I'm so excited about this. :)
Posted on 08/31/2008 1:27:02 AM PDT by charles m
ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 30 -- Their first encounter was last February at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. Sarah Palin was one of several governors who met privately with Sen. John McCain, by then well on his way to capturing the Republican presidential nomination, and her directness and knowledge were impressive.
Far from being a last-minute tactical move or a second choice when better known alternatives were eliminated, Palin was very much in McCain's thinking from the beginning of the selection process, according to McCain's advisers. The 44-year-old governor made every cut as the first list of candidates assembled last spring was slowly winnowed. The more McCain learned about her, the more attracted he was to her as someone who shared his maverick, anti-establishment instincts.
"He looked at her like a kindred spirit," said one close adviser, who declined to be identified in order to speak more freely. "Someone who wasn't afraid to take tough positions."
Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager and the person at the point of the vice presidential process, said there was no abrupt change of course in the final hours. Nor, he said, was Palin selected without having gone through the full vetting process that was done for other finalists. That process included reviews of financial and other personal data, an FBI background check and considerable discussion among the handful of McCain advisers involved in the deliberations.
"Nobody was vetted less or more than anyone in the final stages, and John had access to all that information and made the decision," Davis said. "It's really not much more complicated than that."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This article completely undercuts the Dem's accusation that McCain picked at last minute (after Obama speech) and didn't even vet Palin.
This was a good article and an interesting read. All the political BS was omitted and it just presented the facts as they learned them. That’s what the media used to do back when I was younger and the world wasn’t so damned political and mean.
The info about Palin was brought to Ohio on Thursday with private jet was wrong, then. She has been in OH for a couple days by then. It was her family that flew that night.
Sarah-Cuda . . . saw this earlier and love it. Also love the plain ole’ Sarah Barracuda. No mixing up what that means for Biden . . . Bear-a-coo-DA!
“Democrats want to put someone who couldn’t pass an FBI background check in the White House and in charge of our Military?”
Clinton, Gore, et al already did it. Nothing new
Uhh, Powell? No way. The bloom is off the rose with this guy. He should just go ahead and announce that he is a Democrat and state that he is voting for Obama- be honest and open about something for once...
“Democrats want to put someone who couldn’t pass an FBI background check in the White House and in charge of our Military? What are they — insane??? How can you possibly justify someone who associates with known terrorists being given TOP SECRET CLEARANCE??????”
You have brought up something which I have thought about several times. HAS Senator Obama been thoroughly investigated yet?
Month ago Rasmussen polling had her at the top of the list.
Larry Kudlow interviewed her twice.
She was the guest on CSPAN in February and did a great job with the callers and the questions from the host.
Sarah is the real deal!
Yes, that's exactly what the Democrats have proposed with an Obama candidacy.
Bump to the top.
Wow- I am struck by the clever differences between this piece and the one run by the NYT’s this morning on the same topic.
It’s worth reading the two of them- the info is similar- though the WaPo piece gives a LOT more depth. The NYT’s focuses on “right-wing evangelicals” as THE reason- see their headline:
“Advisers Say Conservative Ire Pushed McCain Away From
Picking Lieberman”
VS WaPo headline:
“Palin Made an Impression From the Start”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31reconstruct.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I wonder if Senator McCain or his wife is a source. The recounting of the meeting down by the creek would seem to me to most likely have come from one of the participants, and I don’t imagine that Governor Palin would have the time to be giving out such accounts to the press given the massive upheaval her life has taken in the space of just four days.
Great post.
Thank you! :)
In other words, she wasn't pulled out of nowhere, just to appease women voters; she was considered from the start. If she appeals to more women than might have voted for John McCain already, so much the better!
Since McCain had vetted so many in his search for a Veep, he’ll be in a great position to have his Cabinet ready as soon as he wins the election!
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