list by contributing money — to their sworn enemies.

Montana and the Dakotas might be a different story though. One of the big stories this year has been the collapse of the Republican vote in those three states, which the Republicans won by an average of 25% four years ago. All three are now neck and neck.

Have voters there been holding off until someone like Palin got on the ticket? Then those states might be off the table for the Democrats now. Or do they have a different reason for turning away from the Republicans? North Dakota was polled recently and Obama’s support is holding steady – in fact he’s leading by a bit.

I don’t know many people from those three states, but I’ve gotten the idea that there are a lot of Ron Paul-type Republicans there, and using Palin to smother the convention Paul was organizing in Minnesota might have done the G.O.P. more harm than good. I’m not booking those states for the Democrats in November yet, but I think their chances are pretty good.

Local talk radio remains unconvinced. The little guys have refused to jump on McCain’s wagon, while the biggies have gone the Hannity route (attack until he’s the candidate, and then choose what you regard as the lesser of two evils). It seems the greater one’s audience grows, the more flexible one’s principles become. But the countryside types (the ones I’ve talked to, anyway) prefer what they regard as the non-sellout little guys, which leads me to believe Gov. Palin won’t be bringing them out in droves.

So sick of reporting like this. “Campaign officials hope,” “Insiders believe,” “Some say,” “A source within the camp pulled the following out of his/her ass,” etc., etc.

Incidentally, for a finger on the pulse of conservative Oregonians (who tend much more toward the libertarian side), talked to one of my managers the other day about the Palin pick. He pretty much said, in short, “Who cares, she has to do what he says anyway.” But he was still sticking to his original plan of voting McCain as a sort of no-vote on Sen. Obama.