Overshadowed?

You know, I have to wonder if, far from McCain overshadowing Governor Palin, he now runs the risk of being overshadowed by her.  Not deliberately, of course, but in coming off like an ancient potted plant by comparison.  The past few days, most especially in the reaction to his acceptance speech the night after her blockbuster, Sailor has almost become a fifth wheel to his own "Straight Talk Express."  It's almost like he's her political chaperone, or the parent that always seems to hover over or around underage pro tennis stars.  Sarah is, after all, McCain's running mate, not the reverse.

-Me, five days ago

Even as I posted this thought, I figured I was probably making too much of it.  Sailor would be a fool not to ride the wave of Palinmania as far as he possibly can.

Still, I wonder if I might not be on to something, and if there might not be such a thing as too much Sarah-steria.  Take for example the two ads the Sith Instant Response Team rushed out today following yesterday's "lipstick on a pig" gaffe from False Messiah....

Okay, one ad that's been pulled because it prominently featured CBS' Katie Couric as the peroration, and the other ad intended to get the point across if the first one somehow didn't:

That's quite a different utilization of the wolves metaphor from four years ago, isn't it?:

Bush's version was devastatingly effective.  McCain's?  Well, it's not that it isn't appropo to the particular subject, but might it be just a little too....shrill?  Sure, as Obama's campaign steadily erodes, the attacks on Governor Palin by himself, his campaign, and his surrogates and allies will only get worse.  But then again, the attacks started out in the gutter, have remained there, are steadily tunneling toward the planet's core, and, well, have they really come anywhere near "destroying" her?

Heck, everytime a lefty goes out and says something like this....:

....or this:

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate ” whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”…

Fowler told my colleague Alex Burns in an interview that the selection of an opponent of abortion rights would not boost McCain among many women…

Told of McCain’s boost in the new ABC/Washington Post among white women following the Palin pick, Fowler said: “Just anecdotally, I believe that those white women are Republican women anyway.”

....or NBCers winkingly calling Palin "McCain's Viagra", Sarah gets more popular, and McCain goes up in the polls another point.  Heck, they're in-kind campaign contributions to the RNC at this point.

Besides, has Maverick forgotten so soon that this lady really is a pit bull?:

Does this woman look like she needs to have a man reflexively rip Lucifer's head off every time he makes an "unfortunate" aphorism?  Penelope Pitstop she ain't.

Ensign Ed believes Darth Queeg should take his running mate's - and his own - advice:

Palin took a much better strategy at the Republican convention by ridiculing the media and campaign attacks and turning them around as weapons against her critics.

After today, they should take a much lighter touch with this. Poke fun at the desperation of the Left instead of trying to define who’s the biggest victim in this race. That strategy worked wonders for McCain this summer, especially since it punctured the sanctimonious Hopey-Changey rhetoric coming from Obama. They should stick with that winning formula.

The other advice the Sith Master needs to hear?  Stop clinging to your running mate:

The aide said the two have developed a strong chemistry together and will likely utilize it through joint rallies. He likened it to the chemistry Bill Clinton and Al Gore had in 1992, suggesting it was instinctive.

“Sometimes these vice presidential selections, the pairings, work in a magical way,” the aide told reporters on the Palin campaign plane, on condition of anonymity. The plane is en route to Fairbanks, AK, where Palin will see her eldest son off to military service.

The aide said there has been increased enthusiasm for the campaign as well, and the pair has been able to connect on energy and economic issues, as well as change. “And we like the images,” he said.

Well, yeah, I can see that.  But there is such a thing as beating a good thing to death.  Is he, or are his handlers, afraid that without America's elk-bludgeoning sweetheart at his side, Lord Queeg will draw Hasselhoff numbers?  Has the conventional wisdom on people voting for the top of the ticket rather than the bottom been completely flipped on its head?  Are we looking at not an Eagleton, but the ultimate flip-flop (i.e. Palin-McCain)?  Or is there something after all to the Enemy Media's snickering that Team Sith is afraid to let the Barracuda swim solo?

The truth is, Sarah Palin is the rocket pack jammed up Sailor's ass that is propelling him to the White House.  He needn't worry about her "misfiring," or "running out of gas."

And he doesn't have to take that unfortunate metaphor too seriously.