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Y! MyWebPalin gives McCain ticket boost with 'values' voters
Sunday, September 14, 2008
COLUMBUS — Less than a month ago Jane Maines was worried that Republican John McCain might pick the wrong running mate.
Maines, from St. Clair Twp. in Butler County, was so worried that McCain might choose former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney that she helped organize "Social Conservatives Against Romney," a group that launched its own Web site.
Maines planned to vote for McCain but not with great enthusiasm.
Then came McCain's surprise announcement in the Dayton area on Aug. 29 that he'd pick Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to join him on the Republican ticket.
"I couldn't be more thrilled," said Maines, 53.
She plans to do more than just vote for McCain-Palin on Nov. 4.
"I've let the Republican Party know," said Maines. "I'm here and able. Let me know what I can do to help."
Call it the Palin effect. Call it McCain's Dayton surprise.
Whatever you call it, McCain's selection of Palin has done one thing that the Republicans badly needed to compete in Ohio and other battleground states.
It has energized the social conservatives who form a key part of the party's base and whose help is indispensable to getting out the vote.
Strong turnout from these "values" voters in GOP strongholds such as Butler County in 2004 helped President Bush win Ohio and re-election. They have never been big McCain fans.
Maines had backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination for president.
She still had reservations about McCain, partly because of his McCain-Feingold legislation limiting the use of so-called "soft money" from religious groups and other independent organizations.
It was, said Maines, a "free speech" issue.
Palin may be just what McCain needs, she said.
Palin's religious faith tells Maines that "she typically will have a lot stronger conviction about conservative values."
Palin, Maines said, "tends not to be lukewarm" about issues.
Then there's the effect Palin has had on Democrats and liberals.
"I know that she has got people running scared. I can see where the liberals, not just liberals (but) Democrats in general, are becoming more desperate in their reaction to this," said Maines.
While McCain's choice of Palin has given the Republican campaign a shot of political adrenaline, it's too early to tell if it will do what both McCain and Democrat Obama need to do to win in Ohio.
That's to appeal to independent voters who ultimately will decide the election.
A flurry of recent polls show that Ohio still is up for grabs.
A Quinnipiac University poll found Obama leading McCain, 49 percent to 44 percent in Ohio, while an Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, showed McCain with a lead, 48 percent to 44 percent.
Historically, vice presidential candidates seldom have made a big difference in who wins. Palin clearly plans to do her part to make this year different.
She'll be back in Ohio soon for three fundraisers, including one in Kettering on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and a rally with McCain in the Youngstown area, on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Meanwhile, Maines already is making plans for January.
"I want to be there at the (inaugural) ball," she said.
Contact this reporter at
(614) 224-1608 or whershey
@DaytonDailyNews.com.
