McCain/Palin are being tactical. In sports, the underdog often tries to keep the game close until the end, then hope for a lucky break. It often works. The manufactured outrage at Obama’s remark changes the subject from things that matter to the phony debate over whether Obama is or is not a sexist. The longer the subject stays changed the better from where McCain sits.

Having said that, it seems to me that part of the liberal frustration with this episode is the successful co-opting of the “achieve victim status” strategy so successfully employed by so many on the left for so long.