McCain certainly doesn't want Sarah Palin as his gift, legacy if you will, to the world.

He must be freaking at the prospect.

You don't really want the media, including members of CNN's "best political team," off the hook here. The cattiness of McCain campaign staff toward Gov. Palin comes out the way it does because reporters grant sources anonymity upon request.

To say I'm not a fan of Gov. Palin is putting it mildly, but both print and electronic media let sources get away with murder all the time in this way. Especially now that the election is over, people who have something to say really need to say it on the record.

The stupidity of the Junior Roves who selected Sarah Palin is really breathtaking. More so even than Sarah Palin's own shocking stupidity and ignorance.

I haven't seen any story where the leakers blame Palin for the ticket's loss. Instead the stories just detail all the ways in which the leakers found her to be ignorant, unpleasant and dishonest.

These people know her and they do not like her. Presumably they also resent the way "Palin insiders" tried passing the buck to campaign aides for clothing-gate and the supposedly botched rollout.

Yes, McCain was a fool to pick her. But, no, nobody is scapegoating Palin.

Much as I'm enjoying Newsweek's "How He Did It" story, it's pretty irritating that the magazine lets the campaigns blame the media for any perceived problems without further comment. Particularly revolting was the assertion that Palin went after William Ayers because of the "tabloid" coverage of her daughter's pregnancy.

For a moment, put aside the illogic of thinking that attacking someone with a tenuous association with your opponent will "settle the score" with a third party. If anyone is responsible for coverage of her children, it's Palin. She put pages on her children up on the governor's web site (compare to Obama, who has almost nothing on his daughters on his); she dragged her family into the spotlight and she used her daughter's pregnancy to bolster her credentials with social conservatives. Utterly disgusting, and the main thing that turned me off her candidacy. The media, I thought, treated Bristol Palin respectfully, and if Palin was upset with the coverage, she should reconsider her own exploitative tendencies.

dudes. By attacking sarah palin the moneycons are attacking the theocon wing of the party. Let them.

"He lost it with your help, your advice, your guidance, and yes, your running mate recommendations."

Obviously, the ones leaking details of the infighting are trying to claim they had nothing to do with the Palin pick. It was those OTHERS.

You can't blame them, and it's gotta be, on some level, true - not everyone in the campaign could have been thrilled, nor consulted, about the Palin pick.

To me though, the fact that they worked for McCain says enough.

Ms. Brown may feel like she is defending Sarah, but in effect she is agreeing that Palin is a "whack-job" and that the McCain team should never have picked her. Once she was on the ticket, however, Palin proceeded to demonstrate some real nastiness. Her comments about Obama and the way she delivered them were her own creation. She really is responsible for the way she acted, not the McCain campaign. While they should have guessed how she would behave (and the fact that they tried to keep her under wraps as much as possible indicates that they knew what would happen if she got loose), it still does not absolve her of her own responsibility for her actions.

There are numerous reasons that McCain lost including the Republican program that has brought us the present mess and McCain's promise to double down on it. Also, a majority of people are sick of having the religious ratwing so dominant in public affairs and people's personal lives. Then there is the multitude of crooks and liars in the Republican party who have offended lots of decent people. And more, but still Sarah did her share by acting the way she did. Sex appeal only goes so far, and if you want a real job, you need to show that you can do it.

I assume everybody noticed that Randy Scheunnmann (sp?) used the term "whack job" to refer to people who thought he got fired. Is that a popular term in Republican circles, or did he just give away that he is the one who called Palin a "whack job" in the first place?

No. We need to make sure that every detail of the McCain-Palin train wreck is fully documented - seared into the American political memory banks, such as they are.

I think how the Stevens case shakes out will go a long way in determining Palin's future beyond Alaska. I'm positive, if he wins the recount, that Palin will run for Steven's vacant seat if he is subsequently booted from the senate and/or loses his appeal.

Otherwise, I think she's got two years to make nice with a lot of Alaskans if she hopes to run again as governor.

I disagree on the clothes angle. If the McCain camp told her to grab a few outfits and she went crazy, no vetting could have filtered out that sort of non-sense. That only makes Palin look bad.

The Africa and NAFTA non-sense, is a different story. What I suspect happened is McCain was told no over his real choices and there is a lot of animosity over being pressured into Palin. By exposing Palin they are telling the pro-lifers this is you making, not ours. I have a feeling that people are pissed about having to dress up the Palin and make her all shiny and the leaks are coming from those people who were forced to do so, not the ones who actually made the calls. They are killing two birds with one stone.

In true wingnut fashion, failure is always someone else fault, those directly in charge of the campaign an in charge of tactics and policy are now somehow not responsible for running the worst campaign in modern history.No it was Palin, the outsider who was never really one of THEM, the select group of inept, incompetents that McCain surrounded himself with, that was somehow responsible for the whole debacle. the myriad fuckups that the inner group managed to pull off , such as the gigantic screwup of how he handled the financial blowup which in my opinion was more to do with the collapse of his campaign than Palin, was not palins doing.
Now I am in no way excusing Palin, personally I find her detestable, but believe me in this gigantic clusterfuck called the McCain campaign, there is plenty of bodies to share in the blame

But Steve, the idea is to destroy Palin so she's not competition with Mitt. Rumor is it's the Romney wing of the McCain campaign that's doing the leaking here.

Linky linky via Wonkette.
http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2008/11/06/former-romney-staffers-behind-palin-trashing/

McCain doesn't matter anymore. What we're seeing are ship jumping rats repositioning themselves as being against Palin all along.

Hold on a minute. From everything I've read, McCain made an impulsive decision to pick Palin. Given the few leaks prior to his announcement of her as his running mate, I think it's fair to say that only a handful of people in the campaign knew that McCain had picked her.

So when Cambell Brown says, "(McCain) lost it with your help, your advice, your guidance, and yes, your running mate recommendations," that last part is not exactly true. I doubt very many McCain staffers recommended Palin prior to her selection -- few even knew she was being considered.

Let's face facts. Obama owes several points of his victory margin to the financial crisis. Prior to that, this race was very close. It was an external event, something beyond either McCain's or Obama's control, that put this election out of reach for McCain. It's a testament to his staff that he was actually able to do as well as he did in such a poisonous environment for the GOP. I have trouble imagining any other Republican candidate doing better than McCain did.

So, to diss McCain's staff for venting on Palin, I think, is a little unfair.

I want to know every last juicy detail. There is probably enough material for weekly SNL all-Palin specials for the rest of the year.

I do agree that this offer the record dishing lacking any explanation from those who are culpable in her selection is distasteful. None of the people behind Palin should work in politics at the national level again. They clearly don't understand the implications of such elections.

While it is true that the McCain campaigners have no one to blame but themselves, it is of utmost importance that they are telling the truth now, albeit a little late. I say, let them tell their stories. Let them tell the truth. I am not a republican, not even close, but I would advise ALL republicans to hear and ACCEPT the truth about Sarah Palin. It is not ok to prop up these unexceptional people and pretend that they are ready to lead. It is dangerous, irresponsible, and puts COUNTRY LAST. Republicans, drop Sarah Palin and all others like her. Republicans, DEMAND EXCELLENCE. Democrats do. And I can tell you, it feels FANTASTIC. DO IT.

There is another angle to this too that has not gotten much play. Isn't it true that a number of Mitt Romney staffers went over to work for McCain campaign after their guy pulled out? So, wouldn't you expect the scapegoating of Palin to be led or abetted by these insiders, since Romney seems to be the guy who is benefitting the most as the early frontrunner for 2012 from all of this mud that's been flung Palin's way?

In true wingnut fashion, failure is always someone else fault ...

Bingo. The McCain loyalists are blaming Palin for their defeat, and the loonies (like RedState and Malkin) are blaming McCain. But this is part of the larger tendency for them never to accept responsibility for anything. Bush's failures are the fault of his critics. Republican corruption is the fault of Democrats. Negative public perception of their crimes is the fault of the liberal media.

Blatant, shameless rationalization is the only skill these people have. And these are our moral betters. Right.

McCain is at fault for picking someone who didn't understand exactly what it is that a VP does.

He didn't pick her for her depth on world affairs or on energy for that matter.

She was eye-candy.

I mean, how on earth can you choose a VP and not KNOW her?

The VP is supposed to be a confidant of the highest order, not just a fresh face.

The McCain'ts and the Palinistas are both destined for the dustbin of history. Couldn't happen to nicer folks.

I am with Micaelea perez @ 1:02 PM

But Steve, the idea is to destroy Palin so she's not competition with Mitt. Rumor is it's the Romney wing of the McCain campaign that's doing the leaking here. Posted by: Pat

Romney was almost as big a failure in the primaries as Guiliani. He really doesn't think he has a chance in 2012? What a joke.

Just for the fun of it, it's time to start linking Mitt Romney with Hugh "Wavy Gravy" Romney. Hey, makes almost as much sense as Ayers supposedly being an albatross around Obama's neck.

I wasn't much of a fan of Palin, but once her numbers started going south, I predicted that she would be the campaign scapegoat if McCain lost. It's classic: women are blamed for the downfall of great men from Adam to Bill Clinton and now John McCain. It's age old: a man makes a bad choice and somehow he's not held responsible for the repurcussions of that choice. I see it as the ultimate in sexism really. Who the hell ever blamed another male veep for the downfall of a presidential ticket? Dan Quayle? Oh that's right, Bush actually WON and by the time of his re-election campaign, Quayle couldn't be blamed because Poppy Bush had a tin ear about the economy.

And by the way, all those conservatives saying that the only reason Obama won was because the economy really tanked are also full of it. McCain was the one who dramatically suspended his campaign, threatened to postpone the first debate, and then worked the phones to no great impact in solving the problem. His campaign was one of tactics, not strategy. His side made the campaign a referendum on the new guy rather than trying to convince Americans that the Repubs had the better solutions. Americans evaluated it in total and said, NO THANKS. Only McCain himself has been man enough to admit that he alone is responsible for his loss.

I friggin love Campbell Brown. She's exactly correct, McCain was sold a bill of goods by the supposed Managers of his campaign and when he realized they fucked up, it was too late.

I hope Steve Schmidt, Tucker Bounds and Nicole Wallace continue to run Republican campaigns in the future. They're just like the gifts that keep on giving.

A pretty face may get you through the door, but it takes more to keep you in the room.

Until anyone in the conservative movement musters the ability to be self-reflective, introspective, or just common in their senses, the menagerie of rabid right-wing ideologues will continue to run rough shod over any and all who would dare call themselves moderate Republicans. If the Republican party can't reconstitute itself closer to the center, it will die a slow death not too much unlike the death the Federalist party early in our nation's history.

The days of political extremism initiated by Newt Gringrich in the late 1980s has, I hope, died a cold death on November 4th, 2008! -Kevo

Let's face facts. Obama owes several points of his victory margin to the financial crisis. Prior to that, this race was very close. It was an external event, something beyond either McCain's or Obama's control, that put this election out of reach for McCain.

While I agree that the financial crisis was a major if not the major turning point in the election I have to somewhat disagree with the idea that it was beyond his control. What destroyed him was not the crisis but how he responded to it. For all his blather about experience and leadership, his actions during this time gave everyone a glimpse of how he would actually respond to a crisis, and the result wasn't pretty. The reaction of the candidates during this time gave the american public a view of how each would react during crisis would they panic, or would they remain calm . For all McCains rhetoric about having been tested,and Obama being inexperienced that event was was the first test of executive leadership and he failed it miserably whereas Obama passed easily. That was the point when Obamas numbers started climbing and from then on it was simply a matter of running out the clock

I think this really is indicative about the incipient war between the moneycons and theocons for control of the GOP. The theocons really do love Palin and would be more than happy to run her in 2012. The moneycons, being quite a bit more rational, know going that route pretty much guarantees a blow-out short of an Obama presidency tanking somehow in dramatic fashion. Thus the moneycons want her off the scene now before she can solidify her support. The GOP is finally having to come to terms with the fact that one faction brings the money and the other brings the votes but where they have pretty damn disparate agendas.

Bring on the popcorn...

FWIW, the big article in The New York Times Magazine, IIRC the title was "The remaking and remaking of McCain", it outlines a good bit of the Palin selection process. Basically, it was the decision of one or two head McCain campaign managers (Steve Schmidt and another) who picked here, pushed her up to McCain quickly, and that was that.

Of course, that's no excuse for McCain not saying "You guys… seriously?" ;)

Part of the reason for all the snide comments coming from McCain 'aides' and such is because they were caught just as off guard by the Palin pick as the rest of the planet.

Up until the Democratic convention the clear front runners for the VP pick were Ridge and Lieberman. Mext up Romney and Crist with Jindal considered the wildcard pick. So McCain's staff probably spent most of the summer thinking about how to package those guys. How to introduce them to the country and fit them into the campaign. In the case of Ridge and Lieberman there may even have been some informal information sharing between the their respective staffs.

As the summer drew to a close the various representatives of religious right let McCain know in no uncertain terms that they would not accept a pro-choice pick. Already facing problems on his right flank McCain was forced to abandon his first choice. The staff probably shifted their focus to Romney and Jindal and maybe a couple of others.

The Democratic convention started and the news media focused a ton of attention on the PUMAs and the (turns out) nonexistent Democratic rift with women voters. Some of the far right advisors pointed out Palin (maybe gave McCain a copy of Kristol's article). McCain gave her a call (lasted all of fifteen minutes). Watched a news show talk about PUMAs again and decided on the spot to gamble his entire election (and the nations future) and someone he did not konw.

Hence we got Palin.

McCain caught virtually his entire staff off guard. Most of them probably had little to no idea who she was. None of them had given any thought to how to package Palin or how she fit into campaign. Hence the confusion around her introduction and rather silly defense of her credentials.

I don't think any of them liked her. Again, they probably spent most of the summer preparing of somebody else, getting to know lieberman's, Romney's and Ridge's staff. And this virtual stranger gets dumped on them at the last minute.

Loyalty to McCain kept them silent during the campaign. That's done. They're out for blood now.

I agree completely (even though I love hearing the details about how incompetent she is). This blame game is so pathetic and only makes McCains team look worse.

The one place where I would defend Palin though is the "she walked in the room in only a towell" line. Give me a break. What was the point of mentioning that? Pure sexism. I'm willing to bet staffs on both sides have seen Barack and McCain that unclothed or less. Big fucking deal. The message is obvious "Stupid slut trying to seduce us..."

Zathras wrote: To say I'm not a fan of Gov. Palin is putting it mildly, but both print and electronic media let sources get away with murder all the time in this way.

Why not? The media let Palin get away with imposing conditions on interviews and not giving a single press conference.

Which indicates, of course, that McCain's campaign knew darn well she was unprepared.

If only staffers in the Bush adminstration were so forthcoming, on or off the record, the world would be a different place. So I say, leak, snitch, disclose, rat out to your hearts desire. Tell it all. Mayhap someone will learn that just because someone offers you a job, doesn't mean you should accept it. Especially when it outside of you capabilities and could have implications for the lives of others.

Wow! Kudos to Campbell Brown for showing guts like a real reporter/commentator and not the usual fluffy steno dorks and enablers they usually are. What a breath of fresh air. And so well and pointedly (yet not too edgily) put!

The dirt on Palin isn't backward-looking. Someone is trying to completely scuttle her future prospects.

Good.

"Good"? Please, let her run in 4 years. She is viewed so negatively that it would be a gift. No one to hide behind when you're at the top of the ticket.

What is really scary is that the McCain/Palin ticket was actually ahead in the polls for several weeks. There are still people out there who voted for McCain because of Palin.

Mitt Romney can't contain Sarah Palin; the fundies won't listen to him.

Mike Huckabee can. He's a "happy warrior," not a pit bull.

My personal motto: so much Schadenfreude, so little time.

Like most of you, I am being thoroughly entertained by the sharpening of the long knives. Couldn't happen to a "nicer" bunch of people. The nastier side of me would love to see Palin run in 2012 and go down in flames.

HOWEVER. We really do need at least two parties, to keep the dominant one of the time from getting too fat, dumb, and happy. I also would like to see an election where, though I strongly favored one choice, the other one wouldn't cause me to lose sleep and further aggravate my incipient ulcer. So for these reasons I want to see the Repubs fight their way back from the wilderness, or for a new viable party to arise from the ashes. But unfortunately it looks like they will continue, for a while at least, to be dominated by their worst nutballs. And where do they find truly solid issues, good for humanity as a whole, to back? We Dems have all the good ones!

"The one place where I would defend Palin though is the "she walked in the room in only a towell" line. Give me a break. What was the point of mentioning that? Pure sexism. I'm willing to bet staffs on both sides have seen Barack and McCain that unclothed or less. Big fucking deal. The message is obvious "Stupid slut trying to seduce us...""

She walked in with a towel on in front of people she barely knew. I think it shows either the team really, really didn't know this woman, or her own confidence.

She walked in with a towel on in front of people she barely knew. I think it shows either the team really, really didn't know this woman, or her own confidence. Posted by: Brian

". . . or her confidence in her trashiness."

Fixed it for you.

From my cold dead hands.

A stand-off in Wasilla.

Rather, the point here is that destroying Palin doesn't actually make the McCain campaign look any better.

The people doing it aren't trying to make "the McCain campaign" look any better. You are too focussed on the past. The McCain campaign was (as many major party Presidential campaigns are) a fragile alliance between different factions of the party. That campaign is over, as is the alliance. The trashing of Palin is not about the past of the campaign, its part of the factional warfare about the future of the Party.

Everyone that keeps arguing that it doesn't make the McCain campaign look good to trash Palin is completely correct—and completely missing the point. The trashing began when the perception of certain defeat was settling in, and when attention began to be focussed on what would happen to the Party in the increasingly probable event of a McCain defeat. Its about the world after the McCain campaign, which was clearly heading for (and has now been tossed upon) the trash heap of history.

No one cares what that campaign looks like—it lost, so its going to look bad in any case. People do care about who has power and influence in the Party in the future, and that's what the fighting is about.

"I haven't seen any story where the leakers blame Palin for the ticket's loss. Instead the stories just detail all the ways in which the leakers found her to be ignorant, unpleasant and dishonest."

Good point. I'd add that in the case of the story on Fox the leaks occurred before McCain lost. The Fox reporter promised to keep the comments secret until afer the election, and did so.