For America, McCain Must Dump Hack n' Sack Sarah

It's becoming abundantly clear that John McCain didn't bother to take a look into Sarah Palin before naming her his Vice Presidential pick. Reported here on Huffington, and backed up elsewhere, McCain's people are actually vetting the pick now, after the decision has been made.

Joe Klein is right, that this is the McCain temperament at its absolute worst. This is his shoot first, ask questions later personality, which even McCain admits gets him into trouble. The problem, of course, is that this time it could get America in trouble - very, very deep trouble.

Everyday, more comes out about Sarah Palin, which shows that not only is she completely unprepared for the presidency, but has displayed decision-making that is rash, spoiled, too personal, too petty, and detrimental to the people she's supposed to be working for. In short, she's shown herself to be completely drunk with her ability to sack people at her whim.

Once is a fluke...

First, and almost immediately revealed, was "Troopergate" - Palin's attempt to pressure the Public Safety Commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law as a state trooper, lying about it, and then firing Walt Monegan, the Commissioner, when he tried to explain there was nothing he could do. Then, Palin replaced Mongegan (who had a very good record on the job) with someone who had to resign after two weeks, because he had sexual harassment problems in the past, which Palin was aware of when she appointed him.

Now Palin is under investigation for Abuse of Power (an investigation that is due to offer up a report just days before the election, by the way).

Two is a coincidence...

Next, we found out as Mayor of Wasilla, Palin canned the Police Chief and the Library Director for not supporting her campaign for Mayor. Palin never contended that these people weren't doing a good job. To her credit, I guess, she was up front that these good public servants were on the chopping block because they wouldn't support her campaign.

Palin faced a recall effort because of her decision, and eventually had to reinstate the Library Director, and came to an out of court settlement (a tacit admission of wrongdoing) with the Police Chief, basically paying him to go away.

Three is a pattern...

Today, I discovered that Todd Palin, Sarah's husband, also had a say in hiring and firing decisions. A long-time aide to Sarah Palin, John Bitney, who was a childhood friend of hers, was unceremoniously dumped from his job. Apparently, he found out he was fired when his Blackberry stopped working, and when he called to see what the problem was, discovered he was no longer on state payroll.

His mistake? Bitney was dating the soon-to-be ex-wife of a friend of Todd Palin's. Todd Palin didn't like that insult to his pal, so he had Sarah fire her old friend, and long-time aide. Again, Sarah Palin never even tried to contend that Bitney was doing a bad job, and no one had charged that he was doing a bad job. He simply pissed off Todd Palin's friend, and his head rolled.

Four is an effin' disaster for America...

Another scandal involving Sarah Palin's tenure as Governor is Dairygate (I know, I'm sick of the 'gates' too, but that's what they call it up there).

As Palin came into office, the state Creamery Board, after years of study, concluded that state-run Matanuska Maid Dairy was beyond saving, after years in the red despite heavy taxpayer subsidies. It recommended that the dairy be privatized, as the only way of rescuing the dairy, and saving Alaskans from giving tax dollars to a failing business that inflated dairy costs.

You would think that Palin, the so-called maverick cost cutter, would be thrilled. Nope. Instead, Palin fired the entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation, and replaced them with loyalists, who in turn installed themselves as the new Creamery Board. Palin contended that Mat Maid Dairy just needed better management, and these guys would do it. In short, like another person I know (hmmm...) Palin didn't like the expert's answers, so instead of dealing with the facts, she fired the experts to find "new facts."

Except not so much. Nearly $1 million in subsidies later, including $200,000 in Alaska tax dollars paid to farmers to dump raw milk into the ground, this new Creamery Board came to the same exact conclusion as the old one - Matanuska Maid Dairy was a failure and a drain on the state. Oh, and the kicker is now the dairy has been reborn, and subsidized with Federal tax dollars, otherwise known as "pork."

This would all be funny Northern Exposure politics, if John McCain didn't impulsively choose to put Palin one heart-beat away from the Presidency. One heart beat away from managing the Federal government, and picking who would run departments. One heart beat from hiring and firing security agency heads. One heart beat away from the Red Button. One heart beat away from managing two wars (and maybe more if McCain has his way).

But, this is not a joke. This is the future of this country. If John McCain is serious about "Country First," if he really cares about the future well-being of Americans, he will come to his senses and ask Sarah Palin to leave the ticket. Now.

It would be a disastrous political move for him, for sure. But, if John McCain is who he says he is, and values this nation above all else - even more than his own political career - he will not allow Sarah Palin anywhere near the Oval Office. And, if he doesn't admit his dangerous mistake, he's as bad of a political hack as George W Bush is, and as she is. Nothing more.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[GlindaTheGood]

Here's the Republicans thinking process in putting forth Ms. Palin as the VP candidate:

ready, shoot, aim...

[cloudy]

It's true that Palin, without sacrificing her anti-choice position on abortion (which I passionately oppose, & am even more disgusted when someone like Al From tries to use the Democrats' loss in '04 to ditch abortion from future Democratic Platforms) could give. And no doubt she's been briefed on avoiding some obvious statements that would send a chill up the spine of MAINSTREAM America. But what IS her answer to that question? Does she even PERSONALLY consider a mother who chooses abortion in that situation A MURDERER? Does she feel it should be a woman's right? The very situation is precisely why CHOICE is the only reasonable answer to my mind, as to force a mother to act one way or the other in that situation is truly scary.

I obviously won't get a chance to pin down Palin on that question, but maybe Eric Schmettzer or someone he knows could.

I also think that a huge issue should be made about the AMAZING pork track record of Palin, both for Wasilla, and then in her lying about her strong supporting, as long as it was still politically possible, for the infamous 'bridge to nowhere'. People shouldn't forget that the bridge was cancelled in a SUPERGENEROUS deal where Alaska, actually getting a bigger better pork arrangement than WITH the bridge, got all the money anyway, to more or less spend as its power players please (especially when you consider the ease of shifting money around from one budget to another)

[Aby]

With Palin as McCain's back-up, we're one heartbeat away from anarchy, should something happen to him.

The rest of the world sees this, notably our enemies.

I'm surprised McCain's family isn't begging him to put someone credible in the VP slot. If I was his wife, I'd be worried about him being targeted by our enemies.

Cindy McCain, if you love your husband, weigh in on this.

[uclafan]

Send a copy of your post to the McCain campaign. They just might listen

[ggirl00]

McCain's campaign is doomed whether he dumps her or not. I'm not sure that anyone would forget Palingate in less than 8-10 weeks. He essentially answered Obama's question regarding his "temperment and judgement" with a "yup yup". He's unfit for the Presidency; especially given the complex issues that we face today: war, homeland security, recession, foreclosures, gas prices etc.

His VP choice signals that he has not really thought about how these issues will be solved and the "team" of experts that he'll need in his administration to solve them. Clearly, he's just trying to win by any means necessary ... he'll figure out the details later. SMH

[Dap]

Dear Eric,

Damn Man, I can tell the seriousness and poignancy of your essay/post, when you can't fine a place to fit in a bit of your wonderful humor. Nothing funny about it indeed. Agape

[BigMike75]

If she's asked to leave the ticket, McCain is toast. Everyone will question his judgement and the terrible impulsiveness of this pick(rightfully so), and the "gut feeling" politics that have doomed this country for 8 years. If she sticks around , McCain is toast, as more negative information comes out, and scandal continues to emerge, everyone will say where was the vetting? And will question his judgement and the terrible impulsiveness of this pick(rightfully so), so I say where's the peanut butter and jelly?

[BARRISTER]

Eric, you are a serious journalist, and i wish the alleged "Mainstream Media" had people like you who obviously care about our Country.

Do not stop your good work on our behalf!!

[idyl]

Terrific reporting. The dairy story is a real loser for her as a "fiscal" conservative, and I'm curious if other reporters will pick it up. The company facilities have now been bought out, and converted to heated storage facilities.

Also little covered ... her showdown with a Fairbanks developer in Wasilla, in which she attempted to expropriate land for a sports complex. She lost the emininent domain case in the courts, and the community had to pay the landowner's legal fees (estimated at $350,000). There were no firings (as far as I know), but the story indicates that temperament is also a factor in her "readiness" to govern.

These have all been costly decisions, and a burden on the treasury. As mayor, she ran up a $20 million deficit during her tenure (estimated at $3,700/person).

[darker]

Republicans let their ol' time FRAT-BRAT PUBLICIST ROVE create their Republican presidential candidates ticket.

ROVE brought us his FAKE-COWBOY IMAGE--GWBush, a presidential FAILURE of scandalous proportions.

Now republicans want ROVE to deliver another DISASTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Are Republicans EVER held accountable for anything at all? NO.
It seems they should be; and many BELON IN JAIL for a long, long, long time.

[2sunny]

Phew...................just finished reading your article. I'm stymied, stunned, & stung with this stinking apparition called Palin. ENOUGH already...........Thank-you for bringing this info into the light of day.
Very well done.
And that is the point...........please, Oh God, Iyios Oh Theos', someone smarter than Me to be VP.
Go Obama/Biden!!

[JXB]

"One heart beat away from managing the Federal government, and picking who would run departments. One heart beat from hiring and firing security agency heads. One heart beat away from the Red Button. One heart beat away from managing two wars (and maybe more if McCain has his way)."

And, among many other things, one heartbeat away from appointing Supreme Court justices. Any guesses on what kind of person Palin would pick?

[jean22]

If McGames actually "put country first" HE wouldn't be running.

[BrookD]

Okay, so she may have fired a few people that didn't line up with her. Anyone remember Hillary Clinton and Travelgate -- where she got rid of many, many lifetime employees in the White House travel office, apparantly because they weren't to her liking? NO, that is conveniently forgotton -- as is Hillary's deliberate lies and inability to recognize fact from fiction. Barack Obama doesn't have a record of having fired anyone because -- Barack Obama has never been the executive of anything. Democratic attacks are becoming more pathetic by the day -- there's no substance. It's like listening to a cloud talk.

[JimR]

Hello.... Hillary Clinton is not on the ticket, is she?

[coloradodreaming]

Important question......are the new Rep. buttons out yet? If not why not McBush/Soul Mate? It is too late to change his choice and if he was Pres. and bombed Iran, it would really be too late to take that back. What are we thinking.....how can the Americans backing this nightmare justify it to the rest of the population? I'm for red states and blue states voting like Americans instead of this division. After all we are here to protect the future of America not the future of the Rep. Party.