Posted on 01/07/2010 9:06:44 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
An adviser to John McCain who was preparing Sarah Palin for the vice presidential debate became so worried at Palin's weak performance in mock debates that he placed a panicked phone call to Steve Schmidt, the McCain campaign manager.
"He told us the debate was going to be a debacle of historic and epic proportions...she was not focused...not engaged," Schmidt says in an interview.
Specifically, "Palin had a reflexive tendency to refer to Biden as "O'Biden," says Schmidt, a tick that he said had to be corrected before the internationally televised debate in October 2008. The fix: "It was multiple people -- and I wasn't one of them-- who all said at the same time, 'Just say, Can I call you Joe?' Which she did."
Schmidt says Palin "more than held her own" in the debate, and never called Joe Biden "O'Biden." He also says that Palin strengthened the ticket, which, in his view, would have performed worse without her. . Schmidt recounts the story to Anderson Cooper in an interview for this Sunday's "60 Minutes" on CBS, which includes political reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann discussing the 2008 presidential campaigns.
Heilemann and Halperin will also talk about their new book, "Game Change," which they wrote after interviewing more than 200 people involved the historic elections, including many directly involved in the McCain campaign.
The authors and Schmidt reveal other new campaign details, including that John McCain had decided to choose Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) as his running mate, but reversed course days before the Republican convention because of "blowback" from the Republican ranks
O’Biden is a terrible Vice-President.
“As I wrote on the other thread, I don’t support Palin for president, but I’m definitely closer to doing so than I ever have been. When I see the endless obsession all the wrong people have with her, I figure there’s something there I should support.”
She sure has all the right enemies. And the fact that the left (and moderate R’s) were still attacking her madly AFTER the election says she scares them.
I mean, how many LOSING VP candidates get any press attention at all in the month after the election. Quick, who was George McGovern’s VP candidate? Dole’s? Ford? I know the answers. But I have to think about it for a bit. Because losing VP candidates are non-persons in American politics.
Palin has a bigger-than-life quality that quite overwhelmed McCain on the ticket. Heck, McCain turned out crowds in the 2-5000 range. She routinely turned out 20,000. Plus, she obviously scares the bejeezus out of a bunch of really bad guys, who have been attacking her ever since she was nominated.
She’s a fascinating character and I’m very interested to see what she makes of the next few years.
She won the debate at that moment.
It was almost "I paid for this microphone!"
She kicked Biden’s ass in that debate. Actually I prefer to call Biden by his real name..Dumb ass
Shillery’s been pretty quiet, too.
The left and rinos are running scared bigtime.This shit will go on for months.Blowing off cpac was a damned fine idea but then what would one expect from a conservative.
Without going back to the specifics, I do recall that Biden literally told six or seven huge whoppers in the debate.
Glad to see you coming around.
My variation on that is “Every time a liberal cries, an angel laughs his ass off.” :)
‘A debacle of epic proportions’? Brother, they really are trying to make Sarah out to be a train wreck. I didn’t personally care for the debate. But they think saying McCain wanted Liebermann makes it better?
I hope this man loses his re-election bid and goes away. And takes his ‘people’ with him.
I understand that it should be pretty easy to shut him down. Just say, "Joe, tell us, in your own words, about <X>."
I'll never forgive him for not personally taking care of her and for not overseeing the people he put in charge of her campaign. She was his ticket to the White House, which he realized on the first day he introduced her, but he neglected to make certain that she was properly advised and protected from the news media. Stupid McCain, she should have been sent to Rush and Fox News Channel and the hell with the networks. They were already in obama’s camp, and McCain KNEW it.
Steve Schmidt is a wreck, and he’s doing CYA. He’s even got a weenie lib Sacramento Bee opinion dude, Marcos Breton, carrying his water.
I assumed she asked to call him Joe in preparation for the “Say it ain’t so Joe” line she hit him with at the end.
She’s traveling the globe, saving the whole world.
I know, you can sometimes tell the best person from his/her enemies.
When I see who shrieks with venomous hatred at her, I figure she’s got a lot going for her.
Since she is saying that she asked him to let her call him Joe to keep from making a mistake and calling him O’Biden, her comment “say it ain’t so, Joe” shows just how quick and clever she can be.
I'm sitting here giggling with delight. Also imagining her walking across the stage, holding out her hand to shake, and saying, "Can I call you Dumb Ass?"
She may not have won the debate, but at least half of America would have fallen in love with her in that instant!
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