More things that Sarah Palin doesn't know!

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

Palin in 2012 YEAH Baby YEAH

[Bishop Hedd]

McCain was kind of screwed. They wouldn't let him choose who he wanted. Most anyone anyone else wanted would have doomed his campaign. He needed not only to shake up the race but also to shake up the base. He was going to lose if he didn't do something exotic. He didnt know that Palin was so stupid, she looked good on paper and in a dress. So even though it was a Hail Mary it wasn't his worst choice, it was one of his best.The problem was, of course, that he knew nothing about her. That it completely shot his "experience" advantage that he had. But moreso, and the death knell, was that it completely shot his Country First slogan. There was no chance in hell this was putting the country first. This was putting the country last, because it was so reckless. Even if she turned out to be great it would have been reckless. Ultimately, I have been following McCain for decades. He was my Senator when I lived in Phoenix for 11 years. My closest friend worked in a US Senate office at that same time, so I knew a bit about him. I always though he was a farce. Everything about him is what's best for John McCain, not what's best for the country (as a politician I mean, I still have high regard for what atrocities he endured in Vietnam). But this, to me, was a typical McCain move disguised as a "she's a maverick and reformer just like me and we're going to change Washington" move. Even last night, I thought he gave a great speech. Really well done. And I thought he was totally full of sh-- and saying all that because it put him in the best light. I didn't think he meant hardly any of it. That's just my opinion, not something I claim to know.

Excellent points to be sure but then theres that hail mary term again. It implies that one is forced into a position to do something drastic. Was mccain at the time forced to throw the longball?

[Kelly the Dog]

Excellent points to be sure but then theres that hail mary term again. It implies that one is forced into a position to do something drastic. Was mccain at the time forced to throw the longball?

Of course. For all reasons stated above. If he picked Pawlenty or Romney, there was no way he was going to win because no one would be happy. If he picked who he wanted, Liberman or Ridge, he would be happy and they would gain certain things but the base told him they would revolt and he would lose the evangelicals so he would surely lose the election. He didn't have any good choices, he had to risk everything. Jindal might have been his best bet because he is going to be the rising star, IMO, not Palin. But Jindal probably wasnt ready yet either.

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

BTW, anyone in the McCain campaign that blames Palin is !@#$ing coward. THEY picked her and they alone bear that responsibility. But MOST importantly, if she did mean that much to the election it only speaks to John McCain's weakness as a candidate. Seriously, who the hell blames their VP choice?

Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis chose Palin and sold John McCain on the idea. Once the lower level staff met her and realized what a handful they were given, that's when the fireworks likely started. While a campaign is supposed to stick together and watch each other's back, Palin was a reflection on them, their campaign, and their performance. Being good doobies only goes so far.

 

The most telling part of this story was the Couric interview. She refused to prepare and looked totally ridiculous in the interview. How do you think that makes the staff who are responsible for Palin staff look? and feel?

 

I'm sure Davis, Schmidt and JMC himself ripped them a new one. That's tough to take.

[Bishop Hedd]

Of course. For all reasons stated above. If he picked Pawlenty or Romney, there was no way he was going to win because no one would be happy. If he picked who he wanted, Liberman or Ridge, he would be happy and they would gain certain things but the base told him they would revolt and he would lose the evangelicals so he would surely lose the election. He didn't have any good choices, he had to risk everything. Jindal might have been his best bet because he is going to be the rising star, IMO, not Palin. But Jindal probably wasnt ready yet either.

It just dosnt make sense. How could the campaign not forsee that she would be exposed as a fraud and running joke. No she war added for more than just a hail mary. Im hearing bill Kristol was responsible for the pick which is all anyone needs to know.

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

where is this obvious? EVERY report said it was his choice and that it surprised staffers.

this guy Robert Draper of the NYT had a number of interviews of high level staffers and McCain advisers.

 

Then for a half-hour or so, the group reviewed names that had been bandied about in the past: Gov. Tim Pawlenty (of Minnesota) and Gov. Charlie Crist (of Florida); the former governors Tom Ridge (Pennsylvania) and Mitt Romney (Massachusetts); Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut); and Mayor Michael Bloomberg (New York). From a branding standpoint, they wondered, what message would each of these candidates send about John McCain? McInturff’s polling data suggested that none of these candidates brought significantly more to the ticket than any other.

 

“What about Sarah Palin?” Schmidt asked.

 

After a moment of silence, Fred Davis, McCain’s creative director (and not related to Rick), said, “I did the ads for her gubernatorial campaign.” But Davis had never once spoken with Palin, the governor of Alaska. Since the Republican Governors Association had paid for his work, Davis was prohibited by campaign laws from having any contact with the candidate. All Davis knew was that the R.G.A. folks had viewed Palin as a talent to keep an eye on. “She’d certainly be a maverick pick,” he concluded.

 

The meeting carried on without Schmidt or Rick Davis uttering an opinion about Palin. Few in the room were aware that the two had been speaking to each other about Palin for some time now.

.

.

.

Consistency. Confidence. And . . . well, look at her. A friend had said to Davis: “The way you pick a vice president is, you get a frame of Time magazine, and you put the pictures of the people in that frame. You look at who fits that frame best — that’s your V. P.”

 

Schmidt, to whom Davis quietly supplied the Palin footage, agreed. Neither man apparently saw her lack of familiarity with major national or international issues as a serious liability. Instead, well before McCain made his selection, his chief strategist and his campaign manager both concluded that Sarah Palin would be the most dynamic pick.

.

.

.

That evening of Aug. 24, Schmidt and Davis, after leaving the Ritz-Carlton meeting, showed up at McCain’s condominium in Phoenix. They informed McCain that in their view, Palin would be the best pick. “You never know where his head is,” Davis told me three weeks later. “He doesn’t betray a lot. He’s a great poker player. But he picked up the phone.” Reached at the Alaska State Fair, Palin listened as McCain for the first time discussed the possibility of selecting her as his running mate.

[SDS]

The most telling part of this story was the Couric interview. She refused to prepare and looked totally ridiculous in the interview. How do you think that makes the staff who are responsible for Palin staff look? and feel?

 

you don't know this. again, these are 2nd hand reports from staffers who ran an incredibly poor campaign. Maybe she didn't prepare, but this would go against all the reports of her previous campaigns in Alaska. It doesn't pass the smell test at all.

[Kelly the Dog]

It just dosnt make sense. How could the campaign not forsee that she would be exposed as a fraud and running joke. No she war added for more than just a hail mary. Im hearing bill Kristol was responsible for the pick which is all anyone needs to know.

No one knew her or spent any serious time with her. They just didnt know the depths of her lack of general knowledge. I'm sure she came across pretty well in any interviews, she's pretty engaging for most people. I don't think anyone would think to ask "what are the continents" or "Have you ever read the constitution" to a governor. I'm sure the vetting was more of the does she have any skeletons the opposition is going to uncover variety.

[SDS]

It just dosnt make sense. How could the campaign not forsee that she would be exposed as a fraud and running joke. No she war added for more than just a hail mary. Im hearing Bill Kristol was responsible for the pick which is all anyone needs to know.

 

Why would that be all anyone needed to know?

[Boomer860]

Palin didnt cost McCain the election .What cost McCain the election, was the good old friend of Americans ....money!!!

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

you don't know this. again, these are 2nd hand reports from staffers who ran an incredibly poor campaign. Maybe she didn't prepare, but this would go against all the reports of her previous campaigns in Alaska. It doesn't pass the smell test at all.

Are you really saying that the campaign would not have predicted the type of questions that Katie Couric would ask and thereby briefed Governor Palin (read Prepare) by practicing these in advance? That is their job and I have trouble believing they would let her go in there like she did and lose the game for them with a famous national reporter.

There was no gotcha journalism here. That doesn't pass the smell test!

[Kelly the Dog]

you don't know this. again, these are 2nd hand reports from staffers who ran an incredibly poor campaign. Maybe she didn't prepare, but this would go against all the reports of her previous campaigns in Alaska. It doesn't pass the smell test at all.

Did you see all of the interviews? She couldn't answer a simple question. It surely wasn't nervousness. That's the one thing she has none of. I have seen 20 examples of not knowing a simple thing that a high school student should know. At least one that had an interest in politics and world issues.

 

She was great when reading a speech because she didnt have to think, just perform. In the debate, she was asked about 20 things and answered about four of them, because she couldn't speak on any others. They would ask her about bankruptcy and she would say, "I don't want to talk about bankruptcy, I want to talk about energy." It was incredibly embarrassing. In that prank call, although ultimately it was meaningless, she came across like a 6th grader.

 

The reason they never gave her other interviews was because she couldnt answer any tough questions. They never gave her a press conference because they couldnt trust her to answer any questions they didnt know in advance where she would have to think on her feet. They wouldnt put her on a Sunday talk show, even Fox because they couldnt trust her to not look like a fool. That is what didnt pass the smell test.

[SDS]

Did you see all of the interviews? She couldn't answer a simple question. It surely wasn't nervousness. That's the one thing she has none of. I have seen 20 examples of not knowing a simple thing that a high school student should know. At least one that had an interest in politics and world issues.

 

She was great when reading a speech because she didnt have to think, just perform. In the debate, she was asked about 20 things and answered about four of them, because she couldn't speak on any others. They would ask her about bankruptcy and she would say, "I don't want to talk about bankruptcy, I want to talk about energy." It was incredibly embarrassing. In that prank call, although ultimately it was meaningless, she came across like an 6th grader.

 

The reason they never gave her other interviews was because she couldnt answer any tough questions. They never gave her a press conference because they couldnt trust her to any questions. They wouldnt put her on a Sunday talk show, even Fox because they couldnt trut her to not look like a fool. That is what didnt pass the smell test.

 

 

I understand that. But you would have to accept the corollary - that she did nothing. I can't believe that while being surrounded by campaign staff - all she did was lick ice cream cones and read Cosmo. I'm not defending her interviews, but I am saying that there are bona fide cowards in the McCain campaign that want to blame her for their and their own candidate's failings.

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

The reason they never gave her other interviews was because she couldnt answer any tough questions. They never gave her a press conference because they couldnt trust her to answer any questions they didnt know in advance where she would have to think on her feet. They wouldnt put her on a Sunday talk show, even Fox because they couldnt trust her to not look like a fool. That is what didnt pass the smell test.

come off it, she did really well with her BFF Sean Hannity

[Bishop Hedd]

Why would that be all anyone needed to know?

Member of neocon nutball group new american century, one of the architects of the ghastly Iraq invasion, Fox News analyst. Thats why this whole Palin thing reeks far more than a mere hail mary. Think about it.

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

BTW, I'm not just saying this because he jumped all over McCain's campaign, but Shep Smith is a beacon of fairness on Fox News.

[SDS]

Member of neocon nutball group new american century, one of the architects of the ghastly Iraq invasion, Fox News analyst. Thats why this whole Palin thing reeks far more than a mere hail mary. Think about it.

 

your partisan jabs aside, Kristol is extremely thoughtful even if you don't agree with him.

[drnykterstein]

I understand that. But you would have to accept the corollary - that she did nothing. I can't believe that while being surrounded by campaign staff - all she did was lick ice cream cones and read Cosmo. I'm not defending her interviews, but I am saying that there are bona fide cowards in the McCain campaign that want to blame her for their and their own candidate's failings.

 

She certainly tried very hard to stay away from the media. Which, to me, meant she had something to hide.

[bills_fan]

I understand that. But you would have to accept the corollary - that she did nothing. I can't believe that while being surrounded by campaign staff - all she did was lick ice cream cones and read Cosmo. I'm not defending her interviews, but I am saying that there are bona fide cowards in the McCain campaign that want to blame her for their and their own candidate's failings.

 

 

I agree. She has gotten a raw deal all the way around and will be blamed by McCain's staff for the loss.

[Kelly the Dog]

Im hearing bill Kristol was responsible for the pick which is all anyone needs to know.

This is an easily imaginable scenario and recounting, but McCain made the choice.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-sto...s-talent-scout/