LA TIMES: "the McCain team used little more than a Google Internet search"

[A-Schwarzenegger]

"The youthful mother of five whose placement on the ticket was meant to reinforce traditional values has now revealed that her unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant -- a piece of information that the family and the campaign said they had hoped to keep private."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palinassess2-2008sep02,0,1915740.story

This has entered the realm of mass delusion.

More:

"I really hope McCain did his homework," said David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush. "I cannot stifle a growing sense of unease that he didn't."

And:

One Republican strategist with close ties to the campaign described the candidate's closest supporters as "keeping their fingers crossed" in hopes that additional information does not force McCain to revisit the decision. According to this Republican, who would discuss internal campaign strategizing only on condition of anonymity, the McCain team used little more than a Google Internet search as part of a rushed effort to review Palin's potential pitfalls. Just over a week ago, Palin was not on McCain's short list of potential running mates, the Republican said.

[redstate_democrat]

1. OMFG!

[orestes]

2. It just keeps getting better and betterer

[BlooInBloo]

3. This is one of the all-time great FAILs in political history....

Eclipsed only by DUers who still warn us how DANGEROUS a ticket they are - :rofl:

[Greg K]

4. That's funny..

We've found lots of stuff with just a google search.

Maybe he needs better googlers.

[madmax]

44. Maybe he didn't use

the 'right' google.

You know there's so much traffic on those 'internets' the highways get congested and shit happens. :evilgrin:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

45. Maybe he used the Ogle.

[Cosmocat]

68. BINGO - in the end, when Lieberman got shot down ...

he went with his groin, seriously.

[mwb970]

76. The tubes were clogged. /nt

[ikojo]

46. What's on the super google, Lexis Nexis?

THAT should be interesting!!!

[im1013]

5. Now that's real leadership!

:sarcasm:

[lligrd]

6. And they Didn't Even Do A Very Good Job Of That

They should have hired DUers for the Internet search. lol

[understandinglife]

91. Yep. We'll given how the spell you can imagine what a challenge the Google search engine had!!!

:rofl:

[grasswire]

7. what???

Other stories today said she had been on the short list for many months. What is the truth?

[Just-plain-Kathy]

25. These criminals don't know how to tell the truth. ...n/t

[Matariki]

8. And NOT even good at it!

as members of DU and Daily Kos have proven!

:rofl:

[TwilightGardener]

9. Good to know how he'll run the country--half-assed, impulsive, and full of regret.

[Bjorn Against]

10. And John McCain doesn't even know how to use google.

[amitten]

11. This is just unreal. The whole thing is like a bad joke. n/t

[NightOwwl]

21. I disagree.

It's a very, very good joke. :rofl:

[Bicoastal]

12. In all fairness, Grandpa was just learning to use the Internet...

...and it took most of a day to explain to him what the Sam Hill a "Google" was.

[anigbrowl]

14. Maybe Ted Stevens taught him how to navigate the intertubes. .nt

[Quixote1818]

15. I doubt if he is giggling about his googling right now.

:7

[XemaSab]

23. Sorta like a brazilian

n/t

[Quixote1818]

13. They should have asked us at DU to vett her

We could have found all kinds of shit for them.

[the Sundance Kid]

24. that is the power of a place like this.

the potential for gathering and organizing info is exponential.

we are smarter together than we are apart.

E Pluribus Unum, even ;)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

16. "She remains very popular in the convention hall,

but it's the rest of the country that matters."

I wonder even about the convention hall.

[blogslut]

17. I guess knowing how to use computers and the Internet IS important

Huh, Johnny?

They lost at playing the Internet.

[Colobo]

18. Sarah Palin: The gift that keeps on giving.

[beac]

19. OMFOBVIOUSLY!

That's what happens when the Republicans try to replace Mr. 'I-like-the-Google' with a man who hasn't even sent an email.

The GOP: Reverse Engineering Your Commander in Chief since 2001!

[Doremus]

20. Just getting better and better.

"Might he be forced to anger conservatives by dumping Palin? Could he risk an admission of poor judgment, tainting what he has long claimed as a key strength?

And if a new stumbling block could have been discovered by a more careful search, critics will no doubt question a well-known trait of McCain's: that he sometimes makes decisions on emotion instead of careful deliberation."

He's placed himself squarely between a rock and a hard place.

Squirm baby squirm. :rofl:

[gordianot]

22. I love it, the most excitement in years.

The Republicans blew it beyond all repair. I need to stop this and go to bed.

[Arugula Latte]

27. I know. I just want this feeling to never stop...

It's like we all got a pony today!

[madmax]

26. McCain is turning into a laughing stock.

I almost feel sorry for him. ALMOST! :evilgrin:

[Neshanic]

28. Wow, just WOW!

[KathieG]

29. McCains campaign staff doesn't even know how to use the internets properly...

this is priceless! :rofl:

[Muttocracy]

30. Remember, this is the man who used Wikipedia for his Georgia history briefing. nt

[enigmatic]

31. Picking Palin is an Epic Trainwreck for McCain and Dobson

Wow.

[elshiva]

32. .....

buffy/

[justiceischeap]

33. I like Google a lot but I don't think it can help vet a VP candidate (eom)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

35. Especially if he clicked on "Filter out sites that might upset a grumpy old Repub Pres. candidate".

[Neshanic]

37. HA!!

[quantass]

41. lol

[GDoyle]

34. It starts as a drip.....

but there are already two articles now at least mentioning the possibility of reconsidering the Palin pick. The NY Times and the LA Times. Major papers.

All these stories.....AIP, Troopergate, Earmarks, etc. are going to take off tomorrow. The country was still on vacation today. It was the last day of summer. Tomorrow, its back to focusing on the news and these stories are going to reach a crescendo in the news cycle. Gustav is gone and it couldn't be worse timing for the GOP. It'll ruin their convention.

Unreal. But McCain really screwed the pooch here.

GDoyle

[A-Schwarzenegger]

36. I think he has to dump her.

The choice will become increasingly clear.
She'll drop out "for the sake of my family."
Not my family, her family.

[Major Hogwash]

48. McCain does not possess the ability to admit that he made a mistake.

Throughout his 26 years in Congress, the only time that McCain ever admitted that he made a mistake was when he testified against Charles Keating after he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

McCain is a crook himself, not a reformed preacher.
He's too stubborn, too hardheaded, and too arrogant to admit that he made a mistake.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

49. Also his vote against the MLK holiday.

He wont admit he was wrong about Palin, he'll have her
dump herself, and blame it on whoever. Same diff, she's gone.

[Major Hogwash]

50. He din't really mean that, though. That was just more pandering from McCain Panderbear.

McCain only said that this year - about 22 years too late.

I don't think he will dump her, or that she will bow out, because they have already wasted 4 days defending her.
And there's only 63 days left until election day.

At this stage of the game, even the independents are paying attention.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

51. Ha! How many politicians mean it when they say they made a mistake?

He said it was a mistake. As for Palin, we shall shortly see.
To dump her, he doesnt have to admit it was a mistake to have picked her.

[tblue37]

94. Maybe they will just have her board a small plane. n/t

[A-Schwarzenegger]

96. eek

[rebel with a cause]

52. I'm with you. they will stick it out.

Get the press to drop it. Cover it up. and hope no one was reading over the long weekend. They always pull this crap on the weekend so the press coverage will be sparse come Monday.

On another subject altogether, but since it was only a storm that hit the coast, what reason does bush and cheney have for not going to the convention? Emergency over.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

53. "hope no one was reading over the long weekend." LOFL.

Yeah, it'll all be gone by tomorrow morning.

[NewJeffCT]

58. They've already set up the reason

those mean liberal bloggers!

but, if she can't face a few bloggers, how can she face Al Qaeda?

[yardwork]

89. I don't think he can without facing a revolt within the party.

He was forced to choose someone like her in the first place because the fundies were restless. They're over the moon with Palin. They literally don't know that the rest of the country is laughing right now. The fundies think that Christmas came early for them. All they know is that this wonderful pro-life woman "who is walking the talk" is going to fix the Supreme Court and make abortions and contraception illegal the day after the election.

If McCain dumps her, the blowback will make this look like a summer breeze.

[blogslut]

38. OMG OMG OMG

Do ya'll think it's possible that McSame's team read that tarted up Wikipedia entry on Palin and that was the extent of their research?

[Tatiana]

39. OK... I call UNCLE.

McCain really is going to have to dump her. Damn.

[TXDemGal]

40. If the "Republican strategists" are publicly (if anonymously)

floating the idea that McMansions will have to "revisit" his decision, they've already thrown Palin under the bus. It's just a question of how quickly the small army of operatives that flew out to wherever-the-fuck on Sunday to do "additional vetting" can actually vet a replacement.

Where can I sign up for the Palin dead pool?

[ikojo]

47. Of course the Dobsons and Limpballs of the world

will lay blame at "liberals" for making her daughter's pregnancy public (as if they wouldn't have done the same to a Gore kid who got a girl pregnant or a pregnant Chelsea Clinton!).

To spin it in Palin's, and the GOP's, favor they will say her dropping out proves what a dedicated and caring mother she is by wanting to be at the side of her scared and frightened 17 year old unmarried and pregnant daughter.

I wonder if the 17 year old will give up the baby for adoption as is so often the solution offered by another reich winger, Dr Laura Schlesinger?

[MagickMuffin]

42. The SURGE is Working

:rofl:

[PM7nj]

43. This is the best article on the Palin disaster yet!

What a fucking catastrophe. HAHA!

[OneAmerica]

54. That's not change we can believe in.

[saltpoint]

55. Frum knows a botched job when he sees one.

The McCain team served poorly on this one.

Even the Puke pundits know it.

[Raine]

56. Jesus Christ!!! and this ass wants to

"lead" this country...he literally is FUCKING NUTS!!!

[mtnester]

57. He refused to pick Mitt, the party would not let him pick Lieberman

and no one else wanted it

[tblue37]

95. Pawlenty wanted it--and thought right up to the last minute

that he had it. And now he is pissed.

At least that's what I have been reading.

[Douglas Carpenter]

59. RECOMMENDED!!! This needs to go out everywhere!! RECOMMENDED!!! RECOMMENDED!!!

[Hekate]

60. I'm finally ready to say: Stick a fork in her, she's done.

Holy moly.

Hekate

[Douglas Carpenter]

61. you just can't make this stuff up!!! THIS POST NEEDS LOTS AND LOTS OF RECOMMENDS TO THE TOP!!!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

62. Aw hell yeah

[maseman]

63. Wow Just WOW

I can't believe the recklessness of this.

[Douglas Carpenter]

64. PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE MORE AND MORE RECOMMENDS

This is the main point!! McCain's utter inability to make responsible decisions!!

RECOMMEND - RECOMMEND -- RECOMMEND!!!

[WinkyDink]

65. Apparently they used less.

[moondust]

66. I guessed it was a machine pick.

Probably computer modeling.

Since they only met once or twice previously it's obvious that no attention was paid to "chemistry" or what they had in common or any specifics of the path they would choose to follow. You can hardly begin to uncover policy differences in a 20-minute phone call. A good VP pick is a highly complex decision that involves a lot more than demographic data fed into a machine. Or a Google search.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

81. Hey, he was hoping with a little wine and a little Viagra, they could develop chemistry. . . .

EWWW! I creeped myself out!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

82. I think he has nothing but contempt for her

& for himself for being forced/maneuvered into picking her.
He's ready to crack.

[seabeyond]

67. but mccain doesnt know how to open a computer hence his poor job with google

much easier with du. within a half hour shit was showing up on the woman

[terrya]

69. This is turning into one of the most amateurish things I've ever seen in politics.

I don't want these people anywhere NEAR the White House.

Goddammit, if you aspire to run this country and this government, show some fucking professionalism.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

77. You might not have seen anything yet.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

70. K & R for epic vetting fail. Someone needs to get an LOLpicture up on them pronto.

:rofl:

[BeyondGeography]

71. They were probably thinking, hey, that's more than Bush did before he invaded Iraq

[Zech Marquis The 2nd]

72. This is beyond stupid!

As my first post here in DU for a long time, I simply can't believe that Old man McCain simply GOOGLED his redneck woman's background :rofl: :rofl::rofl: If he can't do THIS the right way, there's no way in hell I'd want him anywhere close to the nuclear weapons suitcase :evilgrin:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

86. It puts stupid to shame.

[Jennicut]

73. Google?!?! McGrumpster knows how to use the internets?

Obviously he didn't google enough.

[Douglas Carpenter]

74. MORE RECOMMENDS FOLKS??? This story needs to go viral NOW!!

[high density]

75. McCain, like Bush/Cheney

...is pompous enough to not care about public opinion.

If Palin was not on the "short list" a couple weeks ago then it shows there was a massive failure somewhere in his campaign. When I'm shopping for a big ticket item, I think about it for weeks, if not months in advance of my purchase. I cannot see myself researching brands X, Y, and Z, and then making the decision at the last minute to instead buy brand W, of which I know nothing about. If McCain is going to govern by the seat of his pants then that's a much bigger dose of "maverick" than any of us can survive.

[Vinca]

78. They obviously do not understand how to use "the Google."

Look at the myriad of scandals unearthed by the pajama press in just a couple of days.

[vanderBeth]

79. They didn't use well enough.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Hugin]

80. With great pleasure I K&R this thread...

:*

[central scrutinizer]

83. "keeping their fingers crossed"? Boy does that say experienced leadership!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

84. People do more research Googling porn than McCain did for Palin.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

85. "the running mate in a good or bad way becomes a window into the skills of the nominee."

[AZSlacker]

87. Unlike John McCain, I'm not a heavy gambler

However, if I were, I'd be willing to bet that Palin is one Genie they really wish could put back in the bottle.

[DS1]

88. They clicked on image search by accident and the choice was obvious

[krkaufman]

90. Wow, this is the real story... McCain's impulsive choice ...

... and inability to select a vetted candidate, even though he's been running for President, effectively, for 8+ years.

[AZSlacker]

92. Shame on you!!.... Had he picked Snake Eyes, this would have been a

Homerun!.... It is a shame the dice didn't land in his favor.. unfortunatley when you bet the bank on a VP choice, last minute picks can bite you in the ass

[krkaufman]

93. Who is "Snake Eyes"?

And what would have been a homerun?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

97. She was picked for him by the so called powers of the party

I don't believe that McBush would have picked her unless he was studying ex beauty queens on google!

[invictus]

98. K&R

[A-Schwarzenegger]

99. Lest we forget: these folks want to run the country, much less the world.

This aint no disco.