Palin Almost Recalled As Mayor

Did they even do anything CLOSE to vetting Sarah Palin?

The other day, I wrote about how Sarah Palin was nothing more than a two-bit hack, given the investigation into her abuse of power as Governor, firing the Public Safety Commissioner when he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law, lied about pressuring the guy to do so, and then showed keen judgment by replacing him with someone who had to resign in two weeks because of sexual harassment problems.

Seems that Palin honed this skill back as Mayor of Wasilla, where she was nearly recalled, for firing the Police Chief and Library Director for not supporting her in her 1996 race for Mayor.

Yes, that's right. Hack n' Sack Sarah didn't even try to hide it. She didn't say the Police Chief and Library Director were doing a bad job. No, she fired them for "not fully supporting her efforts to govern" (i.e., not endorsing her for Mayor).

Seriously, though, we're coming off eight years of cronyism and inept leadership in the White House, which led to everything from Heck Of a Job Brownie to the US Attorney Firing Scandal. Sarah Palin's emerging record as Mayor of Wasilla and as Governor are almost a complete mirror of that (though closer to the Mayberry scale than leader of the free world).

But it is a glimpse into the type of "leader" she is. An inept hack, in the George W. Bush mold, who was so brazen with the little power she was given that she faced citizens trying to remove her from office. Did John McCain even ask her about this, the one time he talked to her on the phone before picking her?

If John McCain wanted a woman on the ticket, there were plenty of conservative women to choose from, who have a respectable record as public officials, and who would arguably be ready to be Commander in Chief. That he chose Sarah Palin, who is nothing short of an embarrassment, speaks volumes about the kind of judgment McCain will show as President. For if he's willing to put a nearly-recalled, under-investigation inept hack one heartbeat away from the Presidency, what kind of judgment will he show when choosing Judges and Justices, Secretaries of top departments, and administrators of lead agencies?

This isn't putting Country First. It's putting Political PR first (and not even good PR at that). Sarah Palin as a VP nominee is an affront to the intelligence of every American, and a freakin' embarrassment.

Well done, John McCain. You've shown possibly even worse judgment than George W. Bush, which until now was almost an impossibly high bar to meet.

Comments

[kjboy27]

oops! Those links didn't come out correctly. Sorry!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/20/13255/4335/355/604754

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/end-times-prophecies-and-more-how-electing-sarah-palin-endangers-your-life/

[tbone99]

We need to start hearing more from Alaskans about Palin...
A recall threat in a small town means even your neighbors can't put up with you

[S1m0n]

Making Cheney VP was a worse decision.

[LAB10]

The ambition to win has eliminated any judgment that the repubs may have had.

[pbcrunch]

Honestly, this attack is pretty badly sourced, has a tenuous grip on reality and should definitely not be displayed on the front page of HuffPost, if at all. First, the link goes to a blog which links itself to a snippet of an Anchorage Post article which only says that "about 60 people" gathered to discuss a recall (the headline of the snippet includes the phrase "Foes Back Off..."). That is not anywhere near being "almost recalled" and it is extremely dishonest for HuffPost to construe it as such.

Nowhere do we find out essential details of this "almost recall," like how many people does it take to actually get a recall petition certified, whether it was just a few days' long "high passion" episode or evidence of more deep-seated problems with her leadership, what she did to pacify the potential petitioners (if anything), etc.

There are much better ways to go after her but this one is just plain sloppy. I know HuffPost can do better than this!

[MidwestMomma]

Well the rule of activism holds true that for every person willing to attend a rally there are atleast 10 other people who felt the same way but didn't act. That's 600 people in a town of 6500. The rule of involvment holds true that less than 1/2 the people in any town actually follow local government so thats about 600 people of 3250 people aware of what's going on. The rule of familarity is we forgive those we know for doing things we won't tolerate from strangers...so I would say 60 people is alot!

[Ourrias]

Sarah Palin = the Monica Goodling of the Republican's 2008 campaign!

Why can't these Republicans ween themselves off of these knee-jerk ideologue hacks who infect and fester within their party?!?

[philosopherkingtomas]

bye bye palin !

[Starman033]

"Well done, John McCain. You've shown possibly even worse judgment than George W. Bush, which until now was almost an impossibly high bar to meet."

This is the point that must be pressed hard!

McCain is NOT "more of the same..." he is much much worse than Bush.

How is this not crystal clear to people?

[kadene]

By throwing Palin into the water, the Republicans have yelled "GO FISH!" and everybody has gone after the bait. Doesn't it strike you as suspicious that there are so many controversial issues surrounding this candidate, and that she never was seriously considered as VP material? Her involvement in the Alaskan Independent Party, her daughter's pregnancy and the host of other issues, do you really believe this choice was not calculated to cause major distraction?

And you are here salivating for more information on Palin to be fed to you? Come on folks, do not be naive and underestimate the GOP. This feeding frenzy is part of the strategy.

[Ergon]

OK, but if she withdraws, will Joe Lieberman be the fall back position?

[Drache]

Couldn't agree more.

If she's stays in, they can pull a few gender-votes. Plus, you have two people that are difficult to "attack". John McCain - because he's a former POW and the media loves him. Sarah Palin - because any negative story, after this blows over, will just be labeled as misogyny.

Consider, she's already got the backing of the Religious Reich. That helps if she stays in - it brings more of them to the polls.

Now suppose she bows out. They will claim that the decision was due to liberal media hypocrisy. That will also get a higher turnout. And then McCain might be able get away with selecting Lieberman.

Either way, this is win-win for McCain. At least, that's what they are hoping.

It's time to put this away and get back to the issues.

[Mikecoatl]

Perhaps it IS meant as a distraction. It's certainly convenient for them! But the Palin pick is looking so monumentally bad for them that if there is a strategy here it was not well thought out.

[gopSTEALSyourTAXmoney]

"Palin Almost Recalled As Mayor"

So was John McCain in Arizona.

[PrimaDonna526]

Somehow I feel after this disaster (if McCain's campaign is unsuccessful), Paulin's political career is over. Everyone around the world is getting a look at who this woman really is. We have already figured out McCain has poor judgement because he chose her. Everyone is saying he had other experienced GOP women to choose from. The thing is they didn't want to align themselves with him. I'm sure his campaign made the offer to several GOP women but I feel they turned him down. McCain's politics does not value women. What political saavy woman would align herself with a man who does not value equal pay for equal work for women. He makes gaffes almost daily, he didn't vet his VP nominee, & I can go on. Her judgment is just as bad. Look at what she is subjecting her daughter & the boyfriend to. I can't think of a loving parent that would put a child through this type scrutiny.

[JC1c1]

Does the name Harriet Myers sound familiar? I have never seen McCain and Bush look so much alike as I do right now.

[wingnutslayer]

The only vetting done on this woman was obviously conducted by the oil industry. The governor of Alaska, the new big oil state where everybody gets a yearly dividend check from the oilies, is the perfect choice for veep, unquestionably perfect. Now, she can do what her predecessor did. Hold top secret, closed-door meetings with the energy lobby, kick her shoes off, fire up a cigar and tell them "Boys, have at it. Forget Dick Cheney, you have a friend in Sarah Palin. Yup. Yup. In the meantime, I'm going hunting for pork." Has America been transported to a Philip K. Dick novel? Where did it go?

[Bobzmcishl]

It seems like the more we learn about Palin, the worse it gets. McCain really dropped the ball on this choice or was it the Republican hierarchy that rebelled against McCain's preference for pro-choice candidate Joe Lieberman. Palin's management style is particulary onerous reminiscent of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney "my way or the highway" and political expediency trumping competency. One thing we know about Mitt Romney is that he had superb executive skills far above Palin's. And he had foreign policy experience and was governor of a much bigger state. McCain's judgement has to really come under scrutiny now.

[CostaMesaJoe]

Awwww....food for my eyes and mind.
Keep the news coming on Palin.

To answer the first question, no.
When it comes to Republicans, no thought is ever put into anything they do.
For example, invading countries...