USA- How McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palin

Jane Mayer on The Insiders: How John McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palin

EXCERPT
Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has cast herself as an antidote to the elitist culture inside the Beltway. But a new article from New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer says Palins sudden rise to prominence owes more to members of the Washington elite than her rhetoric has suggested.

Jane Mayer
Staff writer for The New Yorker. Her latest article is called "The Insiders: How John McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palin. She is author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals.



No matter who wins the White House November 4th, a group of prominent conservatives are planning to meet the next day in Virginia to discuss the way forward for the movement. And regardless of the outcome, Governor Sarah Palin will be high on the agenda. The New York Times reports if John McCain loses the election, Palin could emerge as a standard bearer for the conservative movement and a potential presidential candidate in 2012, albeit one who will need to address her considerable political damage.

Most Americans had never heard of Sarah Palin when McCain first announced her as his running mate back in August. Her national debut came at the Republican Partys convention in St. Paul, where she sought to cast herself as an antidote to the elitist culture inside the Beltway.


Its really kind of a wild story, as American history goes, because it almost didnt happen, and it was almost an accident that it did happen. Basically, McCain and his sidekick, Lindsey Graham, who hes very close with from the Senate, were both leaning heavily towards another senator, Joe Lieberman, the independent from Connecticut, former Democrat. And they really had a great comfort level with Lieberman and very much wished they could pick him for vice president. But all of the sort of political operatives were saying, You cant do it. Its going to hurt you with the base of the Republican Party. Lieberman was too liberal. Hes pro-choice on abortion. He has a hawkish foreign policy, but on domestic policy, hes like a Democrat still, in many ways. And so, they were—basically, the operatives around McCain, in the week before he picked, told him he couldnt have Lieberman, at which—which one of McCains friends described to me as putting him in a foul humor. He was really upset and angry.

And so, they went through the list of what was available, and there were so many things wrong with each of the possible picks that they decided to push Palin on McCain. And he hadnt really spent any time with her. He had talked to her for something like fifteen minutes at a reception with a lot of other people. And so, they engineered then a private conversation for him. He spent somewhere under three hours in total face-to-face with her before he picked her. And, you know, it was then a fait accompli. So thats how it happened.

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[vulturefeather]

She unqualified because she's an idiot,prehaps the company she keeps or her so called admirers.

[plimbuff]

Very well done Report

[BRUTUALTRUTH]

Sarah Palin is an American national embarrassment.

[piontro]

Besides being a Liar and STUPID,she's a Hypocrite.

[saunwayne90]

people are so stupid and gullible, they fall for lies.

[modernmariorc]

is she suggesting that Bush is a member of the elite???

[wrathofme03]

anti-freedom? that is so dumb. If you mean the anti-freedom to bomb and descriminate against whomever we want then you are absoloutely right...don't be stupid man.

[nrobyar]

Mike Huckabee has EARNED that place. Palin did nothing but get plucked out of obscurity by McCain. She proved she is clearly not experienced or qualified for the office. I am a republican and I can say I would not vote for her. I was very reluctant to vote McCain because she was on his ticket. She hurt his ticket. She would never win an election and couldn't even get votes from her own party. I would vote Obama over her.....

[jeffe2222]

At one time, i thought DemocracyNow! was a decent political orginization -- dedicated to the principles of freedom and prosperity. However, after watching this interview, my fears have been confirmed that it is nothing more than a liberal, anti-freedom, propoganda machine. Misguided, maybe. But, anti-freedom, nonetheless.

[93905east]

PALIN IS RETARDED

[adrianosomega2]

Sarah Palin is a fuckin' dumbass hick; point blank!