Posted on 08/30/2008 6:00:26 AM PDT by rawhide
BOSTON — John McCain’s search for a running mate was remarkable in that it was carried out in secret, concluded with a bang and conducted in sharp contrast to the freewheeling style of his early presidential campaign or his hard-charging Navy days.
The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting spirited his ultimate choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, first to Arizona and then to Ohio on a pair of secret corporate jet flights. When her family joined her Thursday night, they stayed in a hotel under an assumed name.
And when it came time to announce Palin’s selection on Friday morning in Dayton, Ohio, the news came as a surprise not only to the public, but also to members of her own staff 4,000 miles away in Anchorage.
“Nobody knew about his announcement this morning except (a traveling aide) and the governor’s chief of staff, who found out about this last night,” said Sharon Leighow, a Palin gubernatorial spokeswoman.
That was precisely McCain’s intention.
(Excerpt) Read more at elections.foxnews.com ...
On Wednesday, Palin and her longtime political aide, Kris Perry, flew from Alaska to Flagstaff, Ariz. They were met by Schmidt and Salter at the home of Bob Delgado, chief executive officer of the Hensley Corp., the family business owned by Cindy McCain.
On Thursday morning, Palin and Perry met with McCain and his wife, who had returned overnight from a trip to the country of Georgia, at their family’s retreat in Sedona, Ariz. About 11 a.m., as they sat on a deck on the same day that Obama was to accept his own party’s nomination, McCain formally invited Palin to join him on the GOP ticket.
Even her kids were in the dark about it. See article.
It was fun to see the flight logs on FR on Thursday evening and realize well before some of those closest to her that this might really happen.
yup, once again FR was ahead of the curve in flight numbers, flight plans, stops etc..we had a good idea what was goin to happen HOURS and HOURS before anyone else..
Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
The total lack of leaks from the McCain Campaign shows a discipline which would make for a very well-run administration. Contrast this with the Obama fiasco, wherein Biden’s name was leaked 2 days prior and the press confirmed it 5 hours before Obama’s text message was sent.
But FReepers weren’t in the dark. Several of us had a very good idea of what was up early Friday morning. IMNHO FReeper Darth Gill gets the credit, as do the folks at the draft Sarah Palin website/blog.
Cheers!
The great think about FR is that you see the internet reports and you get immediate feedback from experts who either debunk or support the claims.
If the MSM outlets don’t have 24/7 coverage of FR..then they don’t have a chance to know what is going on.
‘..The total lack of leaks from the McCain Campaign shows a discipline..’
yes! and I would hope this would continue when he’s President. It was disappointing when leaks occurred in President Bush’s admin....shouldn’t have been done to this good President.
Gee this ability to act with fanfare on the part of McCain might make it difficult for this nation’s enemies to be two step ahead of him as President. Maybe that is another thing that upsets the anti-American MSM.
Shoulda bought some Palin Intrade shares about 7:00 yesterday...
Yes. Good sleuthing!
So now that an NRA member is on the ticket ... Is RKBA Dem won over?
If this didnt do it, I dont know what would.
“FReeper Darth Gill gets the credit,” He got a flight log at 10PM, but we didnt believe it.
“So now that an NRA member is on the ticket ... Is RKBA Dem won over?”
Good question. How bout I simply re-post what I said in another thread?
The predictable result of my post (reprinted below) was another FReeper agreeing wholeheartedly with my last point. LOL!
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“I haven’t seen much from the McCain bashers on FR since this pick. Have they changed their tune?”
I wouldn’t call myself a “basher”, but I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who has been more consistent in his opposition to Sen. McCain than yours truly.
The selection of Gov. Palin went well beyond my expectations. Politics rarely shocks me. This shocked me. With one fell swoop, Sen. McCain changed this election completely and gave conservatives a future to rally around.
Sen. McCain didn’t just offer conservatives an olive branch. He dug up the whole bloody tree and handed us an ownership stake in the olive grove.
Although I was and to a certain extent still am an opponent to Sen. McCain’s candidacy, I really do try to be honest. At a certain point I have to ask: what the heck more do I expect out of this guy? What more could he do to signal that he indeed gets it?
I got more than I expected: an outstanding V.P. candidate with little baggage and a good future. A future American Margaret Thatcher. I don’t intend to spurn the offer. And I don’t intend to cut off my nose to spite my face.
So while I might not like Sen. McCain’s politics, I think it’s high time for me to shut my trap about it.
Good question and good answer. At some point we have to realize that a guy trying to 60 million votes will have to please more than our needs, but he's done a lot to validate that he is listening to the base. Conservatives have a seat at the table an a conservative is now heir to the party.
I've been trying to convince disgruntled types that, yes, McCain is genuine when he says he'll nominate Alito and Roberts type judges, and Obama will be awful on that. I saw a comment that basically said: If his SCOTUS picks are like his VP pick, we will be just fine.
Sarah Palin I hope is the future of this party. If she matures as VP, and if we can grow more of the reformist conservatives 'on the bench', then the Party has a future we can look forward to. THIS WILL ONLY HAPPEN IF McCain wins. If not, she stays in Alaska and who knows what will happen under 4 or 8 years of Obama.
Now we can vote FOR McCain/Palin 08 and not just be AGAINST Obama/Biden.
That is what indeed happened with a great deal of McCain voters after the Palin pick. I have been told by a large number of people they are now actually excited about this ticket for the first time.
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