Sunday, August 31, 2008  Random Thoughts Based Around León
Krauze's Opinions of Barack Obama  I don't think too many people
watched Obama's convention speech here, but the average reaction
of those I've spoken to who did catch it was blown away. León
Krauze, one of the more knowledgeable US-watchers in Mexico,
liked Obama's performance a lot, calling him a "mature
politician" and saying that "he's grown," but he seems to like
McCain's veep pick even more. I disagree; the Palin pick seems
like a big risk with little upside. I don't think any
significant number of Hillary voters will switch because of
Palin, and the obvious calculation behind the pick may turn off
swing voters of both genders. It may help solidify McCain's
status as a maverick (I hate that label more every day; I wish
you could kill words), but whether the Republican nominee
carries his iconoclastic reputation into November depends more
on whether Obama goes really negative than on McCain's veep
pick. It seems like a lot of unflattering sound b