National Public Radio correspondent Mara Liasson told a Hailey audience that in the four elections she has covered, she has not seen this level of interest and attention before.
"This is a real choice, a great choice," Liasson told the standing-room-only crowd at the Liberty Theater. "In a lot of ways we're looking at two candidates who have both broken the mold."
As for how the mass media is handling the twists and turns of the election, she quipped, "We have 47 days left. I can't wait to see what else we get wrong."
She called Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain's vice-presidential pick, the "most consequential in history," though she said the race was the Democrats' to lose.
"The number of people who think the country is on the wrong track is 80 percent," she said. "Only once—Reagan and Bush senior—has a two-term president been followed by a candidate of the same party."
She said the Republican base that current President George Bush enjoyed no longer exists—and that it is not available to McCain.
"McCain had to do something very dramatic and he did," she said. "He made a Hail Mary pass. Palin became an instant folk hero."
Even as Liasson admitted to journalists' preoccupation with Palin, she wondered what the pick of Palin actually says about McCain.
"He wants to win," she said. "It's allowed McCain to make a U-turn."
At the same time, she wondered what the pick of Sen. Joe Biden says about Sen. Barack Obama.
"It was a safe pick and reassuring," she said. "He was chosen to reassure voters, especially blue-collar workers, on foreign affairs. Obama is methodical and never panics. He's unflappable while McCain clashes and disagrees. His campaign is not orderly. He throws darts at Obama all day long."
Liasson said there are three things the vice president needs to be able to do before the election: make a statement when nominated, make a speech at the convention and do one debate.
"Palin is the exception to the rule," Liasson said. "McCain doesn't leave her side. She pulls in the crowds."
Liasson said the economy, rather than personality issues, will now be the focus of the campaign.
"The Wall Street crisis has put an end to the frivolous things," she said. "What's most remarkable is how close this is. Bad news is always good news. This is a huge opportunity for Obama. He's trying to get crisper, punchier, and trying to make the point that what's happening in the credit crisis is due to eight years of a Republican government, lack of oversight and deregulation. Both have some ground to make up regarding the economy. McCain has broken with the base of his party—though not with Bush—on issues like immigration, torture, stem cells, but economics is not one of those issues."
So what will break what is essentially a tie?
"The debates," she said. "Though neither McCain or Obama are great debaters."
The first presidential debate will be aired Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. on ABC and other stations.
"What they have in common is that both think the world is stacked against them," she said. "I encourage you to watch those debates. This is an election of a lifetime. We've never had a candidate as inexperienced as Obama and we've never had one as old as McCain. Could Palin be president? It's a big issue."
The other debates are scheduled as follows: Tuesday, Oct. 7; Wednesday, Oct. 15; and the vice presidential debate on Thursday, Oct. 2.
