Yes it was a payback. She felt she owed him, a decision she had to make with her conscience. I’ll leave this one up to her because this was one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t. She has also lumped him in the establishment category when she talked about his calling us hobbits.
You still don’t get crony capitalism from McCain “making” her a household name. He picked the person he thought would be the best for his campaign (smartest thing it did, IMO). Once she was introduced it was up to her to convince the rest of the country (and subsequent book publishers) she had something to say. Before that she had to work hard enough coming up through the ranks from PTA to governorship to even get noticed by a national campaign. She did that all on her own.
That’s NOT crony capitalism. Crony capitalism is a direct relationship between a corporation and government (senators that become lobbyists who then have access to other senators that competing companies may not have. Or the revolving door between Fanny/Freddy, Goldmann Sachs, etc. & the executive branch, a chief of staff becoming a lobbyist for a company that would benefit from a direct contact to the governor, large union and/or corporate donations that grant you extra favors or special consideration when there will be legislation that affects your industry.
Cindie
You have the definition of crony capitalism exactly right.