There is no crying in baseball!

Think of Tom Hanks’ character in “A League of Their Own,” delivering that now famous line, “Crying? There is no crying in baseball!” and read this line the same way: “Change? There is no change in Republicans!”

No matter how hard they try to make us believe John McCain is the change candidate, the GOP will never convince the American electorate that 72 year old John McCain has any change on his mind.

William Kristol and a host of self anointed defenders of all things Republican know that McCain is at risk of becoming nothing more than a bit player in The Barack Obama Story. Kristol, in his newspaper column today, writes that Palin's selection as McCain’s running mate shows he has the “courage to change.”

Billy, who are you kidding?

Yes, she is the first person of the female gender to run on a Republican ticket. Apparently that is as much change as Republicans can handle because all of the policy positions she has taken heretofore are anathema to most female voters. Pro-choice? No. Gun control? No. There is a long list about which she represents no change.

No, what the Republicans are doing is using Palin for their tactical political gain with little regard for the voters’ right to know something in depth about the candidate they are being asked to elevate to the second highest office in the land. Indeed, imagine if she were elevated to the top spot upon the sudden death of McCain shortly after being sworn in. We would be asked to trust someone who has no foreign policy credentials and little domestic policy experience. That’s what should offend us most. It reflects once again that the Republicans are more interesting in winning than governing.

But that brings me to her success in Alaska as a warning to my Democratic friends. In Alaska, when she ran for governor, she impressed voters with her genuine warmth and charm. Nevermind that she had no record of accomplishments in government. One of her rivals in the race for governor of Alaska described her in the NY Times, “She wouldn’t have articulated one coherent policy and people would just be fawning all over her.” He added, “This isn’t about policy or Alaska issues, this is about people’s most basic instincts: ‘I like you, and you make me feel good.’”

That may be the reason John McCain is now attracting thousands more to his rallies. With Sarah Palin by his side, he knows she will make the crowd “feel good.” From my experience, that has been enough to solidify the Republican base and up to now, that has been the major challenge facing John McCain. If that is enough to bring John McCain victory in November, America is in deeper trouble than I thought.