McCain’s Choice of Running Mate Reflects His Erratic And Impulsive Nature
Josh Marshall is reporting that the McCain campaign did almost no vetting of Palin before selecting her as his running mate. Okay, seriously. What kind of presidential candidate behaves this way? Palin’s “Troopergate” story had been covered by TPM for weeks so it shouldn’t be a new story to most people in political circles. We hear time and time again that McCain is a “maverick,” but perhaps it’s time to talk about this truthfully. John McCain is impulsive and erratic. Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter called John McCain and his campaign this nearly a month ago:
The list of troubling portents is growing long: repeated campaign staff upheavals reflecting poor management skills; abrupt reversals on big issues like tax cuts and relations with Russia (where he was superhawk one day and superdove the next); shameless pandering on a gas-tax holiday that even his own economic advisers think is a joke; confused handling of Social Security that annoys all sides of the debate; bogus charges (e.g., Obama is causing high gas prices, Obama didn’t visit wounded soldiers because he couldn’t take the press) that undermine his integrity; and an angry, bunker mentality among aides that one GOP operative, fearing excommunication from Team McCain if identified, describes as “lacking only a Luger and a cyanide pill.”
And his selection of Sarah Palin, who we can all agree is a skillful and likable politician, but a politician who has no foreign policy experience and what looks to be an ethics problem, confirms McCain’s penchant for making impulsive and erratic decisions. It is widely acknowledged that McCain wanted Lieberman or Ridge to be his selection for vice president, but after his campaign aides convinced him that he needed a “pro-life” candidate, he picked Palin after speaking to her once (or maybe twice) and without submitting her to a full vetting process. Steve Benen expresses the bewilderment and concern many of us feel about John McCain’s decision making:
Palin’s qualifications are, to a very real degree, secondary to the issue at hand. What matters most right now is John McCain’s comically dangerous sense of judgment. He picked a running mate he met once for 15 minutes, who’s been the governor of a small state for a year and a half, and who is in the midst of an abuse-of-power investigation in which she appears to have lied rather blatantly. She has no obvious expertise in any area, and no record of any kind of federal issues. McCain doesn’t care.
Sensible people of sound mind and character simply don’t do things like this. Leaders don’t do things like this. It’s the height of arrogance. It’s manifestly unserious. It’s reckless and irresponsible. It mocks the political process. Faced with a major presidential test, McCain thought it wise to tell an imprudent joke of lasting consequence.
A president with impulse problems could result in serious consequences for the country. McCain’s first impulse is often dangerous. Asked about dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, McCain actually sang
“Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.” The Russia-George conflict? A chance to restart the Cold War. An energy crisis? Domestic drilling. And now, forced to make a second pick for vice president–Sarah Palin.
My little sister is still serving in Iraq and I don’t want her commander in chief to be someone who “shoots from the hip” with her life. McCain is a maverick no more. He’s shown a reckless streak that could be dangerous to the country. In selecting Palin, McCain has definitely not put our country first.
Similar Posts:
- Why McCain Is Hiding And Why Sarah Palin Is Not My Gal
- No Pleasure but Meanness: Poor Sarah Palin
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sarah Palin
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S**t, there HAS to be somebody shorter than Lieberman!
And THAT ladies and gentlemen is how Sarah Palin was vetted.
What was the deal maker for Palin?
A box of buckshot?
Your little sister is serving in Iraq and you don’t want a commander in chief who shoots from the hip. Would you rather have one that attended a radical muslem school and has no respect for the flag that she is fighting for. I really wonder if she feels that way.
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOU ON THE JOHN MCCAIN ISSUE. IT’S TOO BAD THE NEWS MEDIA WON’T COMMENT ON THE OBVIOUS CONCERNING MCCAIN. I HAVE BEEN EXPRESSING MY DISMAY. HE IS IMPULSIVE,
ARROGANT, ANGRY, AND (IN MY OPINION) SUFFERING FROM DEMENTIA. I AM VERY FEARFUL FOR THE STATE OF THE US IF HIS IS VOTED INTO OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. MCCAIN’S CHOICE OF PALIN IS TOTALLY DISGRACEFUL. AN UNPRESIDENTIAL MOVE ON HIS PART. SHOWS A TOTAL LACK OF JUDGEMENT ON HIS PART. HE’S NOT READY, ABLE, NOR QUALIFIED TO RUN THIS COUNTRY. HIS SMEAR TACTICS USED AGAINST OBAMA WILL TURN AROUND TO BITE HIM IN THE REAR.
Kelly Taylor, if you learned that the school Obama attended was not a sectarian Muslim school, would you change your mind about Obama?
When you say someone has or doesn’t have respect for the flag, what does this mean in the real world? How do you know Obama doesn’t have respect for the flag? And how will this affect how he governs and makes decisions?
Kelly Taylor…my daughter is serving in Iraq. She volunteered to serve because she felt strongly that our country was in a real mess and could use her - she’s National Guard, has a college degree, is a commissioned officer, and we ask everyone to support the good that she feels she might do. Her Uncle, my brother, spent almost a year in Iraq after the “fall” of Saddam Hussein with Colin Powell trying to help the Iraqi people - men, women, children of all faiths - form a government that included basic human/civil/democratic rights. The Dept. of Defense under the current administration took over Iraq rebuilding from the State Dept. and we all know the mess that has ensued… Our daughter is loyal and patriotic and in harm’s way so that you can SPEW! You could better support our troops by opening your closed mind, raising your awareness, and taking a good look at the radicals among us and how do you spell MuslEM…and just what school did he attend that was “radical” MuslEM? It’s pretty obvious that you need to have an enemy.
Kelly Taylor: I am just sad that you are so ill informed.
Apparently in Alaska, “skillful and likeable politician” = slightly less corrupt than Ted Stevens. John McCain wants to abolish 527s, and Failin’ Palin ran Stevens’ for a while! Way to stay on message, Team McCain!
And aw, you brought out a troll! Or a stupid wingnut. Whichever.
It’s so funny to watch Republicans try to spin this in a positive way. I saw a video of her…she called the Iraq War a task from God. A task from God? Are you freakin serious? And this woman is running for VP? If I were in her National Guard, the last thing I would want is for her to tell me I am on a mission from God. Last time I checked, Bush invaded Iraq, not God. OH and her entire experience of being in charge of the National Guard which Republicans keep touting as foreign affair experience is deploying them to put out a fire. The Guard General in Alaska already admitted she has no say in international affairs nor is she briefed on international activities involving her own guard. Yup that’s LOTS of experience.
I am sitting here watching a Republican strategist female on CNN saying ‘I like Sarah Palin because she’s a hunter, I am a hunter too, and I know you have to take a deep breath and relax when you hunt the kind of things I hunt’ That’s the best the Republicans can do to defend her?