by David Epstein
Just a quick hint to the McCain campaign: real experts get their numbers right.
McCain actually said that Palin knows more about energy than "anyone else in the world." Well, people who are true experts don't make a mistake like saying that Alaska produces 20% of the nation's energy, when the correct number is 3%.
Then they don't "correct" themselves by saying they meant 20% of our oil and gas, when the correct number is 7% .
Then they don't have a spokesperson (real experts don't have spokespeople) say that Alaska produces "15-20%" when the real answer is under 15%.
Not only is this driving Palin's negative ratings sky-high, it's really pissing the press off. They started out really liking McCain, but now they're back in the world of having to assume that everything -- every single thing -- that McCain, Palin, or their staffers tell them is a lie and not to believe anything that hasn't been fact-checked.
The blizzard of negative coverage the McCain campaign is getting is quickly eroding any post-convention bounce the Reps might have had. Looking back on it (meaning all of three weeks ago, which is a lifetime in campaign-years), if McCain had debunked Palin's story about the Bridge immediately, said how this was "straight talk," and how he wasn't going to have a campaign based on lies, he'd probably still be up in the polls. But now he's dragged his reputation into the mud, removing his one true asset from his campaign.
Comments