Was Sarah Palin properly vetted?

Here is a New York Times article hot off the press for tomorrows edition:

Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process

It seems like there might have been some short cuts during the vetting process:

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.

Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain’s running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described.

Are they still vetting after the announcement?

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.

What about the power players we were hearing about?

With time running out — and as Mr. McCain discarded two safer choices, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, as too predictable — he turned to Ms. Palin. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later. Advisers to Mr. Pawlenty and another of the finalists on Mr. McCain’s list described an intensive vetting process for those candidates that lasted one to two months.

What about the McCain's dream pick?

Up until midweek last week, some 48 to 72 hours before Mr. McCain introduced Ms. Palin at a Friday rally in Dayton, Ohio, Mr. McCain was still holding out the hope that he could choose a good friend, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, a Republican close to the campaign said. Mr. McCain had also been interested in another favorite, former Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania.

But both men favor abortion rights, anathema to the Christian conservatives who make up a crucial base of the Republican Party. As word leaked out that Mr. McCain was seriously considering the men, the campaign was bombarded by outrage from influential conservatives who predicted an explosive floor fight at the convention and vowed rejection of Mr. Ridge or Mr. Lieberman by the delegates.

There is more detail in the article. Take it as you will, I'm sure some of you are not friendly towards the source. If anything it frames a pretty interesting scenario of:

1) How the VP pick came about.
2) Insight on the lead up to the final choice.


It also might be the reason that Sarah Palin is getting so much coverage lately, no one shook the tree hard enough and the press has taken over the vetting process.

reply to post by Multiple Junkie


Ya I had a sneaking suspicion that this was a knee jerk...( as well as opportunistic)

Your point on the press finishing the vetting process is the best yet!

reply to post by mental modulator


It appeared to be knee jerk from the get go. My theory is that McCain went with Palin for a shot at those Hillary votes because the campaign misread the media hype about Democratic Party disunity and went for those votes. For the most part the Democratic Party kissed and made up and those votes were not up for grabs after the convention.


McCain had better watch his back because just like in 2000 someone is out to get him and that's a shame because he ran an honorable campaign back then, but he picked up a few dirty tricks from that fight. Scary to think that the ones who are trying to take down Palin (and McCain) are probably from within his party.

The vetting process explained:

Completely vetted. By MAVERICK GUT (sm).

The last child isn't even her own. It's her oldest daughters. This is only going to get better.

SHOW ME A PICTURE OF THE ALASKA GOVERNOR WITH A BABY BUMP.

Ha. Effing. Ha.

Originally posted by Multiple Junkie
reply to post by mental modulator

 

It appeared to be knee jerk from the get go. My theory is that McCain went with Palin for a shot at those Hillary votes because the campaign misread the media hype about Democratic Party disunity and went for those votes. For the most part the Democratic Party kissed and made up and those votes were not up for grabs after the convention.


McCain had better watch his back because just like in 2000 someone is out to get him and that's a shame because he ran an honorable campaign back then, but he picked up a few dirty tricks from that fight. Scary to think that the ones who are trying to take down Palin (and McCain) are probably from within his party.

Yes very true.

I actually think the Mccain campaign is on random re-calibration mode due to his pick.

I think at first is was to absorb HILLARY voter...

However they also picked a very salt of the earth type... To appeal to "VALUE'S" voters
and working class voters alike.

At the same time Palin has looks and a very simple demeanor, which will likely appeal to "simple" folk.

I think all of these things are good for him.

However I do not think she is on the POLITICAl LEVEL of BIDEN.

I can only imagine the repercussions if she is asked about specifics during the debates.

I suspect she will try to function on a very superficial rhetorical level throughout.
Although in this election the empty rhetoric and talking points might not serve her.

Oh and I have a theory that the GOP is going to take a reform stance to stand in contrast to "CHANGE". Unfortunate for them, this will require MASTERFUL execution to pull of. I am not sure Mccain is sly enough to play the role we will need to.
Coupled with the fact that REFORM movements are traditionally liberal platforms (such as Obama's)

The only thing Mccain has got going for him is a the very superficial and the rhetorical.

We may be surpassed greatly on the superficiality of his current / Bush's base.


I for one have been watching FOX news and I believe they are actually guiding his campaign for him. It seems all the positive spin in his favor is coming directly from the station not his campaign.

On the otherside FOX has been spearheading the ANTI OBAMA front framing the CONs,
which Mccain picks up and runs with.

I honestly believe without FOX Mccain would be completely dead in the water.

Finally my theory is that if FOX does not pull a good enough HATCHET job on OBAMA, Mccain will certainly lose.

reply to post by mental modulator

Oh and I have a theory that the GOP is going to take a reform stance to stand in contrast to "CHANGE". Unfortunate for them, this will require MASTERFUL execution to pull of. I am not sure Mccain is sly enough to play the role we will need to.
Coupled with the fact that REFORM movements are traditionally liberal platforms (such as Obama's)

They have already started with the reform angle, you will notice that this is one of the ways they are selling Palin and McCain will use it to distance himself from W.

I for one have been watching FOX news and I believe they are actually guiding his campaign for him. It seems all the positive spin in his favor is coming directly from the station not his campaign.

I don't agree with you on this though,I think Fox gets its cue from the party and they return the favor by granting those exclusive interviews with the executive branch as well as hiring the ones that can't get a job with a think tank or another administration. No doubt that they follow talking points. So far they have not put up a decent defense for McCain following the Palin scandals because the campaign is treading water with this and don't have time to go on the offense because its all defense right now. I watch a lot of Fox News.

Watch out because theres blood in the water, the journos are attacking and the McCain surrogates are floundering on every channel. Something big could be coming if I read my tea leaves correctly.

Yeah, I think we all know that McCain has a habit of shooting from the hip. It is important when doing so to take the pistol out of its holster first to avoid shooting oneself in the foot.

My first thought on hearing Mrs. Palin was to be his VP candidate was: desperation pick. Such a move is generally made in haste and is prone to backfiring horribly. Time will tell if that is the case here. So far it doesn't look too good.

Originally posted by Multiple Junkie
reply to post by mental modulator

 

I don't agree with you on this though,I think Fox gets its cue from the party and they return the favor by granting those exclusive interviews with the executive branch as well as hiring the ones that can't get a job with a think tank or another administration. No doubt that they follow talking points. So far they have not put up a decent defense for McCain following the Palin scandals because the campaign is treading water with this and don't have time to go on the offense because its all defense right now. I watch a lot of Fox News.

You see normally I would agree with the fact that FOX takes its cues.

However I think for the past couple of days FOX has been leading the charge.

I say this because the SPIN fox is using doe's not seem to correspond with Mccains seemingly impulsive decision. Better put, it seems that the TALKING HEADS are RIFFING if you will and improvising the logic behind MCCAIN's choice. At first it seemed as if
even the shills are patching this CONCEPT together.

I may be wrong. One thing for sure is FOX and FRIENDS are on full damage control, interjecting the usual slyly set up where one asks a question and the other delivers the talking point. GOD its masterful and subtle, I often read their talking points on ATS within minutes.

Originally posted by Icarus Rising
Yeah, I think we all know that McCain has a habit of shooting from the hip. It is important when doing so to take the pistol out of its holster first to avoid shooting oneself in the foot.

My first thought on hearing Mrs. Palin was to be his VP candidate was: desperation pick. Such a move is generally made in haste and is prone to backfiring horribly. Time will tell if that is the case here. So far it doesn't look too good.

YES!

FOX is laying on thick so you never know...

A little more starting to drip out. First there is this:


McCain says Palin thoroughly checked - SF Gate

Republican John McCain said Tuesday he's satisfied that Sarah Palin's background was properly checked out before the Alaska governor joined the Republican ticket.

"The vetting process was completely thorough and I'm grateful for the results," McCain told reporters as he toured a Philadelphia fire house.

Those are direct quotes from Senator McCain.

The campaign describes some of the vetting process:

Palin made an impression from the start - Washinhton Post

Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager and the person at the point of the vice presidential process, said there was no abrupt change of course in the final hours. Nor, he said, was Palin selected without having gone through the full vetting process that was done for other finalists. That process included reviews of financial and other personal data, an FBI background check and considerable discussion among the handful of McCain advisers involved in the deliberations.


"Nobody was vetted less or more than anyone in the final stages, and John had access to all that information and made the decision," Davis said. "It's really not much more complicated than that."

So there was an FBI check as part of the vetting process according to Rick Davis, McCain campaign manager.


Which brings us back to this:


Disclosures on Palin Raise questions on vetting process

Although The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. background check, an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public.

A few more pieces in the vetting puzzle for us to chew on.

Disclosures on Palin Raise questions on vetting process

Although The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. background check, an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public.

This blows me away. If this is true, it shows not only poor judgment, but an outright lie that he can get caught in.

If this is true, McCain is finished.

New article coming out tomorrow:

Conservative Ire Pushed McCain From Lieberman - may require subscription.


Some Highlights:

With time running out, and after a long meeting with his inner circle in Phoenix, Mr. McCain finally picked up the phone last Sunday and reached Ms. Palin at the Alaska State Fair. Although the campaign’s polling on Mr. McCain’s potential running mates was inconclusive on the selection of Ms. Palin — virtually no one had heard of her, a McCain adviser said — the governor, who opposes abortion, had glowing reviews from influential social conservatives..
]

After Mr. McCain contacted Ms. Palin, Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Salter met with her on Wednesday in Flagstaff, Ariz. It was not until the following morning that she traveled to Sedona to meet with Mr. McCain, who then sat down with her for his only interview of a potential running mate.

At 11 a.m. on Thursday, at the McCain vacation compound near Sedona, Ariz., Mr. McCain invited Ms. Palin to join him on the ticket. He hardly knew her, and she had virtually no foreign policy experience, but Ms. Palin was a “kindred spirit,” a McCain adviser said. Mr. McCain was betting, the adviser said, that she would help him reclaim the mantle of maverick that he had lost this year.

Picking a running mate in such a short period of time is extremely risky. John McCain who is known as a maverick seems to have taken that risk. Any fallout from this he has brought on his own campaign.

Palin is so vetted, you don't even know.

She was a high school athelete, bought a tanning bed for the Governors Mansion...and other stuff, like begging for the bridge to Nowhere before saying no thanks.

So stop picking on McCain's third wife!

She was properly vetted.

Her views are all in the "correct places".

She has executive experience - Govenor style.

She's a 'she'. That was important as well.

She was properly vetted - but she's NOT READY.

8 more years of being Govenor and she'd be ready - but not yet.

(she's still more qualified then Obama - and he's not ready either)

Of coarse she was!

Next question.

Originally posted by pluckynoonez
Of coarse she was!

Next question.

What do sandpaper sheets in a Turkish prison feel like?

Next question.

[edit on 28-9-2008 by ZuzusPetals]