Did McCain Bother to Vet Palin at All?
01 September 2008 9:05 am by Taylor Marsh
BY TAYLOR MARSH
Experience? Who needs it?
Marc Ambinder
lays some of it out. She just doesn’t live up to her marketing.
This year, the intense secrecy with which McCain advisor A.B. Culvahouse
completed his vetting of Sarah Palin preserved the surprise. And ultimately,
McCain aides say they’re sure that the rewards will be worth the risks. But
as the Palin pick turns 72 hours old, McCain’s campaign is learning as much
about her from the media and from Democrats as they are from what minimal
political preparation they had.… They’ve bragged that Palin opposed the famous “Bridge to Nowhere,”
only to learn that Palin supported the project and even told residents of
Ketchikan that they weren’t “nowhere” to her. After the national
outcry, she decided to spend the funds allocated to the bridge for something
else. Actually, maybe it’s more fair to say that coincident with the national
outcry, she changed her mind. The story shows her political judgment, but
it is not a reformer’s credential. …
…and so it goes, on and one. McCain’s first big decision was done haphazardly,
without preparation, so now he’ll have to deal with the surprises, which unrolling
fast a furiously. Many
questions left unanswered.
