Don't Go Changin'

Plouffe wants to move on, but the McCain camp is more than happy to keep the race in a "Groundhog Day"-like zone. The newest McCain ad is clearly intended to keep sexism and his VP in the spotlight. Trad'l campaign philosophy says that at some point the VP will fade into the background and the two nominees will get front and center. But there's been nothing "normal" about this campaign from the beginning. Why do we expect it to suddenly fall into historical norms now?

-- Palin passed her first real sit down interview -- albeit w/ some shaky answers. But there are still plenty of "firsts" for the media to cover. Like, say, her first solo campaign event in NV 9/13. And as Obama ratchets up the "out of touch" message, doesn't that encourage McCain to put the hockey-mom front and center even more?

-- The media can't get enough of the Palin phenomenon. And there's nothing that the Obama camp can do about it. So why does the Obama camp need to reassure the "bed-wett(ers)" and "hand-wringers" - as Plouffe calls them - that they are going to stand up and fight? Two words - enthusiasm gap. Newly-engaged voters (i.e. young folks and new registrants) aren't likely to stay engaged if they keep hearing that their guy is losing the fight.