McCain & Palin, or is it actually McCain vs. Palin?

This report from CNN comes as no surprise - as the race tightens in the final days, it's exactly the type of hit piece you'd expect from the left-leaning media. However in this case, the core point of the article might actually be accurate.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if some core McCainites are at odds with Sarah Palin. They were probably as unprepared as the media was for McCain to select her, and have probably been second-guessing their own candidate ever since. Given that McCain's closest advisors are no doubt of similar attitudes to their man, it follows clearly that they'd be naturally offended by Sarah Palin's unabashed and unwavering conservatism.

Frankly, the selection of Sarah is one of the more mystifying events we've seen - not that she was by any means the wrong choice, as I absolutely believe the pick was brilliant. Most everything McCain has done since has been to give away or surrender whatever advantage he's managed to build.

McCain should be up by twenty points right now - combine the enthusiasm Sarah Palin added to the campaign (the only reason there's a McCain/Palin sign in my yard and bumper sticker on my truck is the bottom half) from conservatives dissatisfied with McCain with the bar-none winning positions of national security and energy independence, and the fact that we're running against an out and out Marxist (which can be proved and documented) - and it shouldn't even be close.

Sarah Palin ignoring the reins that the McCain folks are supposedly trying to control her with is also the right move, assuming the article is accurate. There's going to be a battle for the soul of the Republican Party, and it's already started. This election is as much about November 4th as it is 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.