Update Appended: Nov. 6, 2008
Of all the torn scraps of conventional wisdom being swept up and thrown away after the election, here's one that may be the most discredited of all: Americans don't vote based on the vice-presidential nominee. From the moment Sarah Palin finished her incandescent speech at the Republican National Convention to the late-October New York Times /CBS News poll in which a third of respondents said the choice of Vice President would have a "great deal of influence" on their vote, it was clear that Palin was a transformative figure. In short, she single-handedly...