MANCHESTER, N.H. — Even as he mounts unceasing attacks on his Republican rival, Barack Obama is ignoring the person on the ticket who is the center of attention: Sarah Palin.
A few syllables are all Obama expends on the Republican vice presidential nominee. He'll mention "McCain-Palin" when he's on the trail; beyond that, her name is practically taboo.
Last week, Obama rolled out what his campaign billed as a more aggressive persona. And he is indeed denigrating John McCain at every turn. Given his new eagerness to slash at McCain's record, his silence on Palin's is even more conspicuous.
Palin is the focus of a raging national debate over her qualifications for high office.
Twice at a town hall event in Dover, N.H., on Friday, Obama fielded questions that invoked Palin. One man described her as a "feminine version of Dick Cheney and George Bush" and asked Obama why she had garnered so much attention. Obama didn't bite.
He stuck to his talking points, turning back to McCain and repeating the argument that the Arizona senator was a figure from the past, falsely running on a promise to shake up Washington.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 7,000 here Saturday morning, Obama hewed to that theme: "John McCain doesn't get it," he said. "He doesn't know what's going on in your lives. He is out of touch with the American people."
Normally, the Democratic vice presidential nominee might be expected to eviscerate Palin. But Obama's No. 2, Joe Biden, is sticking to the script. When he gets a question about the Alaska governor, he too shifts back to McCain.
Guiding the Obama campaign is a conviction that Palin will either fade or implode.
One aide privately predicted the Palin phenomenon would "go away."
Outside public view, Obama aides are doing what that they can to nudge that process along, steering reporters to unflattering stories about Palin. An Obama aide on Saturday sent out an e-mail highlighting a Boston Globe article that disclosed that Palin, contrary to what the McCain campaign had said, had never visited Iraq.
David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, said Obama was shunning Palin "because she's not the candidate for president."
Democratic operatives offer another reason: 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.
