On the September 11 edition of MSNBC Live, Hill contributor and Republican strategist John Feehery claimed that “when the Obama campaign and when the left bloggers attack [Gov.] Sarah Palin, it's kind of attacking motherhood and apple pie and everything good about America.” Feehery also asserted that Palin “represents everyday America, normal America.”
From the 1 p.m. ET hour of the September 11 edition of MSNBC Live:
MITCHELL: But John Feehery, what about Sarah Palin? Is she now giving John McCain opportunities in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan -- well, maybe not Pennsylvania. That would be perhaps too big a stretch for the Republicans. But Michigan and Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, some of these states, holding Virginia. Does she appeal to women and to blue-collar voters and fill in that gap on the Republican side?
FEEHERY: Absolutely. She not only energizes the base, she brings in new voters for Republicans. You've seen the polls. White women are flocking to John McCain and Sarah Palin. They love Sarah Palin because she represents everyday America, normal America. And I -- you know, frankly, when the Obama campaign and when the left bloggers attack Sarah Palin, it's kind of attacking motherhood and apple pie and everything good about America. I think it's a big mistake for Obama to do that.
And that's energizing not only the Republican base, but bringing in Reagan Democrats. It's really good for the McCain campaign, and I do think that Pennsylvania is still within striking distance. Maybe I'm crazy. But I do think that she energizes everywhere in between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, in between there, and also in the Pittsburgh suburbs. She's a very appealing candidate.
MITCHELL: And she's campaigned very successfully in some of those areas already in terms of the rallies and crowds that have gathered.
FEEHERY: No doubt about it.