Bush Strategist: McCain Knows He Put Country At Risk With Palin Pick

Matthew Dowd, a prominent political consultant and chief strategist for George W. Bush's reelection campaign eviscerated John McCain on Tuesday for his choice of Sarah Palin as vice president.

Dowd proclaimed that, in his heart of hearts, McCain knew he put the country at risk with his VP choice and that he would "have to live" with that fact for the rest of his career.

"They didn't let John McCain pick the person he wanted to pick as VP," Dowd declared during the Time Warner Summit panel. "When Sarah Palin got picked instead of Joe Lieberman, which I fundamentally believed would have given John McCain the best opportunity in this race... as soon as he picked Palin, that whole ready versus not ready argument was not credible."

Saying that Palin was a "net negative" on the ticket, he went on: "[McCain] knows, in his gut, that he put somebody unqualified on the ballot. He knows that in his gut, and when this race is over that is something he will have to live with... He put somebody unqualified on that ballot and he put the country at risk, he knows that."

The other panelists were surprised, a bit, by Dowd's bluntness. Not least because McCain's well-known campaign motto is "country first."

"No, I don't agree," said Mark McKinnon, a former McCain aide, after chiding Dowd for claiming particular insight into McCain's soul.

"Well," responded Dowd, "that's even more disturbing than my thought" -- the implication being that it would be truly frightening if McCain didn't know how bad Palin truly was.

Time columnist Joe Klein summed up what seemed to be the panel's Palin consensus.

"It was a gimmick," he said of the pick. "It was one of the most disastrous decisions I have seen in a presidential campaign since I've begun covering them."

Later in the session, Hilary Rosen, the Huffington Post's Washington editor at large, noted that the Palin pick had been successful in energizing the Republican base -- and McCain himself. But Dowd wasn't biting.

"To me it is like Halloween," he said. "You get energized by eating all that candy at night but then you feel sick the next day."

Comments

[margardner]

There is one good thing happening.

Mcain is finding out how smart and intelligent Americans really are, unfortunately to his detriment.

Voting Obama/Biden 08'

Yes John, have you seen the polls lately?

[merle7]

mccain is a gambler he gambled with palin and lost. the gop for years have banked on the ignorance of americans ,that is how they stayed in power for so long.he did not put country first

[apollosmom]

Maybe, just maybe, he picked her because he knows he won't have the stamina to be President. It's got to the be hardest job there is. Maybe he knows that he can campaign until Nov. 6 and then he can go home a take a nap for a week and a half.

[wagthedog1001]

If the so-called LIBERAL media was truly bending the minds of the country as these people suggest, ad nauseum, why have the Republicans been in control of the White House and/or Congress since 1980?

Throw that question at a conservative and see what answer you get.

[jennbeez]

I'm no conservative, but aren't you forgetting those 8 golden Clinton years?

[historyprof]

The Republicans controlled Congress from 1995-2001, so Clinton only had two years to work with a Congress which had the Democrats as the majority party.

[Keepinitreal2008]

"Honor" "Country First" "Victory" "My Friends" -
My Friends - None of my friends would never put a supremely unqualified person in the role of VP. Country First - Ditto to the comments to honor.
Honor means honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions.
Does anyone possibly believe that Sarah - Air Head - Palin is the most qualified person? Mr. McCain is not being fair nor honorable to the American public when he states she is the most qualified person for this role.
Victory - Who wins when someone picks such an unqualified person regardless of who wins the election? This is a disgrace to our beloved country and there are no winners when Mr. McCain picks an unqualified VP mate and shows the world how shallow our political system has become.
The sad truth is that he has continued on the Republican mantra of deceit, fear and smear, and anything goes because I love my country. Same old song only this time no ones listening.

[MojoHand]

McCain is in the bag for Obama

[apollosmom]

LOL

[chillypre]

McCain picking Palin was the worst pick imaginable. However, most Americans are so uninformed they will still vote McCain into office.

Remember! 50% of Americans are below average intelligence. We're gone down the shiter!

[FeO2E]

that's a very good point. and joe-six-packs across the nation prefer her stupidity because it makes them feel smart.

[sandpiper1]

Check out rednecks for Obama...th­ey really do exist.

[BannedInBoston]

On the other hand, the other 50% of us are ABOVE average intelligence. Are our brains half empty or half full, lol....

[apollosmom]

Hey don't worry so much.
Here's something to think about: Most of the younger kids I've met lately are pretty smart. And they have cell phones. The pollsters don't call cell phones too often. There are a lot of smart kids out there of voting age. They love Obama!
Besides, haven't we already been in the sh!tt*r for the last 8 years?

[apollosmom]

Forgot to say this:
It doesn't matter how many young people have not been polled. They can't do all the work.
GET OUT AND VOTE. Don't be complacent. Sen. Obama hasn't won. Yet.
But he will.

[pineapple08]

I am hoping that Sen. Lieberman will accept a position in Palin's Alaska government come January, 2009. I'm sure he would be much more comfortable being her lackey and not having to think about responsibility and votes in the United States Senate.

[suemag]

And may he freeze his b***s off. Oh right, he doesn't have any.

[BluePride]

Obama has VISION: A Change Is Gonna Come:

Sam Cooke:
http://current.com/items/89406051_obama_08_a_change_is_gonna_come

Patti LaBelle:
http://current.com/items/89408176_obama_2008_a_change_is_gonna_come

The Supremes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDpr8wHdhlQ

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...who put our country at risk? Look in the mirror Bozo!

[joshuahmcdonald]

Hey...He's an OLD MAN! He is a corrupt, philandering jerk...but he is being manipulate­d...just like the American public.

[HallStyle]

NO! He just sold WHAT WAS LEFT OF HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL! I think most politicians do it eventually to win a election. They look in the mirror and pray to God, and if that don't work they go to the Dark Side! Most of the time candidates wives keep them grounded and give the support they need. Cindy is to busy taking them pills! lol!
www.hallstyle.blogspot.compot.com

[BannedInBoston]

If McCain sold his soul to the devil, he obviously made a pretty bad bargain because the devil sure as hell ain't keeping up her end!

[StillIRise]

I agree that McCain is old and likely a corrupt philandering jerk, but I don't agree that he's being manipulated. Regardless of who advised him, John McCain has freedom of will, as we all do, and he made a choice. He could have said, "No. I want Joe Lieberman to be my running mate. This is my campaign, and I have the final word." Instead, he gave in perhaps to the advice of others, but also to his own ambitions, for which he was willing to compromise even his own integrity to win the election. He chose Sarah Palin to manipulate his base and the general electorate, hoping that by putting a woman like Palin on his ticket, he would win over Hillary's former supporters and add a historical element to his campaign to overshadow the historical implications of Obama's campaign. John McCain himself chose to put politics before country, and like Dowd said, he will live with his choice for the rest of his life. The frightening part of this is, if he is somehow elected, we will have to live with his choice as well,

[KennaP]

why can't mc think for himself, why can't he make his own decisions and run his own campaign?

[TMAN]

Because at heart McCain is not truly a deeply convicted Neoconservative whose minions control and demand to continue to control the Republican party to it's everlasting ruin. They are the real power (such as it is) behind whats left of the McCain Campaign. He no longer controls anything regarding tactics or overall strategy. No real suprise here, this is how they've behaved over the last 8 years, look around you see the shambles?

[Rwhite]

Let's all keep up the good work! Let's not think this thing is over! Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and donate to Obama! We need to stay focused until the end. WE CANNOT TRUST REPUB'S THAT HAVE STOLEN ELECTIONS IN THE PAST!

[BannedInBoston]

You sure have got that right....

[Rwhite]

Would you want to be apart of a sinking ship!

LOL!

[HallStyle]

Hell NO! I CAN'T SWIM!

LOL!

[BannedInBoston]

Only if you're a rat, lol....

[naschkatze]

I think this is a bit of hypocrisy. McCain and wife did not look very happy when Sarah Palin was announced as his running mate, and there was a lot of talk that he wanted Lieberman. And today there is the Matt Taibbi article in Rolling Stone where he pretty much says that Karl Rove did have a hand in her selection. Their choice for McCain has gone awry and now they are trying to distance themselves from it.

[HallStyle]

McCain is a jerk if he Let ROVER pick his VP! It doesn't surprise me though. Karl ROVER pretty much RUNS the NeoCON Party!
http://www.hallstyle.blogspot.com

[BannedInBoston]

Rove overreached himself for once, I think....

[dashcat]

Maybe Rove picked her to sink McCain. It wouldn't surprise me if he were that vindictive. I think Rove is for Rove. There must be a profitable reason somewhere for him advising McCain to chose her then bailing on the choice. McCain never should have takren advice from a man who swiftboated him. I lost any respect I had for JM when I discovered who was running/advising his campaign.

[naschkatze]

I don't know what to think of Rove. You are right that he has no love for McCain, and I think the Bushes, his masters, don't want a McCain win because they are hoping to get Jeb elected in 2012. On the other hand, Rove knows very well that if Obama and a Democratic majority are elected, he stands a good chance of going to trial.