Commentary: How Obama Should Weather 'Hurricane Palin'

Sept. 11, 2008— -- The following is a commentary by ABC News' Sam Donaldson. Click here to view a video version of his latest essay.

My message today – in fact, my advice to the Democrats and Sen. Obama D-Ill., suddenly thrown off balance and demoralized by Hurricane Palin – is borrowed from Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If."

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

You see, perhaps the greatest damage the selection of Governor Palin may do to the Democrats is not the new energy she has brought to the Republican ticket, or the white women who appear to be rushing into their sister's arms … no, the greatest damage would be to cause the Democrats to panic and abandon their game plan and start looking for ways to throw their own "Hail Mary" pass, ignoring the evidence out there that Hurricane Palin, while a dangerous storm as it burst on the scene, is not now of category five strength and by the time of the election could well have imploded into a minor political tropical depression.

Consider that when it comes to the powerful cornerstone factor in this year's election – change – Sen. Obama still has the advantage. When asked over the weekend in our ABC News-Washington Post poll which candidate do you trust more to bring needed change, Sen. McCain appears to have closed a gap of 32 points to 12 points. But the fact is, he still trails Sen. Obama by twelve points.

And, in the critical battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the Quinnipiac poll out today finds Sen. Obama still ahead, albeit narrowly, in both states.

Now, it is certainly possible that the new GOP momentum may continue – the McCain/Palin ticket may win this election. But the point is, all is not suddenly lost for the Democrats -- although it could be if they panic and start darting around trying out radically new and weird tactics. Perhaps Sen. Obama should try to be an alpha male and wear brown (panicked advice given to Al Gore eight years ago)?

No, Kipling had it right when he concluded that "yours is the Earth and everything in it…if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs"…or, in Sen. Obama's case, yours can still be the Oval Office.

Sam Donaldson, a 41-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as chief White House correspondent for ABC News, from 1977-1989 and from January 1998 to August 1999, covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Donaldson also co-anchored, with Diane Sawyer, "PrimeTime Live," from August 1989 until it merged with "20/20" in 1999. He co-anchored the ABC News Sunday morning broadcast, "This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts," from December 1996 to September 2002. Currently, Donaldson appears on ABC News Now, the ABC News digital network, in a daily show called "Politics Live."