Obama Ignoring Palin

The McCain campaign's strategy is to keep the Arizona Senator "in front of the media," as spokesman Brian Rogers claims, and Obama is complying happily by zeroing in on McCain in his campaign appearances--and he's ignoring Sarah Palin. According to the L A Times, Obama won't be drawn into addressing Palin even when prompted to by audience questions. And why is this? Back to the Times:

Obama doesn't want to give her more publicity. Were he to target Palin, he might detract from the critique of McCain he is trying to drive home every day.

Chris Kofinis, communications director for John Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign, said: "Palin right now is the flavor of the week. And the reality is she's going to rise or fall based on how she performs in the public eye. The last thing you want to do as a campaign is to fuel more media attention toward her when you don't need to."

This seems like a sound tactic. It goes beyond saying that, as presidential nominee, Obama should be focusing on McCain and McCain alone. When the time comes, Joe Biden can engage with Palin.

As a plus: it avoids any of those "gotcha" moments like the "lipstick on a pig" nonsense.