Who Runs the McCain Campaign? Or: Why Isn't Joe Lieberman on the GOP Ticket?

Stop me if you've heard this before: "They" didn't let John McCain pick Joe Lieberman as his running mate.

Former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd gives this claim the loudest voicing I've heard yet:

"They didn't let John McCain pick the person he wanted to pick as VP. When Sarah Palin got picked instead of Joe Lieberman... that whole ready versus not ready argument was not credible."

Today, most people are focusing in on the second part of Dowd's remarks -- "He knows, in his gut, that he put somebody unqualified on the ballot... and he put the country at risk, he knows that."

But I want to linger for a while on the first thought.

Who is the "they" that has veto power over John McCain?

Isn't this his campaign?

Isn't he running for the highest executive office in the land?

Isn't he aiming to be "the decider" part deux?

How is it possible that John McCain isn't even the decider in his own campaign?

Why isn't this the McCain/Lieberman '08 ticket?

This is a question worth getting an answer to.

Comments

[LibertiBelle]

Why McCain picked Palin

HUGE.and MAIN reason...Right to lifers choosing to have down syndrome child

Son going to war

She is a Woman ..to ATTEMPT to pick up the STUPID woman that were in hillarys camp

she was picked to get the evangelican vote which the witchdoctor video may have dissolved, and her daughter having child out of wedlock hurt even more

she was not properly vetted,McCain gambled that personalities would win the election and then the economy took a dump....OOPS!

[NationalTreasure]

John McCain picked the VP that the "agents of intolerence," wanted for his running mate.

The "agents of intolerence," are running John McCain and control his campaign.

Everyone has to remind their friends and family members that "the agents of intolerence," will advise John McCain to pick judges who will have the same ideological bent as Sarah Palin.

Get out and vote so that the "agent's of intolerence," will not only control the White House but vote to stop them from controlling the Courts and our lives.

[Savojah]

Con't-McCain judgement has been proven wrong again and again, and it is cleary seen from his Palin pick. The base would of been there, because you obviously see that they want anything but Obama, so McCain could of picked whoever he wanted. He should of pick Huckabee, because right there you have a base guy who is very smart and charasmatic, and would of attracted people beyond the base.

[Savojah]

Con"t -And I'm sure McCain is regretting the pick, because at best, she's has leveled out the ticket, but IMO, she has brought it down, to go along with the economic issues going on. I'm sure that this was the what his handlers were thinking, and presented a good argument to McCain at the time, to go along with pressure for "they" which led him to the pick

I'm sure Barack was pressured to pick Hillary, but he made the right pick with Biden, and he proves it everytime you hear him speak, and do interviews. And you can tell they have a genuine respect for each other and their families, and they're on the same page. What's good about Biden is that he the type of person that will challenge Obama in the White House. He's not going to be a yes man, or just some one there to go along with his policies, like Cheney was for Bush. Biden and Obama are a good team, and what I mean by challenging him is speaking his mind, and giving Obama a different perspective on things. Palin and McCain is just a pasted together ticket, and you can tell, and it would of felt like that if Barack picked Hillary. Plus you can tell that McCain doesn't fully trust Palin to talk, but he knows that they have to, and it's too late to make any changes. I wouldn't be surprized if something were to happen to her soon.

[chapala]

I agree with you but object to your saying that Cheney went along with Bush's policies, I think it was the reverse!

[Savojah]

I think that the lack of choices for McCain was the reason he went out on a limb, and chose Palin, which is showing to be a disastrous pick. I can almost understand their thinking in the sense that Lieberman and Ridge would turnoff the base. Wasn't to sure how the Romney and the Mormon thing would work out. Tim Pawlenty and Bobby Jindal are relative unkowns, that they weren't sure how that would play out. So I'm sure their thinking was that with the pissed off Hillary voters, and a need to galvanize the base, they thought that Palin would be able to kill two birds with one stone, and her being a "reformer" and a "maverick" herself made sense. Even though she was an unkown, she was a pretty woman that no one new about, and with her conservative views, and charm, she would win over the people of America, and she would go with the whole change theme. What the McCain campaign forgot to do was their research. She's smart, but not the level you need to be for VP of the United States of America. I seriously know more about domestic and and global issues more than she does. It's obvious that they're not at all comfortable with her answering question, or any other interaction with the media, because of her lack of knowledge.

[LibertiBelle]

McCain was promised the rethug nod in 2008 to NOT run as a DEM against Bush in 2004,so Bush could put the finishing touch's on the AMERO/World Bank and Marshal Law policies that now are done deals,Making sure that all was in place so by the 2008 election it really does not matter who is POTUS the reserve and its cronie bankers run this country. All the thugs asked was he come in line wih Rethug policys by 2008 and so he sold his soul and bows to their wish's or they will not support him,remember they only promised him the Nod NOT support

[SeriousBlack]

""They" didn't let John McCain pick Joe Lieberman as his running mate. How is it possible that John McCain isn't even the decider in his own campaign?"

That alone should disqualify him from being president. (In addition to the other 50 some-odd reasons...)

[austinobserver]

We should not forget that Rove has connections to all the major sources of money coming into the McCain campaign and the Republican Party, and as Rove's proteges run McCain's campaign, it would have been easy for Rove to threaten McCain with cutting off the money supply if McCain ignored Rove's advice. From all indications Rove strongly favored Romney as VP and would not accept Lieberman under any conditions. So Palin was the compromise pick made at the last second when they both accepted that neither man would totally give in to the other.

[hotstuff]

Yes, I want to know this indeed! If he can be in charge of his campagne, and choose lieberman as he wanted-------Who will indeed run the white house? The republican base, or Mccain?

[Dicklexicon]

Lieberman ruined Gore's chances, why sink McSame the same way? McSame ruins his chances well enough as it is. We citizens need to remind ourselves that we will not tolerate this election being stolen like the last 2 presidential elections. We citizens need to remind ourselves that deregulation, the republican mantra for the past 3 decades+, is the root cause of the wall st/financial meltdown. We the people need legislators that will accurately, actively, and vociferously defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

EVERY VOTE COUNTED, because EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

re-elect NOBODY!!!

for the sake of our nation
If we continue to allow the two party system to divide our country as it does, we allow them their takeover of our rights as free people. We all need to remind others about how the fascism spreading through our government is ruining our freedom, our Constitution, our "representative democracy", and of course, the planet.
It is time to end all the career politicians' days at our feeding trough. We cannot afford or tolerate fascism.

[cobraxus]

Good point.GWB put Dick Cheney in charge of picking his VP and lo 'n' behold Cheney picks himself.If McCain wasn't allowed to pick his own VP then what other choices won't he be allowed to make?what terribly important decisions will he leave to the judgement of others(perhaps even to Dick Cheney)?

[genia]

Hasn't it been publicly acknowledged that McCain is very head strong , unmanageable and at times out of control? I have read a few articles concerning this. Written by people who have been close to him.....tried to advise him, worked with him. They all say the same thing...he doesn't listen ...he's not reasonable at times...it's his way or the highway.

[meede]

Repugs seem to have a handbook for how to run campaigns that was written in the dark ages. It's how their base is -- behind the times. Old men that don't get it that there are a lot of the younger generation is living in real time and these old handbook rules just don't work anymore. Younger generations are showing they aren't the doormats and followers of past generations. They actually think for themselves now. A lot of them don't just vote for who their parents believe & vote for anymore. Isn't that a concept.

Until the Repugs revamp their party -- they lose. They have to get rid of their deadwood like all the old men with closed minded thinking who believe people will drop to their knees believing every word out of their mouths. Their base still lives in the world of church runs state. Sorry. The new school knows how to separate it.

[Bitsko]

Where has Joe been lately anyway?

[Krikkit]

I imagine he's taking his cues from the rest of the Republican elite and distincing himself from the rotting corpse of the McCain campaign. He's probably trying to woo enough Democrats to keep from getting kicked out of their caucus come January.

[Bitsko]

John McCain, the Undecider.