With all due respect, after reading the New Yorker article that occasioned this thread, I don't think Wikipedia played all that great a role in Palin's selection as McCain's running mate. It may be true that someone noticed her through her Wikipedia article, but other factors played at least as significant a role. The New Yorker article article describes a visit to Alaska by a number of conservative political figures and pundits such as William Kristol and Fred Barnes and says they were personally impressed by her, with several apparently agog because they found her physically attractive, and others taken by what they perceived as her charisma. The article also notes that a PR firm was employed to promote Palin and that she actively worked on "developing relationships with Washington insiders, who later championed the idea of putting her on the 2008 ticket."
Finally, of course, the question of where someone first HEARD of Palin is (or should be) only a small part of the process by which she got chosen as a vice presidential nominee. Presidential campaigns form exploratory teams for the purpose of combing through possible choices, conducting background and opposition research, and vetting possible nominees before making their selection. The McCain campaign had ample time and resources with which to evaluate Sarah Palin. They certainly didn't rely on her Wikipedia article as their sole source of information. It has been claimed by some journalists and commentators that McCain didn't vet Palin adequately before making his decision. If so, that's entirely his decision and his responsibility. The fact that a Wikipedia article existed certainly didn't PREVENT him from doing thorough vetting.
Personally, I think McCain was in something of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. He didn't have any other good options when he went looking for a running mate. Even before the stock market meltdown, 2008 was shaping up to be a difficult year for Republicans, and with the exception of a brief period just prior to the Democratic convention, he trailed Obama in the polling, as well as in fundraising and other key predictors. When someone is trying to play catchup, they are more likely to make risky choices in hopes of a big turnaround than they would be if they were in the lead. It's the same as in sports. It's very common in football to see a quarterback who is behind (especially late in the fourth quarter) go for long passes, throw into double coverage, and try other plays that present a greater- than-normal risk of the ball being intercepted. He does this because he knows that by that point in the game, he'll lose for certain if he sticks with careful, low-risk strategies. A high-risk approach becomes the only strategy that offers any chance of victory, even if it's a small chance. By contrast, the team that is ahead becomes strategically conservative, preferring to run the ball, take time off the clock, and avoid anything that might lead to a turnover.
Some of McCain's actions during this election have been the equivalent of a football team trying a "hail Mary" pass or an onside kick, and I think his decision to select Palin was one example of this. If it had paid off (as appeared possible shortly after she was selected), everyone would be hailing McCain as a brilliant improviser and a come- from-behind genius. If it doesn't pay off (as now appears likely), he'll be criticized for having done something stupid. In reality, it's neither genius nor stupidity. It's desperation.
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SHELDON RAMPTON Research director, Center for Media & Democracy Center for Media & Democracy 520 University Avenue, Suite 227 Madison, WI 53703 phone: 608-260-9713
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