Country First - A Case Study

“ST. PAUL — A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.

On Monday morning, Ms. Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father.

Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.

Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice. The campaign was still calling Republican operatives as late as Sunday night asking them to go to Alaska to deal with the unexpected candidacy of Ms. Palin.

Although the McCain campaign said that Mr. McCain had known about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he asked her mother to join him on the ticket and that he did not consider it disqualifying, top aides were vague on Monday about how and when he had learned of the pregnancy, and from whom.”
New York Times, Elisabeth Bumiller, 9-2-08

The question is not about Sarah Palin’s experience or lack thereof, it is not about her daughter, it is not about 22-year-old drunken-driving charges. It is about the judgment and decision-making process of Sen. John McCain. The conventional wisdom was that the VP pick says a lot about how a candidate would approach his duties as President of the United States.

McCain had met Palin once before calling her to come to Arizona and do the final interview for the VP slot.

Is there any other case in memory of a candidate for President acting so hastily, so rashly, in a decision of this magnitude?

This is putting country first?


update: It appears that Sarah Palin was not a member of the AIP, but her husband was, and they both attended one of the group's conferences. The McCain campaign is pushing back hard against some of these issues, but both McCain and Palin have canceled interviews and appearances. Hiding won't help.