What if McCain removes Palin from the ticket?

Anonymous
It is clear that picking Palin was a campaign tactic and not a move in sound governing. McCain's campaign advisors pushed hard that he was on a losing path. His claim to experience and judgement was losing ground so they threw them out the window. They feared a public relations problem from the far right if he chose a more moderate, popular candidate with governing experience such as Romney or Ridge and an all out revolt if he chose Lieberman. Palin as a pick was a tactic to shake things up and appease the small but vocal religious right. She was not well vetted by even his own campaign and now they are spinning to explain all this to their own party let alone the general population.

The VP pick is more than a move to get votes, it is one of the first crucial acts in governing. Even if people feel sorry for Palin, it casts a significant shadow on McCain's judgement for choosing to be candidate who just wants to win rather than a future president showing good judgement toward governing.

Palin could easily drop out citing family reasons or not being a position to handle the extreme media attention. McCain could then go back to a more reasonable choice with Romney or Ridge and hold onto the original gimmick that he wanted an outsider, a conservative and a woman to show change. No idea if this would get him out of this mess but I don't see how he will survive with Palin on the ticket.

If McCain was honest and addressed the mistake would you vote for him or would this still be another nail in the coffin?


Anonymous
I'd never vote for McCain as a Dem, but I do agree from a tactical standpoint, Palin needs to step down siting political reasons or else her life and that of her children (grandchildren) is about to get turned upside down, and the Republicans are going to be fractured yet again. McCains camp was way to quick and naive when choosing Palin who is grossly underprepared for VP role, let alone presidency should something happen to McCain.
Anonymous
pardon typo, I mean Palin should step down siting personal/family reasons.
Anonymous
She has a lot on her plate. This is an opportunity of a lifetime, but she should remember her most important job and put that first. I'm disappointed that she didn't think about her daughter and the public humilitation she is going through. I don't think it's her fault that her daughter got knocked up, but she's still her mother and has to think of her family first.
Anonymous
I think if he gets rid of Palin, he will still look impulsive and people will question his judgment. But at least he won't look stubborn. The sooner he gets someone credible on the ticket, the better it will be for the GOP.

Personally, I hope she stays on, just for shits and giggles. She's provided me with great blog material.
Rich
Member Offline
Disregarding any value judgments on the family questions, she could, with absolute honesty, say that at a time when extremely important issues are at stake, her candidacy has drawn attention away from them. It would be for the country's good, not just her family's, if she were to withdraw and let McCain make another choice before the convention is forced to vote on her nomination.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'd never vote for McCain as a Dem, but I do agree from a tactical standpoint, Palin needs to step down siting political reasons or else her life and that of her children (grandchildren) is about to get turned upside down, and the Republicans are going to be fractured yet again. McCains camp was way to quick and naive when choosing Palin who is grossly underprepared for VP role, let alone presidency should something happen to McCain.

Fracture the Republican party? which republicans have spoken out against her nomination?
jsteele
Site Admin Online
Rich wrote:It would be for the country's good, not just her family's, if she were to withdraw and let McCain make another choice before the convention is forced to vote on her nomination.


No, no, no. For the good of the country she must remain on the ticket and continue rolling skeletons out of her closet right up to election day.

One thing that must be said is that Obama must be the luckiest politician on earth:

1) runs for state senate and gets all opponents kicked off the ballet - wins
2) runs for US Senate and Repub. opponent gets embroiled in sex scandal (with his own wife) - wins
3) runs for President and Repub. opponent picks least qualified VP in history with only the most cursory of vetting possible - will win!

Obama might not be able to keep this streak alive if McCain dumps Palin.

Anonymous
None. They are in such a state of shock that they cannot even speak. This had a large part to do with the decision to suspend the convention last night -- the hurricane was only a convenience. Make no mistake, the GOP is in turmoil about this. McCain is undoubtedly screaming obsenities at this wife and probably has procured a prescription for Xanax.

The irony is that McCain wanted Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. His good friends. But when he was warned that the crazy evangelicals wouldn't get behind such a ticket the maverick folded like a deck of cards. So much for McCain telling people to stick it. He could have chosen Romney, but he wouldn't because he hates him and his ego wouldn't allow him to do it. And so we have Sarah Palin.
Anonymous
could this be the ultimate plan to have Palin drop out and then he selects someone that makes sense? then he gets "credit" for picking outside the box but the repubs and independent flock back when someone reasonable is finally in place?
Anonymous
It seems like the Republican base is awfully happy with this pick. They'd certainly punish McCain, I think, if she "drops out" and is replaced by anyone less than another person who adheres to their principles.

However....I keep coming down to this:

How on earth do you leave a 4 month old newborn AND a pregnant daughter to run for Vice President and then possibly serve as VP? How is your family not more important?

The more this sits with me, the more I think she is a horrible person for doing this to her family.

Put aside all the questions of inexperience and right-wing policy positions, if you're gonna have five kids, including one with speical needs at the age of 44, and including one with whom you've done such a bang-up job that she's now pregnant at 17, maybe you oughta stick around to see it through to the end.

And I absolutely would feel the same way if it were a man running. I thought John Edwards was slimy for running while his wife had cancer and he had two young kids. If Obama had a newborn and a pregnant teenaged daughter, I'd think he had his priorities screwed up too.

Yes, I'm a Democrat who's voting for Obama. But it's hard for me to imagine how even conservatives wouldn't at least sort of agree with me on this. Any conservatives out there who want to tell me why I'm wrong?
Anonymous
Rich wrote:Disregarding any value judgments on the family questions, she could, with absolute honesty, say that at a time when extremely important issues are at stake, her candidacy has drawn attention away from them. It would be for the country's good, not just her family's, if she were to withdraw and let McCain make another choice before the convention is forced to vote on her nomination.

And that is bad for the Republicans, why? I'm extremely cynical after 8 years of Bush/Rove political tactics so please someone correct me if I'm stereotyping the Republicans too incorrectly...

But from my view, it seems like they (R) don't care about running a campaign based on the real issues. Instead, they will find some wedge issue that shouldn't be of concern and use that to propel their candidate to victory.

Palin was picked because she was an evangelical, blue-collar woman and McCain was probably hoping to attract all three groups with that one pick. If his team can spin it so that any attack on Palin will be from too elitist and show the other side is not in touch with the common man, then how is that a bad thing for them? Palin is one, big wedge issue that will distract voters from the real issues.

Everyone says otherwise, but most people (IMO) are more swayed by the wedge issues than the real issues.

So it could be possible for Palin to stay in just to catch the Dems in a moment of elitism.
Anonymous
McCain cannot and will not drop Palin from the ticket. Dropping her will be an admission that he made a bad decision in the first place and will also draw the wrath of the conservative base of the party. He is better off sticking with her and spining this as best he can.

BTW, I am a democrat and will be voting for Obama.
Anonymous
"McCain cannot and will not drop Palin from the ticket. Dropping her will be an admission that he made a bad decision in the first place and will also draw the wrath of the conservative base of the party. He is better off sticking with her and spining this as best he can. "

True but wouldn't it be refreshing for a politician to admit they were wrong and correct something BEFORE more damage is done.
Here's the thing..Palin is a dangerous pick for the country. At best she distracts from real issues and sinks the campaign and at worst she gets the job and is completely unqualified creating a dangerous national security issue.

Isn't this the whole problem with the Bush administration and the weapons of mass destruction lie? There were many indicators that they were wrong, high ranking military officials screaming that they were underestimating what reconstuction would require, and yet they were stubborn and dug in with one bad move after another. How is this any different from a process and judgement standpoint? I wasn't really buying into the McCain is the same as Bush sound bites until now. This arrogant, stubborn behavior with little consideration for the implications is too familiar.
Anonymous
11:07, this is interesting... where did you get all of this information?
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