McCain Campaign Considered Not Letting Palin Be Sworn In if They Won

[stockholmer]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/10/mccain-campaign-considered-not-letting-palin-be-sworn-if-they-won/43370/

In 2008, John McCain's campaign team discussed whether they should let Sarah Palin be sworn in as vice-president if they were to win the election, according to campaign staffer Nicolle Wallace. "There certainly were discussions -- not for long because of the arc the campaign took -- but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in," Wallace tells Time's Claire Suddath. In her new novel, It's Classified, Wallace has a character -- a mentally ill female vice-president -- which she says is based on her experience working with Palin.

The full exchange with Wallace on the McCain campaign's frustration with Palin:


Suddath: When you were working on the McCain campaign, what about Sarah Palin alarmed you so much?

Wallace: Well, first let me just say that the novel is by no means meant to build a case against Sarah Palin. However, to the extent that the people around Tara watched in this troubled state of confusion, despair and helplessness as she flailed around -- that was something I experienced. Palin vacillated between extraordinary highs on the campaign stage -- she ignited more enthusiasm than our side had seen at any other point -- to debilitating lows. She was often withdrawn, uncommunicative and incapable of performing even the most basic tasks required of her job as McCain's running mate.


The decision to relocate debate prep from the campaign trail, which is where McCain did his prep, to Sedona, was to isolate her and help her overcome the shock of becoming an overnight celebrity. There certainly were discussions -- not for long because of the arc the campaign took -- but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in.

snip

[tritsofme]

1. If she won a majority of electoral votes and the result was certified by Congress, he wouldn't have

any say in the matter. McCain would have had to convince all the Republican electors to dump her, lest they dump him for Palin or Biden somehow ends up as VP in his administration due to a split decision. VPOTUS cannot be dismissed by the president. He couldn't prevent the duly elected vice president from taking office.

They are rewriting history or they were and remain incompetent. Both?

[bullwinkle428]

4. Bingo. This just strikes me as a desperate effort to polish a turd,

and deflect attention away from the horrific choice they made to begin with.

[Kurovski]

2. Has Palin ever been tested for ADD?

This is not a joke. I find this information somewhat disturbing.

[msongs]

3. she can ADD $$ as fast as she can grab it nt

[Kurovski]

7. Now THAT'S a joke.

:rofl:

[Kahuna]

11. That's a DUzy!

:D

[BOHICA12]

8. I'm sure the US could survive a VP with ADD

.... at least two of our greatest Presidents suffered from depression. No testing necessary.

[Kurovski]

14. Her life would be improved.

She didn't even finish out her governorship.

Kindly and please, don't hedge political correctness with me. ADD is in my family. I've seen the difference treatment can make. I imagine you might have seen as well.

[Major Hogwash]

12. She failed the test.

She said she couldn't concentrate because there were colors on the walls.

[Mz Pip]

5. I don't believe this

That would have been a serious clusterfuck that I don't think McCain would have gone that route. Palin would have thrown a tantrum of epic proportions and her supporters, who would have claimed she propelled McCain to the WH, would not have been silent.

I think if McCain had won Palin would have been just like most VPs (except for Cheney) definitely put on the back burner.

[jberryhill]

6. That's absurd

The election of the vice president is a function of the Electors. The campaign cannot decide who is sworn in.

[Canuckistanian]

9. If she's on the ballot, there's nothing they could have done

Not legally, anyway.

[sofa king]

10. Fascinating.

Over a decade ago now, I joked that the Republican talent pool was so shallow that they might have to run a non-viable candidate in the VP slot--at the time I joked that it could be either Arnold Schwarzenegger or a computer-animated Teddy Roosevelt.

And then the GOP went and directly violated the Constitution by running two Texans at the same time. Before it was stolen, I argued that Cheney's false residency through a second home in Wyoming (I think) wouldn't stick in court and he would have to be dropped for that reason, but that, like the rest of the Constitution, was overlooked during the Bush dictatorship.

Now it turns out they did the same thing in '08. There are few better ways to underscore the contempt Republicans have for the United States and its laws than this, putting national security at risk by running a throwaway (and quite possibly illegal) candidate for the second-most important elective position there is in our country.

We got everything we deserved by not taking to the streets in November, 2000. And we shall continue to get it for the rest of our shortened lives.

[Ruby the Liberal]

15. Wait - what?

The Constitution prohibits running mates from the same state?

In all my years, I have never heard that before. Learn something new every day!

[Jim Lane]

16. Not exactly

The Constitution doesn't prohibit running mates from the same state. It does, however, require each member of the Electoral College to vote for at least one person who's not from his or her own state.

In 2000, it was arguably illegal for the Texas electors to vote for both Bush and cheney, both of whom were residents of Texas. Cheney, to circumvent this, changed his legal residence back to Wyoming (the state he had represented in Congress) before the election. Whether that purported residence in Wyoming was legitimate is, to say the least, questionable.

In an election like 2008, where the winner has a substantial cushion (Obama got 365 electoral votes), this wouldn't matter. A ticket of Obama-Durbin could have been elected. In a close one like 2000, however, it makes a difference. Assuming all the Republican electors vote for Bush, the Texans can't then vote for Cheney, presumably wouldn't vote for Lieberman, with the result that no candidate for VP has a majority. The selection of the VP would go to the Senate.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. Okay - now that is fascinating.

Thanks for the explanation. Never knew that!

[ChadwickHenryWard]

13. How could they do that?

The Vice President is an elected position. They have to allow whoever won to be sworn in to the office.

[harun]

19. They are Republican's, rules are to keep the other guys in line.

[harun]

18. What does this say about the Republican electorate when the only people good

enough to represent them for high office are mentally unable to function?

[malaise]

20. So according to a well known ReTHUG

ReTHUGS selected a mentally ill woman to run as a candidate for VP of the United States. These Pukes aren't fit to rule.