Bush is remarkably unpopular. It'd be really great for Obama if he were running against Bush. I get that. The Yankees are fighting to reach the playoffs and it'd be really awesome if they could play against the Pirates every game for the rest of the season. They'd win most of those games and have a great shot at the playoffs. Unfortunately, reality dictates that the Yankees can't play out the season against the Pirates. Similarly, Obama can't run against Bush. This constant strain to equate McCain with Bush is getting pretty pathetic.
Does anybody think Obama has any love in his heart for the Clintons? It sure looked like he did when he practically gave them his entire convention and lathered their asses with lofty praise. That doesn't make Obama a Clinton puppet and it doesn't mean he's going to serve Clinton's third term. It makes him a politician that understands what it takes to get elected. I hear all this talk about "Bush's third term" but I've yet to see Obama take on anybody within the Democratic Party the way McCain has taken on Bush and the Republican Party in recent years over mismanagement of the war in Iraq, global warming and other environmental issues, immigration reform, torture, the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, energy policy, the mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina, reckless deficit spending, and earmarks (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but you get the idea).
As for Palin, McCain really had no choice but to do something drastic. He needed to close the enthusiasm gap and do something to energize the Republican base while also picking someone that appears to be as reform-minded as he is. He couldn't pick anyone tied in any way to the Bush administration (so no Rice or Powell) and he needs to cut into Obama's lead with female voters if he's going to have any shot at winning. He took two of my great loves (Ted Nugent and hot naughty librarians) and combined them into one package:
My base is energized.