Obama Avoids the Palin Tar Baby

John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin for his VP running mate sure threw everyone a curveball. The choice left the media, Republicans and Democrats scratching their heads. Most pundits seemed, at least initially, to find Palin a risky, if not poor, choice. Democrats like James Carville and Paul Begala jumped on Palin’s lack of experience. However, by the end of the Labor Day weekend, Republicans got the message and began touting the mantra that Palin has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket—even if that experience includes only two terms as mayor of a town of less than 10,000 people and less than two years as governor.

The Obama Campaign, though, has got it right. They have refused to take the bait and engage in a debate about experience. Instead, Obama has stayed on message, portraying Palin as supporting of the same tired Republican policies.

In the four days of the Democratic convention, the Obama campaign successfully shifted the conversation from their campaign to John McCain and George Bush. With a steady construction that included speeches from Hillary and Bill Clinton and ending with Obama’s acceptance, they framed the race as a referendum on the current state of affairs—do we want more of the same with John McCain or do we want a new direction with Obama-Biden.

McCain’s choice of Palin offered the Democrats a tar baby—an inexperienced candidate who is truly unprepared to lead but who could change the conversation to a debate about experience. So far, the Obama campaign has resisted the hitting the tar baby, if some of the pundits have not.

The road to victory for Obama is clear. He wins if the debate is about change. He loses is the debate experience.