With The GOP Convention In The Twin Cities, What Are McCain Aides Doing In Alaska?

Is it that their GPS navigation systems aren't working?

The GOP faithful are in Minneapolis-St. Paul. George Bush, the man we didn't need, was busy telling the crowd on Tuesday night that John McCain, another man we don't need, is "the man we need." Yet according to "Palin Disclosures Spotlight McCain's Screening Process" (New York Times, 9/2/08), "Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background." Isn't that a bit after the fact?

As it is, the McCain vetting team didn't first arrive until Thursday. McCain had his first interview with Palin that day and offered her the job moments later.

Why so fast? McCain wanted Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (whom I partly named my "Lieberman/Miller Turncoat Democrat Award" after–see post below) or Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. Their support of abortion rights made them anathema to the American Taliban who dominate the Republican Party. So with "time running out," McCain the "maverick" caved once again to the fundamentalists and chose Pailin.

Other factors point to the rushed nature of this decision. Leading Alaskan political and business leaders had no idea that Palin was being considered. State Senate Representative Lyda Green's comment was characteristic: "They didn't speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn't speak to anyone in the business community."

Had the McCain camp conducted a more careful vetting process, they might have more fully considered several factors that would have discouraged them from choosing Palin:

• The investigation by Alaskan lawmakers as to whether Palin abused her power in the firing of a public safety commissioner. The commissioner did not fire an Alaskan state trooper who went through a divorce and is engaged in child custody battles with Palin's sister.

• Palin's complicated personal life with five children, including an infant with Down's syndrome and a pregnant 17-year-old daughter, might make it difficult for her to carry out responsibilities as vice president, a point made by a number of women in an article, "A New Twist In The Debate Over Mothers" (New York Times, 9/2/08).

• While reports that Palin was a member of the Alaska Independence Party appear to be mistaken, "Palin attended the party's 1994 and 2006 conventions and provided a video-taped address as governor to the 2008 convention." The party has at times sought a vote on whether Alaska should secede from the United States.

So I suppose the McCain aides are traipsing around Alaska trying to find anything else that may cause the campaign to reel and rock. But the most important questions really aren't about Palin at all. They're about McCain.

Some may think that McCain's pick of Palin shows his "maverick" qualities–a strange characterization for a senator who voted with George Bush 95% of the time. As mentioned above, though, McCain chose Palin out of fear of offending religious right wingers who insisted that his running mate be an abortion opponent. Not only was McCain desperate, but he was also, according to the "Palin Disclosures" article, advised "...that if he did not do something to shake up the race, his campaign would be stuck on a potentially losing trajectory."

McCain didn't have time for a carefully considered vetting process, one that would explore more fully the drawbacks in Palin's background. In the most important campaign decision he could make, one that would potentially put a right-wing religious ideologue of limited experience a heartbeat away from the presidency, McCain went with his gut. Doesn't that sound familiar? After the past eight years, haven't we had enough of that?