"Shhhh, be vewy vewy qwiet!" "I'm huntng Democwats!"
Posted on 08/31/2008 5:23:53 AM PDT by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — In the end, the choice of his running mate said more about Senator John McCain and his image of himself than it did about Sarah Palin, the little-known governor of Alaska whose selection has shaken up the presidential race.
For weeks, advisers close to the campaign said, Mr. McCain had wanted to name as his running mate his good friend Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrat turned independent. But by the end of last weekend, the outrage from Christian conservatives over the possibility that Mr. McCain would fill out the Republican ticket with Mr. Lieberman, a supporter of abortion rights, had become too intense to be ignored.
With time running out, and after a long meeting with his inner circle in Phoenix, Mr. McCain finally picked up the phone last Sunday and reached Ms. Palin at the Alaska State Fair. Although the campaign’s polling on Mr. McCain’s potential running mates was inconclusive on the selection of Ms. Palin — virtually no one had heard of her, a McCain adviser said — the governor, who opposes abortion, had glowing reviews from influential social conservatives.
Mr. McCain was comfortable with two others on his short list, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. But neither was the transformative, attention-grabbing choice Mr. McCain felt he needed, top campaign advisers said, to help him pivot from his image as the custodian of the status quo to a change agent like his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama.
Not least, Mr. Obama’s decision to pass over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate opened the possibility for Republicans to put a woman on the ticket and pick off some of Mrs. Clinton’s supporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Would it be news that liberal ire might prevent Obama from picking someone like Lieberman to run with him?
I think there is only one person responsible for McCain not picking Lieberman — other than McCain himself — and that’s Joe Lieberman.
If there is one thing I do know about McCain, and this is not really a bad thing in my mind, is that he’s not going to do anything just because someone else wants him to do it.
I think Lieberman told John he wouldn’t accept the nomination if it was offered because he really does want McCain to win — or rather he wants Obama to lose, and he’s savvy enough to know that the damage of his nomination might kill the chances McCain winning.
But that’s all water over the dam now. I am totally thrilled with his choice of Sarah and excited about this political cycle for the first time since it began.
She really is a game changer.
No, Really?
I would never have imagined....
I suspect the powers that be in the GOP made the wise Palin choice for McNutbag.
The McCain campaign is good in preventing or controlling any leak so far.
That’s good. The Bush administration leaks like a seive.
FWIW, I watched a segment on FNC last week where Lieberman reportedly told McCain, “If you pick me, you will lose.” I don’t doubt that there’s some truth to this article, but it is the NYT and therefore needs to have a reputable source referenced.
Touche’.
The Grey Old Hag is NOT a source of credible information. This is just Pinch’s little way of trying to demoralize the conservative base.
If Palin’s name had been seriously floated, Biden would not have been chosen by O’Bama.
Hillary would be the VP candidate. And a very formidable ticket.
McCain pulled the rope-a-dope on O’Bama.
By letting the usual ‘suspects’ names to be floated,
Leiberman ( the ‘integrity’ dude who changes his values depending on whose ticket he’s on)
Romney, probably a good choice as far as ability but likely unelectable because of his religion.
Graham, what can you say,
and others.
O’Bama thought he needed some gravitas ( he does) and who better than an old Washington insider. He didn’t want Hillary ( can’t fault that) and didn’t think he needed her.
Ooops!
I floated the idea that I think Cindy might have had some influence in this pick but everyone was too excited to comment on it on Friday.
Forgot Tom Ridge, he could have made McCain look exciting.
that did him a lot of good all the times he ran for President couldn’t even sell it to his own party.
I don’t believe the story.
It is disinformation put out by the campaign to appease the center left voters. they will not go tp Obama having been advised that Liberman was a top choice up to the very last moment.
‘zackly. HTF would they know ?
“Mr. Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who moves easily among heads of state.
Huh? “
Of course he does. They all move quickly out of his way to avoid having to talk to him.
"Shhhh, be vewy vewy qwiet!" "I'm huntng Democwats!"
“Mr. McCain had wanted to name as his running mate his good friend Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut,”
Yeah, and Algores’s old running mate from 2000. Has there ever been a candidate to run on two different major party tickets? Wouldn’t that have been cute.
And, if Obama had really wanted to choose a pro-life, conservative Republican who only agreed with him on the need to get the troops out of Iraq, would the NYT and MSM be writing articles decrying how Obama let the extremists in his party select a Dem. instead of a conservative Republican?
What this really means is, we know we cannot trust McCain as far as we could throw a 300 pound, NFL tackle. If he wins, the little weasel will be constantly tempted to be the maverick just for the sake of being the maverick. He should be considered an unreliable and dangerous, temporary office holder until someone better can be put in his place. He’ll have to be watched every second, and the sort of uprising that helped push back his amnesty schemes will have to be used again and again.
On the other hand, I (and I am a Goldwater / Reagan conservative) think that Joe Lieberman would make a great Secretary of State in a McCain administration.
I call BS!
The “party” jammed Palin down McCain’s throat. They needed the $$$$ she would bring in. After today, the money doesn’t go to McCain/Palin.....it goes to the RNC. Choosing her was also a brilliant tactical move to bring in votes and win the election.
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