Picking McCain's VP and the Britneyfication of a candidate

There has been a lot of talk the past 2-3 days of McCain considering a pro-choice Vice-President. It has dominated McCain's coverage and even made his 150 mile trip to an oil rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico seem dull.

Politico has been leading the charge in covering this story:

"John McCain is seriously considering choosing a pro-abortion-rights running mate despite vocal resistance from conservatives, with former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) very much in the mix, close McCain advisers say."

Is he really? What about Rudy?

Well before we begin let's get one thing straight: McCain will select a pro-life Vice-Presidential nominee. Now if that is the case, why go through this mess regarding consideration of a pro-choice running mate?

The key phrase in the above paragraph from Politico is "despite vocal resistance from conservatives". This is exactly the kind of coverage McCain has been pushing for since the celebrity ads first went into rotation.

Let's start from the beginning of the strategy.

Phase 1: The 'celebrity ads' brought upon us the 'Britneyfication' of Barack Obama. While Americans love to follow their celebrities, they lose respect for those who have become overexposed. A number of swing voters began to understand the problem with Obama: All glitz, little substance, no experience.

These swing voters want something different from the Bush Administration. Obama had been that alternative, but these Britney-voters don't want to vote for an empty suit if they don't have to. But they needed convincing.

Phase 2: Go on the offensive to remind swing voters of McCain's independence. See my post of August 6th for an idea of when this effort began (thanks HotAir and CampaignSpot!). While the celebrity ad had become viral and hooked swing voters into wondering what was next, the McCain camp produced ads that focused on his independence. While not as popular as the celebrity ads, they provided a transition to...

Phase 3: Convincing the blogging class and the mainstream media that the McCain camp was seriously considering a pro-choice Vice-President...all together now... "despite vocal resistance from conservatives".

The swing voters that separated from the grasp of the Obamamaniacs now see the safe alternative to the Bush Administration that they needed. After being convinced that Obama is too much a risk and McCain clearly isn't in the pocket of the GOP, it is now safe to consider voting for a Republican.

And when McCain selects a pro-life running mate the conservative base will breathe a sigh of relief knowing the Republican candidate couldn't have been THAT stupid.

A winning strategy.

Thanks, Britney.