oh and her daughter is unmarried and pregnant. Let's see why they hipocrites on the christian right think of this.

Honestly, I starting to believe McDemented has a greater than 50% chance of winning this thing. The majority of the American public is just that stupid/apathetic/demented. This country deserves to go down, though with the Dominionists in charge, it'll probably take every other down with it in hell fire.

Uh Oh. Here’s another up and coming problem. It has to do with Orange Gloves. Palin held a commercial fishing license.

Oh, she was vetted alright, by the evangelicals.

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/1/24846/28141/Front_Page/The_Council_For_National_Policy_Meets_In_Minn_Vets_Palin

Sheaglton!

This is good news for John McCain.

Hurricane seems to have been a bit of a bust for GOPs trying to make it the next Georgia. At least they got avoid dancing with Cheney and Bush.

@glutz78: I don't think they care. The main qualifications for the Christian right are to hate gays and Muslims and spread ignorance. Being a knocked up out of wedlock is a forgivable sin, being a liberal means you're going to hell.

Sensible people of sound mind and character simply don't do things like this. Leaders don't do things like this. Those fundamentally unsuited for the presidency do things like this.

I await the Obama campaign and Obama himself publicly hammering this home to the voters over and over for the next 60+ days to take the White House. Oh wait, they don't play offense.

I am beginning to worry -- and I am speaking seriously, without the faintest hint of snark -- if, at some point McCain's 'eccentricities' slipped over the line into full-scale symptoms of some physical problem (not Alzheimers, but something else that could affect his judgment).

If I am right -- and I make no claims to any sort of medical knowledge -- how would he be replaced if he refused to 'step aside' during the campaign and the symptoms became so obvious that even Republicans couldn't ignore them? And if he did step aside voluntarily or involuntarily, wouldn't Sarah Palin -- already chosen by the Convention, we assume, to be 'suitable to take over the White House' -- be, necessarily, the successor unless she turned it down?

In either case, who, what group, would or could make these decisions? Does anyone know the procedures -- in both parties -- for such an event?

McCain the sad old vet[ter].

Blue Texan at FDL has a good catch. It appears that McCain outsourced the vetting to Dobson and Co.

I await the Obama campaign and Obama himself publicly hammering this home to the voters over and over for the next 60+ days to take the White House. Oh wait, they don't play offense.

It's what you have surrogates for. Hillary, Bill, start your engines.

Vetting? That's so 20th century.

McCain represents a new politics-- he IS the change Obama claims to be.

*cough,cough*

"Sources close to Sarah Palin tell The Brody File that the husband of the GOP Vice-presidential choice, Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time. He was driving in a truck with some friends in the small southwestern Alaska town of Dillingham when he was pulled over for the DUI. As is customary, he was taken to jail briefly.

I'm finding it profoundly ironic that the candidate so desperate to link Barack Obama to Britney Spears chose Lynne Spears as his running mate.

This is pathetic. It's inconceivable that McCain knew this.

McCain didn't do his homework--he picked a vice president knowing almost NOTHING about her. That's not putting country first.

I know that politician's children are off limits for the most part - but I wouldn't mind hearing Rita Skeeter interview Governor Palin - "...never mind the floating quill..."

As if McCain's vetting process wasn't amateurish enough, The HuffPost has it that his team didn't even look into hometown newspaper items from Palin's days as mayor. Did they vet her in the slightest?

This is what happens when you put Jerry Springer in charge of the vetting process!

The President of the United States for the last seven years has some DUIs on his record (as does his VP), and is widely rumored to have used cocaine as a no-so-youngster. His wife once killed a man in a road accident. There just isn't any way that Republicans, and most of the electorate, care remotely about this stuff.

Yay, abstinence!! Yay responsible choices!! Yay free state-sponsored health care for government dependents!!!!

I don't want to hear a single GOP hack bitch about ANY perks for the poor. They are happily paying the bill for Palin's parenting or grand parenting skills.

It's starting to look like this appointment by McCain used the same high level of seriousness and prudence that Caligula used in appointing his horse to be consul.

Kevin,

I know you're a big fan of conservative writer Ramesh Ponnuru over at The Corner. Well, you're gonna love this one. Check out the link below. In the course of defending the Palin VP pick, he noted that Wassila AK has a greater population than the entire state of Delaware, where Biden lives. This wasn't a casual typo-- he thought it was a fact.

One one hand, this is really funny. On the other hand, it's sobering to realize that we are dealing with people who are this clueless and detached from reality.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/1/9502/92980/946/580772

But, as was famously once said, it was a whole horse.

Here's my take, tell me if I am wrong:

Sarah Palin was on the list because she is a female and because she is a solid right-winger. She was not near the top of the list for obvious reasons. Because she was not hear the top of the list, and because time and resources are limited, she was not fully vetted. None of this mattered until the Democratic Convention.

As the DNC progressed, each day got better for the Democrats. First Hillary, then Bill, destroyed any notion that 'Democrats are divided' or that any resentment lingering from the primaries would damage either the DNC show or the campaign.

Each name on the list above Sarah Palin, Lieberman, Romney, Pawlenty, Ridge, and the rest, was successively struck off the list for various reasons, mostly relating to the Republican base of right-wing fundies. As each name was struck off the list, and as the DNC got better each day, the panic set in until only one name was left that made any sense at all: Sarah Palin.

Imagine who it might have been if they had not picked her. Any guesses?

Inkitatus was at least not beholding to special interests. And he did not impregnate anyone in government. Caligula looks pretty good compared to Bush-McCain-Palin and Darth Cheney.

To Paul-kudos for this historical reference. Unfortunately, I think Caligula's horse, Incitatus, would have done better than this gang that can't shoot straight.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it. Remember, these are the same people who, after McCain said that tax increases were on the table in dealing with social security, "corrected" him saying, "The candidate does not speak for the campaign." Clearly, McCain = McPuppet. Palin is the perfect empty shell so that if McCain became president and died in office, she would take all of her cues from the right-wingers and oil executives. She does not know enough to have any ideas of her own, after all.

To me, the ultimate proof that McCain didn't choose her himself is the circumstances of the pick. They met for the first time at a reception in February. She must have been obviously pregnant during that 15-minute encounter with McCain. Do you really think that this man, with a long record of chauvinistic attitudes, took a look at this pregnant woman and thought to himself "This could be my Vice-President"? No doubt it was the last thing on his mind. This man would not think to choose a woman, let alone a pregnant woman. A McCain presidency really frightens me because it would obviously be a puppet presidency.

I feel for her daughter not only having to deal with her pregnancy but now being today's spotlight.

The one that concern's me is the story concerning Palin's recent pregnancy. Being in Texas, minor contractions, amniotic fluid leaking, insiting on giving her speech and THEN flying 6 hours home to have the baby prematurely on a friday, THEN taking the baby to work on Monday.

Our twins were premature and when we finally brought them home 3 weeks after birth, we didn't take them out of the house for 6 weeks. Newborns immune systems are HIGHLY undeveloped at birth

Even while consulting w/ doctors, it shows very questionable judgement.

I have to say I think that "doesn't know what the vp does" line is a good example of willful misunderstanding, similar to "invented the internet" bullshit.

Reading the question and quote I think it is clear that she was saying that she would like a description of her day to day role as VP from the potential president. It is an entirely reasonable question. Would she be a disliked and ignored appendage like Bush Senior, the power behind the throne like Cheney, or tasked with specific things like Gore? It is a reasonable response to the question, and I am not going to assume from that response that she doesn't know about the role in the senate or replacing the president.

Some people including some columnists are looking on this recklessness and impulsiveness as a sign that the old McCain that they loved, the gambling histrionic maverick, IS BACK! And this is good!

Fucking unbelievable! These freaking people are addicted to McCain's surprise of the day and want more of this madness. The hell with sound governing ability.

Jesus. Alaska has been described politically as being the most southern of the western states (can't get much more right wing). Bringing McCain/Palin on line would put us so far south we'd be in the heart of banana republicanism, if Bush hasn't firmly planted the flag already.

Now McCain camp is stating that Bristol will soon marry the father?

If that's what she wants, fine. But I suspect that its being pushed simply for political purposes.

This is really, really sad.

Sheaglton!

Post of the week.

"I feel for her daughter not only having to deal with her pregnancy but now being today's spotlight."

Placed there by her mother. Sound parental decision--apparently one of many...

Steve! Thanks for the points but you missed the whole Sarah/daughter baby controversy (gentlemanly timidity, I presume) since now it's gotten even weirder with the Palins saying their daughter is pregnant indeed, but *now*!

Wow. Leno, Letterman, SNL will have a ball with this. Tina Fey is already in the lineup for the season premiere 9/13; I can already imagine her figuring out which baby is whose etc.

Liberals are so quick to blame the other side for the fiascoes of their own making.

Had Obama not proved by his campaign that the people are yearning for change, McCain would not have made any attempt to trump him by selecting a woman for the real change.

Had Obama not beaten a woman who put up a good fight McCain would have made no attempt to select a woman to prove that he is the one who stands for the Oppressed Women of America.

Had Obama not attacked McCain for his wealth, McCain would not have selected a candidate who pays bills just like the Smiths next door.

Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time.

non-story. Really.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

"Reading the question and quote I think it is clear that she was saying that she would like a description of her day to day role as VP from the potential president."

No, Jeff, she was making it clear that she believed the position was not worthy or her.

Could she pass the investigation needed to get a security clearance? Has the FBI talked to her friends and co-workers?

Would you trust her with her finger on the button?

Regarding rege's link:

The old end-around play with the right guard pulling and the fundie tailback leading the blocking.

Of course the problem with zealots doing the vetting is that they can't escape the whirlwinds of their own minds. They are blind to other possibilities coming out of left field.

The result: A backwards lateral, a fumble, and then a clownish kick of the ball into the wrong end zone.

McCain isn't just playing defense now.
He is trying to hide in the eye of a hurricane.

A McCain presidency, heaven forbid, will lurch from crisis to crisis--domestically as well as overseas, manmade and acts of God--while administration officials whisper to the press, "It was someone else's job to handle that."

Sound familiar?

Is she now, or has she ever been, a member of the Alaska Independence Party? If she puts Country First, which country does she mean? (See GOS!)

Each day that goes by without Obama and the Democrats hammering away at this is one more day the Republicans are legitimizing it. They're running the story and feeding the media. Obama and the Democrats are cowering from the slowest pitch imaginable. There is no excuse. By Friday afternoon the Democrats should have turned this whole thing to poison for the McCain campaign.

I KNEW Palin was chosen for ENERGY and ABORTION B4 this latest revelation.

And to think SP has no clue just what a VP does!!!

The mendacity of the GOP really can't get much worse.

We all know how influential our current VP has been/IS. Are we really up for another wingnut administration?

Think hard folks. A vote for McCain/Palin is a sure sign of dementia.

I imagine the world is laughing at the GOP for "truncating" their convention over a category 2 storm.

In a way.... Gustav was supposed to shield them from the glare of the press ...now they'll have to Convention after all. Schucks.

To build on James Powell's thoughts above I think it may have gone something like this: the Campaign Manager probably set up the vetting process, teams for Pawlenty, Romney, Jindal, etc were set up...Palin got one guy. One guy who was probably pissed he got chosen for someone who obviously shouldn't be the VP pick. He does a cursory check, doesn't bother to even ask face-to-face questions of anybody associated with her in Alaska, doesn't even think he needs to...after all, what kind of crazy asshole would choose Sarah Palin as a VP?

But this guy forgets, McCain doesn't care about the details of anything. He asks for a summary of pros and cons, there's enough for that, nothing more. Then out of the blue McCain actually picks Palin and the guy who vetted her drops a load in his pants.

Just my $.02.

"...John McCain met Sarah Palin in person once, for 15 minutes. Months later, he then talked to her on the phone for five minutes. Four days later, without a thorough background check, he invited her to be vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party..." Steve Benen

Says it all. Just think who he might put in charge of FEMA. How can anyone see this and still think McCain has the judgment necessary to be president.

Besides all the rest of the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates why McCain cannot be president, this by itself should be enough to sink his campaign. Seriously, after the public gets this clear view of McCain, I really don't understand how he could even be allowed to remain in the senate. He's been faking it all along. He is and has always been incompetent and managed to use his wife's wealth and public sympathy and guilt over his POW status to get to where he is now. He's been exposed and people don't like to be duped. (If he hadn't been forced into being a POW by his capture...he would have volunteered for the job for all the enormous benefit he's gotten out of it.) Yet even being enormously wealthy he still collects $58k/yr in disability payments from the government. Even for those who hate dems...McCain is absolutely no answer.

Add to it the fact that Gov. Palin was a director of Ted Stevens's 527:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/01/palin_was_a_director_of_embatt.html

At least the humor potential is rich: The MILF & the Mummy 08!, change you can Depends on!

McCorpse is a stuttering senile fancy cheese eating joke, Palin, the political zero under investigation, is the new punchline. Who knew anyone could make McCain look older AND slower.

Obama & his stale DC party hack re-cycled advisers, also a joke. Brzezinski alone should cause any sensible person to think twice.

IMO anyone who loves the USA should be violently ill spewing projectile vomit at the mere thought of the deadly incompetent duo GOP/DNC DC Mafioso retaining their cozy power sharing agreement.

It's ok to reject 2 party politics and think for yourself, it's not illegal, yet..

This SHOULD have been McCain';s Dukakis in the tank moment, but the Democrats did virtually nothin. If it had been reversed and Palin had been Obama's choice...well by Friday evening there would have been nothing left but cinders.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

Simp,

It doesn't seem as though you read my entire post. I was not defending McCain or making excuses for him. My point is that he has surrendered all control to the right-wing nuts of his party. Of course, he is to blame because he chose to surrender that control in order to win, but my point is that the ideas and the major decisions of the campaign are not actually his. As John Kerry said yesterday, McCain is a prisoner of the right wing of his party. And in response to your question "So?" it is important because a McCain presidency would be creepy in the extreme. He would be a total puppet and the American people would be subject to whoever is behind the scenes pulling the strings.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

Simp,

It doesn't seem as though you read my entire post. I was not defending McCain or making excuses for him. My point is that he has surrendered all control to the right-wing nuts of his party. Of course, he is to blame because he chose to surrender that control in order to win, but my point is that the ideas and the major decisions of the campaign are not actually his. As John Kerry said yesterday, McCain is a prisoner of the right wing of his party. And in response to your question "So?" it is important because a McCain presidency would be creepy in the extreme. He would be a total puppet and the American people would be subject to whoever is behind the scenes pulling the strings.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

Simp,

It doesn't seem as though you read my entire post. I was not defending McCain or making excuses for him. My point is that he has surrendered all control to the right-wing nuts of his party. Of course, he is to blame because he chose to surrender that control in order to win, but my point is that the ideas and the major decisions of the campaign are not actually his. As John Kerry said yesterday, McCain is a prisoner of the right wing of his party. And in response to your question "So?" it is important because a McCain presidency would be creepy in the extreme. He would be a total puppet and the American people would be subject to whoever is behind the scenes pulling the strings.

"No, Jeff, she was making it clear that she believed the position was not worthy or her. "

No, I think a far better interpretation is that she didn't want to be a BushI/Quayle style VP, or at least thought it behooved her to appear not to want such a position at the moment.

The resulting possibility is that she may have demanded, and McCain provided assurances of, some kind of policy role.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

Simp,

It doesn't seem as though you read my entire post. I was not defending McCain or making excuses for him. My point is that he has surrendered all control to the right-wing nuts of his party. Of course, he is to blame because he chose to surrender that control in order to win, but my point is that the ideas and the major decisions of the campaign are not actually his. As John Kerry said yesterday, McCain is a prisoner of the right wing of his party. And in response to your question "So?" it is important because a McCain presidency would be creepy in the extreme. He would be a total puppet and the American people would be subject to whoever is behind the scenes pulling the strings.

I am fully convinced that McCain really had nothing to do with this pick. Palin is purely a product of the right wing conservatives running his campaign and they chose her and told him to go along with it.

So? Someone has to be responsible for the pick and that is obviously McCain. If he can't run the campaign and has simply become a tool of the far right what does that say about his potential presidency?

Simp,

It doesn't seem as though you read my entire post. I was not defending McCain or making excuses for him. My point is that he has surrendered all control to the right-wing nuts of his party. Of course, he is to blame because he chose to surrender that control in order to win, but my point is that the ideas and the major decisions of the campaign are not actually his. As John Kerry said yesterday, McCain is a prisoner of the right wing of his party. And in response to your question "So?" it is important because a McCain presidency would be creepy in the extreme. He would be a total puppet and the American people would be subject to whoever is behind the scenes pulling the strings.

They didn't vet her. As I mentioned before:

A blog post from Alaskan Republican Andrew Halcro - who ran against Palin for governor in 2006 - says:

The campaign of John McCain has sent a staff of eight people into Alaska to conduct background checks and vetting on Governor Sarah Palin.

Word is they have have eight rooms reserved at a Wasilla hotel.

http://www.andrewhalcro.com/vetting_the_veep_post_announcement#comment

The blog is from yesterday, 31st August. Two days after they announced Palin as the McCain veep pick.

Announce first, vet later.

Good Gracious Sakes:

Sorry for the multiple postings. Computer glitches.

You heard here folks.

Jindal will replace Palin within two weeks.

And to all you right wing idiots this is the type of leader you like? and let me say....If Pal-who? had practiced wht she preached do you think her daughter would be pregnant right now?

You know this also shows tht Mcidiot only thinks short term....He saw Obama's speech Thurs nite...the ppl the energy, and he got jealous!!! A green eyed monster cannot win....so, what does Gramps do? he goes out on an impulse mind you, and finds the last girl that was able to give him a woody and puts her in line for V.P.....No wonder Cindy has been looking like a Btch......her excuse?..."I;m offended by Obama's house remark"

BTCH IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT THE KITCHEN.....BUT I'D BE PISSED TO IF I WATCHED MY HUBBY JUMP AFTER ANOTHER YOUNGER WOMEN....HELL, CINDY HE CHEATED WITH YOU ON HIS FIRST WIFE...DO YOU RELALLY THINK HE WOULDN'T CHEAT ON YOU??

Are all blondes dumb?

OBAMA/BIDEN08/12
SOUNDJUDGEMENT!!

This is not the time to loose focus.Some one should tell Mc Cain to look for another VP as quickly as possible rather than trying to rationalise many domestic problems of an intended VP. Thomas

McCain/Palin - because the Republican Party doesn't want to have to clean up after George Bush!

"Funny that people are so concerned that Palin has not been vetted when Obama has a pile of shady associations, gaffes, flip flops on voting, etc...

He's associated with Axelrod and Ayers.
His campaign accepted funding from Palestinians.
Oh, and he's an admitted former drug abuser.
He has voted for infanticide and he has spent his entire time in the Senate running for President."

Yeah, but McCain is a POW so it's okay.

He's associated with Axelrod and Ayers.

I'm still waiting for the Big Revelation about Ayers. The fact that Obama was 8 years old when Ayers was planting bombs doesn't seem to stop you from claiming that there's some kind of huge terrorist connection. Where's your Photoshop job of Obama as a kid planting bombs with Ayers?

His campaign accepted funding from Palestinians.

And gave it back. You should take a look at a few of the donations McCain's had to return to the donors if you want some tasty guilt-by-association.

Oh, and he's an admitted former drug abuser.

If that's a disqualification from the presidency, why are we stuck with W? Hell, at least Obama quit drugs 20 years before Bush did. Or is Obama's drug use in his 20s proof that he's an irredeemably bad person but Bush's drug use into his mid-40s just a youthful indiscretion?

And why is Rush Limbaugh being allowed to pick VP candidates when he admits he took so much Oxycontin within the past 5 years that he lost his hearing? Should you be allowing admitted drug addicts to choose your vice presidential candidates?

He has voted for infanticide and he has spent his entire time in the Senate running for President.

Ah, I see you've been reading the works of serial fantasist Jill Stanek. Do you also subscribe to her belief that restaurants in China serve human fetuses for dinner?

Please name John McCain's Senate accomplishments beyond McCain/Feingold (which he's busily violating right now, but never mind). He's been there for over 20 years, he must have some really amazing legislation to his name, right?

In retrospect, we should have had an idea that Hon. Sen. McCain's vetting procedures would be a little on the light side when he described them as "basically a Google."

"The main qualifications for the Christian right are to hate gays and Muslims and spread ignorance."

Ironically enough, that's a ridiculously ignorant statement and shows that you know absolutely nothing about Christianity and what it teaches. You need to do some reading first before you go making such uninformed and silly generalizations.

Christianity doesn't teach anyone to "hate gays and Muslims", quite the opposite actually. If you know people with such hateful anti-Biblical beliefs, take it up with them instead of foolishly claiming that all of Christianity is to blame and incorrectly stating that this is what Christianity teaches.