The governor of Alaska. Something to do with a mysterious flight from Alaska landing in Dayton last night.

I don't think it will be her, as her inexperience undercuts their only argument against Obama. But when all the nets have a story all at once, it means their is a concerted effort out there to flack the name.

Andrea Mitchell is reporting she heard from a high placed source it's Romney, but that the GOP is planning to have all the finalists on stage with McCain to show what a wide variety of people he considered. But Pawlenty was clearly in the running, and he is saying he won't be there.

And the fact is that the GOP line-up is not that impressive.

Just out on the wires that Romney's out.

Would Traitor Joe (not to be confused with the excellent store Trader Joe) be the first to run for VP in both major parties and lose in both major parties?  This could be history in the making.

It won't be Joe, it won't be Tom Ridge, it won't be Kay Bailey.  Anybody who is not pro-life will not be on the ticket.  That is a certainty.  If they do make that mistake, McCain can kiss his chances goodbye.  It's not a core constiuency that you want to piss off when you really need them to win.  

it's Lowell!

...you know the rest!" :)

"No guts, no glory."

Kevin Madden (fmr. Romney talking head) discussing Palin like she is a done deal.  

Republicans were saying Kaine was underqualified? Sarah Palin makes Tim Kaine look like John Kerry.

I didn't even mention Palin in my review of GOP VP contenders yesterday because she seemed like such an impossible reach. She's only 44 years and has just 1.5 years of being in statewide elective office, never mind serving in Congress.

Palin wouldn't just be a bad pick -- she would be so epically bad that her selection would raise real questions about McCain's judgment.

n/t

any "question" of Obama's experience.  not that there are any serious questions about that.  We know, and the twenty retired gnerals (and admirals) know, that Obama is more trustworty on national security and foreign relations than John McCain.  But Obama has a much longer track record of public service than Palin. McCain is judging her to be ready to be "a heartbeat away." But she's got less than two years.  Case closed.  They cannot use experience ever again.  So, obviously, they've moved on to try to court any Pro-Clinton stragglers and holdouts.  Not that there are that many left.  But if they think they are getitng someone better than Obama on women's rights, they'd be mistaken.  On evey issue that matters to Americans, Obama exceeds McCain in capability.

Additionally, going to Palin is perfect example of why selecting BY gender, any woman, and expecting female voters to buy that just any woman is acceptable, is a mistake. Now we have two GOP candidates with insufficient judgment.  And her gender matters not one iota.

that Joe Lieberman is in Dayton also.

Seriously, do we know where Lowell is?

A Toyota Prius with Virginia plates loaded with books was spotted pulling into a Dayton-area Borders last night. Just reading the tea leaves here, people.

n/t

You're toeing the line that separates humorous from insulting now, Dan. ;-)

Pro-Choice, split with the Admin while at Dept. of Homeland Security, Harvard Law, and a Gov.  [Frankly, I'd rather have him as Pres. than McSame], capable of carrying Pa.  He'd be a very tough choice.

McCain has spent the last two months pandering to and trying to fire up the GOP base.

A pro-choice running mate would negate all of this in a split second.

60 days before an election is not the time to pivot from a "get-out-the-base" strategy to an attract independents strategy. There just isn't time.

However, if McCain has concluded that he can't win with the base a la George W. Bush, what does he have to lose.

That his best chance is with disaffected Hillary supporters and independents - if that's the case (and its a logical conclusion), Ridge is a great choice.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

That a core constituency of the Republican Party is religious conservatives and that the right to life is a no-compromise deal for them.  Who put Bush over the top?  Who won Ohio for them?  Who are the grass-roots organizers for them?  McCain needs his entire base.  

Remember Huckabee who managed to cobble together a presidential primary campaign out of nothing?  That alone demonstrates the power of this constituency.

I was thinking that a some point in time the wacko far-right wing of the party and the neocons will have to be sacrificed for the rep.s to remain a mainstream political party in our two-party system.  To me, the battle in a two-party system is always for the center, whatever than may be.

As one who is left of most of my fellow Dem.s, when the party moves to the center, it expands it's support.  Again, I (for example) still vote for "our" candidate regardless of their positions since the alternative (reps.) would be worse.  I'm concerned that with a Tom Ridge the far right would be convinced that a Vietnam vet, with a homeland security background would trump his pro-choice views (and they wackos would vote in McCain to avoid Obama).

I'm still very worried.

by Rush and the "dittoheads," not to mention Christian conservatives. End. Of. Election.

You are absolutely correct and McCain would be a laughingstock.

I know he hasn't been mentioned too much, but given that the top contenders have been eliminated, and I think Palin would be such an ill-advised choice, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out who could be both a dark horse and not out of the blue.

Goose-Stepping, Boot-licking, water carrying, republican yes-man.  Only problem is he's single, which of course must mean he's, you know.  ;)

Spiro Agnew.

And we all know how well that one worked out.

"Sources point to Palin as McCain's running mate. CNN has not confirmed."

did no one on the McCain team raise an issue about announcing their VP pick at a place called the "Nutter Center"?

Waiting in the Wings of the Nutter Center...

Ed Henry just said on CNN that 15,000 people are expected, but the Nutter Center's capacity is 12,500.

That they had only managed to give away 6,000 tickets and had ended up have to resort to busing folks in to fill in the crowd.  Didn't Obama end up with 30,000??

85,000 plus last night

Didn't Joe Biden say he wasn't the pick?  I think it is Pawlenty, and this is all an elaborate ruse to attract attention.

but I do not get this argument.

The idea that any significant number of women supporting Hillary would vote for an anti-choice uber-Conservative that they don't know simply on the basis of chromosomes is not only absurd, it will rebound back on them as downright insulting.

To think women would vote for anti-woman John McCain just because he'd picked an unqualified woman to be his running mate is a condescending joke.

Especially attractive ones.  Remember, McCain dumped his first wife after she "gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self" following a horrendous car crash.

Rob Portman?

I mean, they are in Ohio, after all.  

Here is Palin's Wiki page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

I'm worried about Palin. I'm afraid she may be the Geraldine Ferraro of 2008. If she really is the nominee, will it come across as a desperation move, a Hail Mary, as Mondale's choice of Ferraro did in 1984? I'm afraid so. Her experience just doesn't justify a place on the ticket. If McCain really wanted to go radical, Bobby Jindal was the far sounder choice--but maybe Jindal turned him down, on the theory that he needs to do his job as Governor of Louisiana before trying to go national.

Link:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/a...

He has his bible out, and he is trying to exorcise a hurricane.

"Looks like it's a done deal" for Palin, but he says he is still working on it.

based on high level political sources backstage at the Nutter.

...John McCain just clinched Alaska! :)

she was known as the "Barracuda" on her high school basketball team.

Make of that what you will.

so we don't have to! :)

They twisted themselves into pretzels yesterday trying to critique Obama's speech.

I tuned into Faux to check their reaction.  All the other media were going crazy over Obama's speech so I had to see what they could come up with.  For the few minutes I watched they seemed mixed, with a few giving it great marks (wow!) and others grasping at anything while still admitting it was a great speech.  Slam Dunk last night that left even Faux without much to say.

(almost) speechless.  They seemed a bit flatfooted and unsure where to go from here.  They faxed a short statement about the speech claiming it was negative and untrue.  They included a few of the same tired talking points, but barely 100 word statement, at most.  They also claimed (again, falsely) that Obama would raise taxes on those making just 42,000 a year.

Hi, aznew!  You would do tremendous such a service if you could stomach monitoring FAUX News for us.  I can barely do it anymore.  It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!  Are you volunteering?

but I'll be keeping an eye on them today a bit.

As the official news organ of the GOP, I expect they will have more up to date spin than CNN or MSNBC.

It seems the local Fox station in Denver contacted Mark Levine (our Democrat) from the Press registration list at the convention. Actually they thought they were inviting the right-wing, New-Yorker, rabid-dog "Mark Levin"..... When (our) Mark Levine showed up Monday they put him on the air anyhow and he chewed up and spit out all the Repugs they sent at him.... With his depth of congressional first hand experience and constitutional law, and the hundreds of TV shows of experience he has from our shows among others, he went over so well the kept him around for 4 or 5 segments additionally each day through yesterday..... we'll have video on his web site early next week.

So does this make it Faux Fox News???

Neither MSNBC nor CNN is reporting anything from their sources about Palin.

The McCain team has only given the story to the national GOP news arm.

Usually, after a couple of minutes of the scoop, the leaks will start to the other cable stations. Interesting how he screwed them.

She is very pro-life.  She hits all the social conservative issues correctly.  And her ousting of Murkowski sets her in that outsider, change-Washington mold.

McCain doesn't really need someone with experience, he already claims that for himself.  He needed someone who was younger and could represent change.  And here you go.

And really, I don't think that Wooten scandal carries any weight.  

I've gotta ponder this more, but so far I'm thinking that this was a clever pick by McCain.

it was a great tactic, but a lousy decision.

It sole benefits seem to be stepping on the reaction to Obama's speech and satisfying the extreme anti-choice right wing of the party. Ok, they did that.

But if this is an ideological, get out the base election, the numbers are against McCain and the GOP, given that Democrats lead Republicans by 14-15 points in party self-ID.

So, it's a swing for the fences, but if McCain wanted to take a home run swing like that, he would have been much better off with Lieberman and make a play for the Indys, IMHO.

A woman whose sister is an independent/swing voter in Florida.  Her thought is that her sister - the "average American," she calls her - will be very interested in this pick by McCain. We'll see...

How would this sit with the conservative base?

From wikipedia:

Palin's first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples. The veto occurred after Palin consulted with Alaska's attorney general on the constitutionality of the legislation.

her decision could have been totally based on legality and not concern for discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Note this CSM article about Palin's role in trying to bring Big Oil and Gas under control (and increased taxation) in Alaska after the run of Big Oil bribery scandals there.

Palin may have very little experience in government--and no experience or understanding of international affairs--but she is clearly not stupid like Dan Quayle, and she can make a credible case that she is one Republican who is not completely in the pocket of Big Oil, though she does want to permit drilling in the ANWR.

Let's have the blogosphere do its work and conduct some thorough research before being too dismissive. Our initial instinct may be that Joe Biden, with his experience, will shred Palin in the VP debate. But for all we know at this point, Palin may be a master of the effective bumper sticker answer and the sharp retort, which may be enough for her to hold her own. And she may be in a position to help restore a little shine to McCain's now badly tarnished image as a maverick and reformer.

Palin is simply not known well enough nationally to make a judgment yet on what her presence might add to McCain's ticket. Will she encourage the few remaining disaffected Hillary supporters to vote Republican rather than come around to Obama or sit at home and abstain?

I'd be surprised, though, if Palin's hard-edged evangelical social conservatism would likely add many electoral votes to McCain's column. This time around, I suspect that economic issues will be owned by Obama and Biden in such key states as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Obama's ground game gives him the edge in New Mexico and Nevada and makes him extremely competitive in Colorado and Virginia. He is solid in Iowa, and he shouldn't have to worry too much about Minnesota and Wisconsin. His effort in Florida will force McCain to expend some resources there.

So where might Palin add some electoral votes for McCain, besides locking down Alaska? She might help him gain a few more votes in states that he would have won anyway in the Deep South, Appalachia, and the Far West. But where might she serve as a tipping factor in an electoral swing state? Maybe Missouri (which seems likely to lean toward McCain anyway)? Possibly Florida?

Perhaps Palin is the one choice who may not be a sure loser of electoral votes for the Republican ticket, but it is hard to see how she can dramatically change the game in McCain's favor.

And can anyone really imagine Palin, who has no national legislative or foreign policy experience, as Commander-in-Chief?

And one more thing: remember that McCain with his age, his history of multiple bouts with malignant melanoma, and his familial history of heart disease, could suffer a health crisis at any moment. If Palin would be left as the Republican standard bearer for the duration of the campaign, the Republican ticket would be fortunate to reach 35 percent of the vote. In such a landslide, Democrats could even aspire to getting their 60 seat majority in the Senate.

I think his VP pick will legitimately face the "Is she ready" question.

It also brings the issue of McCain's age out into the open. That can't be good.

as Tim Kaine - two years.  Just thought I'd point that out.

Virginia is a much larger and more complex state. Much more media scrutiny. The Wash. Post is his local paper.

Also, while RK has issues with various Kaine policies, Kaine can point to a record of his excellent management being independently recognized.

Kaine's name was bandied about for a month as a potential VP. It gave time for people to get comfortable with him.

Obama is not 72.

And, most importantly, in the end, Kaine wasn't chosen for a national ticket.

Kaine started with well managed state to begin with.  It wasn't like he was handed Louisiana and told to work with that mess.  

over Alaska's any day of the week.  Best managed state?  Check?  Best state to do business in three years running?  Check check check.

Palin's biggest accolade is that Wonkette thinks she's a "GILF."

She took the oath of office in December of 2006, Kaine was sworn in nearly a year before, in January of the same year.  She's served two terms on the Wasilla city council and then was Mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470 as of the 2000 census) for two terms.  

Her experience doesn't compare to Kaine's time on the Richmond city council and as mayor there (population 200,000), he also served as Warner's Lt. Governor for 4 years before being elected Governor.

Palin's popular in Alaska, hits the right notes with the base, and shares McCain's record of bucking pork-barrel spending, but the choice strikes me as a poor attempt to woo the Hillary crowd.  Her lack of experience will certainly be an issue given McCain's age and history of illness.

When those moose wandered into town, she called to sheriff right away.

I have argued that he should not have been the veep pick because of the same reason.  Far too little experience and depth on federal issues, especially foreign policy and security.

Those of us who love Tim, but took that stance for VP can easily now argue that Palin fails the "heartbeat away" test.  And we will so argue.

Alaska is smaller than 16 American cities.

Or, to put it in more local terms...

Alaska is smaller (by almost half) than Fairfax County.  How would Gerry Connolly go over as a VP pick?  He actually has more "experience" than Palin.

are overplaying what you perceive as her weaknesses are.  Palin's participation in Feminists for Life will help McCain consolidate the base.  It demonstrates his commitment to a cause near and dear to the hearts of the grass-roots of the Republican Party.  Palin also helps the independence brand and washes away some of the ethics taint of the Republican Party as a whole because she ousted a lot of her fellow Alaskan Republicans.  She had the strong commitment to personal ethics to blow the whistle on a lot of powerful members of her own party, that takes guts.  And instead of being relegated to the trash-heap as many whistleblowers are, she turned that around into the governorship of the state of Alaska.  She beat a former Democratic Governor in a year where by all accounts, we should have won.  I mean Alaska was in the same boat as Ohio.  So, I wouldn't underestimate her.

Also, I don't think McCain's argument about experience loses any weight by Palin.  Because ultimately we are electing either Obama or McCain; so, it is their experience that is important.  And Obama won't be debating Palin.  I think it can help McCain in his argument about change since he faces off against two people from inside the belt versus at least one now who is way far away from Washington.  

And I think some downplay the affect on voters.  The assumption that is made is that many voters make rational, well-informed decisions.  But we know this to not be the case.  Look at who Palin is on a personal level, she will ultimately help McCain win suburban married women.  

Last, Karl Rove didn't want Kaine picked because it is what he would have done.  It was a self-interested take down.

Obviously the pick is aimed at picking off disgruntled Hillary supporters, but McCain could have picked Kay Bailey Hutchinson or someone with a better resume and still achieved that goal.   I don't think he necessarily wins a lot of women with this pick - its almost condescending to just pick any woman rather than one with a huge record of accomplishment. Palin has no background and no record - until two years ago she was the mayor of a town of 6,000.  This totally undercuts McCain's charge that Obama isn't ready to lead (which is good from my view but...).  

Kay Bailey does not have the necessary position on abortion in the Republican Party.  So, no he couldn't have chosen her.  Just as he couldn't have chosen Ridge or Lieberman unless he had completely lost his mind.

He shouldn't have chosen a pro-choice (or less that virulently anti-choice) running mate if he wanted to energize the conservative base.  If he wanted to take a different tact, cater to his "maverick" label and court the moderates, it would have been a good way to do.

He is not a maverick.  He does not control the Republican Party.  Look at how he has changed and who he has had to cater to.  This entire process has demonstrated who has the power in their party, and it isn't him.

She is a real lightweight.  Biden will chew her up.

But given her limited experience, she already has her own scandal.

"Inexperienced, but a smoking Hottie.  Palin for VP.

I'm John McCain, and I approve her legs."

A huge risk. Really amazing.

And given McCain's age and health history, it is not exactly out of the realm of possibilities that if McCain wins, that Palin will become president.

Let the oppo research begin!

 

What, did Dan Quayle turn him down?

Side note: I just googled Dan Quayle to determine which candidate is actually less-qualified to potentially be President, and I am across this paragraph:

At the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, George H. W. Bush called on Quayle to be his running mate in the general election. Quayle was chosen to appeal to a younger generation of Americans and his good looks were praised by Senator John McCain, who said "I can't believe a guy that handsome wouldn't have some impact."

Even as I started writing this the new alert came - it's Palin indeed!  And what a poor choice.

Palin undercuts McCain's experience argument.  She is a rising star in the Republican Party and is somebody to watch for the future but she's certainly not ready to step in at a moment's notice and assume the presidency, which is the most important qualification for a vice president.  In fact, it's the purpose of the office.  And if that's an example of McCain's much vaunted judgment, I don't think it even will impress Republicans.

Nothing against Palin who may be a very capable GOP newcomer, but the key word is she's a newcomer.  She's not even experienced at being a governor yet.

And I think the type of women who supported Hillary will be turned off by that choice.  Palin will not be perceived as a capable woman who earned the job through hard work and experience. In fact, I suspect they'll look at it as a very patronizing choice that misjudges them as voters.

Given that McCain, if elected, is almost certain to die in office, will the country survive Sarah Palin as President? That scares me to death.

surely female politicians will be scarred deeply by Palin. Obama has loads of experience over Palin and so I want my first female president to be at least up to Obama. I just don't see this pick by McCain as responsible. He's trying to pick off votes instead of making sure the VP can be President.

So, to combat this, I will gladly campaign and vote for Hillary or whoever decides to run in 2016 as the female candidate for president on the Democratic ticket as long as women don't buy into this ploy by McCain.

In addition to this, my fiance noted "how can you (Palin) be a mother of a child in the army, two teenagers, a 7-year-old, and a baby with down syndrome AND be (vice) president (if mccain dies)?" I didn't think about this personally but that also seems irresponsible as a parent.

picking someone utterly new to the crucible and scrutiny of  a national campaign is rarely a risk that pays off.

We don't know what is out there that can be twisted around as a negative, but we do know there is something. It takes a day to level an accusation. It may take a month to work your way out of it.

60 days is not enough time.

We don't know what is out there that can be twisted around as a negative? Yes we do.

Remember Karl Rove's attack on Tim Kaine? It's worth re-reading now keeping in mind that Sarah Palin has been governor for even less time and was mayor of small town, never mind a big city.

Palin is a purely political pick. John McCain chose someone who is simply not qualified to be president in a desperate attempt to win at any price.

I love it.

He dumped his first wife for a trophy wife (with money).

Now he goes for a trophy VP selection.

There's sound judgement for you.

The Alaska Senate approved an independent probe at the beginning of August into her firing of the state Public Safety Commissioner allegedly because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law.  She replaced him with a guy who prompted resigned because of multiple sexual harassment allegations.  Sounds like a real winner...

http://mssassypants.wordpress....

Then how do you have any idea how she will fare as a candidate?

Also, you think Americans will hear about her time as a commercial fisher, a high school hoops player and a reformer, but never hear about her scandal?

Especially, given there is the culture of corruption hanging over the GOP in Alaska right now, I would expect to see Stevens tied to her scandal, both of them treating government as their own private domains.

Are you kidding me? Do you pay attention to American politics.

She has less than two years of experience as governor of one of the smallest states in the nation.  Prior to that, she was mayor of a small town in one of the smallest states in the nation.

If people thought Tim Kaine was a bad candidate for VP because he lacked the bona fides needed to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency with Obama, how in the world can Palin be seen a "ready to govern on Day 1"?  And let's face it, the odds of Presidential succession becoming an issue are much higher with McCain than with Obama.

That she is a social conservative
A strict creationist, trying to get evolution out of the schools in Alaska
That she's completely against Alaska supporting same-sex partner benefits

I knew McCain would have to pander to the Republican Christianist base, but picking someone with no experience from that crowd?

She's only less scary than Huckabee because he was more successful at preaching his insanity.

I know I am.  Joe Biden will eat her alive at the VP debate.  If they think simply picking a woman (especially this woman) will automatically bring them disaffected Hillary voters, they are sadly mistaken.  Plus this most certainly takes the experience issue off the table.  

I must get one of those McCain/Granddaughter08 bumper stickers.

As Josh Marshall points out, McCain has just taken one of his own central attacks on Obama off the table. If McCain thinks neophyte Sarah Palin is experienced enough to be president, how can he say the more-experienced Obama isn't?

* "Pleased McCain people have reached out to a woman candidate."

* Clinton supporters in 3 groups:
-- PUMAs - people who are angry. They will not go for Obama under any circumstances. They might be moved to McCain by this. The issue for them is how society and the press deals with women.
-- Some will never support McCain under any ciorcumstances
-- People in the middle, who may see their daughters in the pick. "They tell them they can be anything they want to be, but when Hillary lost the nomination, they said, 'Oh really?'"

I lived in AK for about 8 years (graduated high school in Anchorage) and as someone with Alaskan roots I must say, Obama is going to make a great president ;-)

First, Palin went to Wasilla high.  Wasilla is Alaska's marijuana factory (and much of the US for that matter).  There has got to be some dirt there.  The culture there is similar to Bush's Midland.  They party hard - lots of drugs, alcohol, and group sex.  How do you think they get through 6 months of cold and darkness?

I would be very surprised if this woman grew up around Wasilla and there isn't some serious skeletons in that closet.  Skeletons that Christian conservatives might not think too highly of.

From a political perspective, I think this was a brilliant move by McCain.  Obviously he is angling for Hillary voters.  I think this woman will draw more voters than any other VP choice in our history.

How do you win against this?  Simple - and not pretty.  Republicans are going to paint Obama as Barack "Hussein" Obama - the Muslim - any chance they get.  Politics isn't fair and quite frequently untrue.  Every un-ladylike thing this woman has ever done in her life needs to be placed front and center.  We want to make the ladies in the book club blush.

As far as McCain is concerned - Lowell got it right.  He likes the ladies, and he likes them young.  He's probably poppin Viagra right now.  I don't think we want to turn the White House into a fraternity house where elderly men attempt to relive their youthful indiscretions.  Dirty old man.

Somone must have switched McCain's Alzheimer's medication (can't remember how many houses he and his wife have) with Bob Dole's Viagra.  Better stock up on the aspirin, nitro tablets, and anyother hearth medication for McCain.  If he wins, she will be President within six months.  The man is boarderline cardiac and he won't even be able to catch his breath whenever they meet.  He'd better check into getting a pacemaker if he doesn't have one already.  McCain better hope Palin doesn't have any objectionable material out there that would question her "family values".  

But striking looks aside, what is he thinking?  She's younger than Obama, far less experienced, and dealing with questions of her ethics and abuse of power dealing with the firing of her former bother-in-law from the Alaska State Police due to the messy divorce from her sister.  Judegment?  Hardly.  Give it a week or so, get through the GOP Convention and I suspect that he is going to take a hit in the polls.  I'm all for taking risks and being a maverick, but Palin is an extremly risky pick.