OMG WTF?!

Most of you will get what the headline means and, yes, it does have to do with Sarah Palin, her pregnant seventeen year old daughter and John McCain.

(For those who dont: OMG=Oh My God! WTF=What the F&*%!)

Yes, you read that right. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin confirmed that her seventeen year old unwed daughter is pregnant. See here, here, here, here and here.

John McCain knew about about this before he selected her!

From MSNBC:

Senior McCain campaign officials said McCain knew of the daughter's pregnancy when he selected Palin last week as his vice presidential running mate, deciding that it did not disqualify the 44-year-old governor in any way.

Let's keep going with the confess to the press on Labor Day fest, shall we?

Fox News/AP:

News also broke Monday about Todd Palin being arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in 1986 when he was 22. Sarah and Todd Palin were high school sweethearts so they were dating at the time.

Now, I'm not big on punishing anyone for what they did in their youth. So the last part doesn't really get me all that much. There are, however, people to whom that will matter some.

The same, all around, largely goes for the first part as well.

Now, onto the bigger problem.

This is not about Sarah Palin or her family. I am sure they are good people. I do not blame her for accepting when John McCain asked. When the gold presents itself you should grab it!

John McCain has nominated a person who:

• was mayor of a town of 8,471 (2005, although the 2000 census total of 5,470 is probably more accurate for her term) for six years from 1996-2002
• was Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a pretty powerful appointment, for about a year from 2003 until she resigned in protest in Jan. 2004
• has been Governor of the State of Alaska for 1 year 8 months and 29 days, counting today
• had a scandal upon becoming mayor of Wasila because she fired the Chief of Police who claimed she did so because he supported her opponent, and subsequently sued her. The court ruled in her favor but only because it said she did not have to have a reason to fire the Chief.
• is involved in a scandal involving the firing of Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan which, he claims, was due to his failure to bow to pressure to fire Gov. Palin's ex-brother in law who is a state trooper
• has a daughther who is seventeen, unwed, and five months pregnant (so much for abstinence only)
• well...we just won't touch the husband thing, there is more than enough other stuff

Sen. John McCain would have us believe that he believes the person above is qualified to step in and be commander in cheif should anything happen to him. He is not a spring chicken, having just turned 72, is a cancer survivor, and both his father and grandfather, good admirals that they were, never made it past 70. (To be fair, his great-grandfather made it to 83.)

John McCain has made, to many people, an obvious error in judgement with this pick for his running mate. He either did know about all of this and still thought this was the most qualified person to serve as backup commander in chief of the most powerful country in the world. Or..his campaign didn't thoroughly vet this candidate for vice-president and Sen. McCain picked her without knowing a whole lot about her.

Either way, this is a tremendous failure in judgement. Sen. George S. McGovern got ripped apart for picking Thomas Eagleton. Sen. John McCain is, from what it appears, just beginning to get ripped apart for his pick.

Again, this isn't about Sarah Palin and her family. It is about the judgement and competence of a Senator who wants the American people to elect him President of the United States.

Thus far, his judgment seems to have landed him in the middle of a three ring circus. If he can change that perception, he is a magician.

I don't think John McCain is all that magical.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

P.S. - McCain spokesman Steve Schmidt:

"warned Democrats not to try to use the revelations to their political advantage: "If anyone tries to politicize this, there will be a backlash. One thing I think everyone agrees on is let the kids alone."

In case Mr. Schmidt has forgotten, Karl Rove changed politics. Before 2000, maybe, but this will get politicized. Does Mr. Schmidt expect us to believe that he would not politicize this if it were a 17 year old daughter of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore or Joe Lieberman (2000 version)? I think not. I am not saying it's fair but gimme a break. Nice try though.

This is yet another reason that McCain should not have selected Palin if he knew. It is also a reason that she should not have accepted the offer. Both of them were willing to put the child through this? They had to know they would get pounded on this. If they didn't, that tells you yet more about their collective judgement. (I won't even get into what their morals are if they anticipated a firestorm and decided to put a seventeen year old through it.)

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The Veepstakes Nearing End

So who will McCain pick? Keep in mind, as you read through, that McCain has consistently said that he will pick someone ready to lead the country themselves as his pick.

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Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty? He seems to have been everyones front runner despite the "who?" factor he will generate as a pick. Personally, I think there is the experience factor here as well. President Pawlenty? Is he ready?

Problem is, he says he will be attending the Minnesota State Fair today. That is not in Dayton, Ohio where John McCain will be announcing his pick.

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney? He has been a front runner. He has the experience. He is also a potentially disastrous pick.

Conservatives don't trust McCain any further than they can throw him. They can, however, throw him farther than Romney. This would be a good experience pick but I think that it would be at the expense of totally alienating the conservative base that he has been working so hard to court for the last two years.

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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin? Her name has resurfaced in the last 24 hours.

I wonder, as Powerline does, if this would not be universally viewed as a desperation pick.

I think she seems like a nice person but exactly how does John McCain explain to the American people that she is ready to be president, if need be, on day one? Barack Obama had more experience on his first day in the senate.

If you're looking to swing for the fences but willing to swing and miss she might not be a bad bet. She has more upside than Mitt. I guess that is saying something.

I am not willing to guess here. Unlike the Democratic hopefuls, I do not see a logical pick here. I honestly think it would be better for McCain if he could get away with not having to select anyone. None of these people seem to actually help him.

If I am a Republic(an), I am depressed. It will probably be Palin or Romney as they are both reportedly in Dayton. Oops. Update: Romney will supposedly NOT be at the rally. Of course, Palin's spokesperson says she will be at the Alaska State Fair but a Gulfstream did fly from Anchorage to Cincinnati last night.

Who knows. I suppose it could still be my former Senator Joe Lieberman (?-CT). Boy! Wouldn't that guarantee there would be no such thing as McCain Democrats! I am not going to get too worked up about this. I don't see a 'good' pick from McCain's perspective. I don't envy him his choice. We shall soon see who it is.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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