Sarah Palin: Did The Blogs Create McCain's VP Pick?

Slate:

According to both the Aug. 29 Anchorage Daily News and the June 13 Colorado Springs Gazette, Sarah Palin became John McCain's vice presidential candidate largely through the machinations of someone even younger and less experienced than herself:

The hype can probably be traced to the Web site of a 21-year-old college senior majoring in political science at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Adam Brickley, a political buff who will graduate in May, started a "Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President" blog last year and has relentlessly promoted the idea ever since.

Brickley has never been to Alaska or met Palin. But while researching potential vice presidents, he stumbled on Palin and thought she would be a good No. 2 to just about all of the major Republican candidates in the race at the time. ...The "Draft Palin" movement picked up momentum in more mainstream media, including a column last summer by Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard. Others followed, including talk over the past couple weeks from conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. [Actually, Limbaugh's been chatting up Palin since Feb. 2008; Brickley created his blog in Feb. 2007, during his sophomore year.]

Read the whole story: Slate

Comments

[Budokan]

So McCain let himself be bullied into this pick. How does he expect to face down Putin, then?

[Meggie]

When his own campaign said he did not speak for it, you should have been able to see this type of pick coming. She is a gift to hard right religious nuts, and they are now being told to support this ticket. There is nothing about mccain/palin that isn't being run by backroom shadows who want to continue running this country into the ground.

[Marmann]

Maybe McCain looked into her "soul," ala Bush with Putin.

[uvymopkq]

About all they have to say is, "I'm troubled by her lack of experience." This is going to come back to bite them, and I'll tell you something else. The Democrats are going to send out their liberal women. They're going to send out the Madeleine Albrights. (I welcome that, by the way.) They're going to send out their Jane Fondas. They're going to send out all of their women. I'll bet you we don't hear much from Hillary, and I'll bet you we don't hear much from Bill -- except he's probably trying to get her number right now.

[honeydiva]

that's right and that's what they have to do....(i was rotflmao at the bill thing)

[Marmann]

I saw Paul Begala earlier on CNN. He wasn't knocking or mocking her nomination. For the first time I can recall, I saw genuine, visible fear in his eyes at the thought that this woman may have the very real possibility of becoming Commander-in-Chief, and he's worried (rightly so) for the future of his children.

I know what the expression of, "Will they REALLY go so far as to place my children's lives in jeopardy?" looks like; I've personally been wearing it myself all day.

[LightningJoe]

Um... and I'm troubled by McCain ranking on Senator Obama's so-called inexperience, and then "choosing" a VP with a similar "lack" of experience!

Which is it, McCain -- does experience count or not? If so, then your "pick" for VP is irresponsible. If not, then your rhetoric about Obama's "lack" of it was so much hot air.

[Twentylaws]

I'm trying to understand how he could pick Sarah Palin over Rudy Guliani??? A former mayor of less than 9000 versus a former two-time mayor of 8 miliion??

Is Obama this good (to have influence McCain's VP choice this way) , or is McCain that bad?

[LightningJoe]

That's a great question, but remember how many delegates Rudy garnered, and how much money he had to spend to do it.

At Rudy's rate of attracting votes, the Reps would have to outspend Obama ten-to-one, just to come even.

[UrbanInterloper]

I think it's pretty obvious that Giuliani didn't make the cut because he's on the wrong side of Republican abortion politics.

Do click through to the full article for more info - about the "Draft Palin" blog founder, it says this:

"Brickley (aka "Elephantman") supported Rudy Giuliani in the primaries, according to his blog. According to his "Blogger" profile, Brickley's interests include politics, Zionism, and "fighting socialism." "

[Strywever]

Duh . . . it's because she's a woman.

[Portnoy]

Sexist. You all still don't get it do you? Its not about WHAT you are, but WHO you are.

You'll never get past that.

Palin is an excellent choice.

[robXdion]

Yes, Obama is that good. Picking Biden ruined all other choices for McCain. Biden would have ripped any male choices. Plus he would look TRULY blue collar and down-to-earth. As for McCain's female choices, he didn't want a woman he couldn't dominate like a Sen. Hutchinson for example. Rove guided him to pick a woman Biden would look bad for picking on. I think Palin was chosen to capitalize on anticipated Democratic women frustration and BEFORE Obama's acceptance speech. I saw Rove on Fox News nervously stuttering trying to criticize that awesome speech. He was worried. He knew the Sarah Palin pick would look like a joke compared to the show Dems just put on.

[UrbanInterloper]

Hey, wait a minute. Doesn't the media constantly remind us that the "netroots" are a bunch of out-of-touch lefty activists that push the Democratic party toward some dubious decisions?

This doesn't follow the script. Someone call Murdoch, pronto!

[uvymopkq]

This woman's nickname is Barracuda, from her high school basketball days. She takes no prisoners. She's a government ethical reformer. Her husband works in the oil business. He helps to create the fuel that Obama uses to fly all over the country. The fuel that Obama says he wants to get rid of in ten years. It's not how she stacks up against Biden. It's how she stacks up against Obama. McCain has the experience-vs.-Obama thing wrapped up. "Well, what about foreign policy? She doesn't have any foreign policy." Neither does Obama! Our vice presidential choice is more qualified to be president of the United States than Barack Obama, the Democrat choice.

[wm1066]

I will wait to hear if Maliki endores her.
Has she been embraced by Sarkozy, Brown, Merkel, King of Jordan?
Has she been able to get bush on board with the timetable to pull out of Iraq?
Obama has got qualified when Mccain goaded him into going to Iraq.
Oh and has Palin/ mccain filled an arena with 84,000 voters?

[LightningJoe]

Um... The "experience-vs.-Obama thing," as you put it, never was a valid meme, and now it's being nullified by the very double-talking Republican candidate for president who brought it up in the first place.

How does McCain pull out that card now, when he's setting us all up to have a President with even LESS experience take over the office when he keels over with an aneurism?

[Strywever]

They really have you guys brainwashed to swallow anything they feed you, don't they? I have laughed more today than I have in months. It just keeps getting better and better.

[RobinSeattle]

No, Palin is not a reformer. She was for the Bridge to Nowhere before the media heat got so hot she had to cave and veto it. http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/08/29/did-palin-really-fight-the-bridge-to-nowhere.aspx

Her beliefs are just the same old mean spirited Christian Right leave 'em by the side of the road dead brand of conservatism that America has come to know and loathe.

[VOTER]

Go to

http://www.wonkette

for the FIRST MCCAIN/PALIN POSTER.

IT IS A HOOT!

[VOTER]

http://www.wonkette.com

[monyae]

cant you just hear biden? " I know senclinton, your no senclinton."

[MrBigDog2U]

Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist. Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist. Her days as a beauty queen have paid off for her in a big way. Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist. Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist.

[Querent]

Are you sure you got the right picture? I thought this woman was supposed to be beautiful.

[haleywins]

Get real, McCain knows nothing about blogs.

[MountainTime]

Any links to her Ms. Alaska days? I heard she was DQ'd for showing too much skin during the swimsuit competition.

[Elderlady]

"The American Thatcher" --- aka "The Iron Lady of the North"

looks like she had her supporters lobby for the V.P. spot.

http://www.palinforvp.com/3.html

Somebody, Anybody, --- I'm sure you will correct me if I'm wrong -- but wasn't Dan Quayle in the U.S. Senate --- at some point -- before he became the V.P. nominee?

I'm old. I forget things.

[Charles1Goodwin]

McCain picked her for one reason only.

The new campaign message will be "You can still make history by voting McCain this year".

[doneflyin]

Well, she is very pretty, she speaks well and she shoots large and small animals.
She'll package well enough.

After all the Republicans are all about image and marketability. Substance, experience, her position on the issues won't matter as Republicans are into ruling not governing. She will take her orders from the powers behind the throne.

So what I really want to know is what is she going to wear for the swim suit competition?

[BIG JOHN]

PALIN IS A EMPTY PANTS SUIT.