"questions swirling around Sarah Palin...Is McCain likely to switch running mates?

[ProSense]

THE STABILITY OF THE TICKET.... The New York Times had an item today about the various questions swirling around Sarah Palin, and reported, "Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina said that he had heard no discussion about removing Ms. Palin from the ticket."

<...>

Nevertheless, campaign reporters have begun at least asking about Palin's future, and as Josh Marshall noted, the futures markets apparently find the question interesting, as well.

As some of you know I keep an eye on the political futures markets at Intrade.com. And I've been wondering whether they'd open a contract on whether Sarah Palin would make it to November, let alone the White House. And sure enough, here it is. Still a long shot at 15% odds of it happening. But up 12 points so far today.

<...>

Is McCain likely to switch running mates? No. It would take a lot more than "I'd like to spend more time with my family" to help justify a political catastrophe of this magnitude, and McCain would no doubt be loath to admit making this big a mistake.

What's more, given that Republican donors and the hardcore religious right activists are thrilled with Palin joining the ticket, McCain would face enormous institutional pressure to keep her, unless there's a complete collapse in the polls, which seems highly unlikely.

But it's worth watching how this unfolds. If McCain drops Palin, it's a disaster for the Republican Party (unless there's someone truly extraordinary waiting in the wings). If McCain keeps Palin, he runs the risk of having a series of increasingly embarrassing revelations come out slowly between now and November.

Either way, McCain's judgment couldn't look much worse.

link

McCain is between a rock and a hard place.



Oops, edited to add link.

[napi21]

1. I guess I'm in the minority, but I think he'll keep her on the ticket.

McNuts seems every bit as subborn as Shrub, if not more so, and I can't see him admitting his first choice was a mistake!

[Arugula Latte]

3. Either way, it's good for us.

:)

[corkhead]

4. Thing is, it probably wasn't his first choice. It was James Dobson's

[kwolf68]

2. LMMFAO

So here we are debating whether or not the presumptive nominee for the Repukes will ever make it to November...has this discussion been applied to Obama's choice as running mate?

In a sane world, this would be check mate.

[ProSense]

5. McCain now hiding from the media? Cancels Larry King interview:

September 2, 2008, 7:28 pm

McCain Cancels Larry King Interview

By Jim Rutenberg

ST. PAUL — Senator John McCain on Tuesday canceled a long-scheduled interview with Larry King of CNN as punishment for what his aides said was an unfair interview of a McCain campaign spokesman by the network host Campbell Brown on Monday night.

Wolf Blitzer, the CNN anchor, announced the news on Tuesday afternoon, saying, “A senior McCain adviser tells CNN the interview has been pulled because of a segment CNN ran last night during Campbell Brown’s ‘Election Central’.”

In that segment, Ms. Brown had grilled Tucker Bounds, a campaign spokesman, after he said that the role of Mr. McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard was an example of executive experience that Senator Barack Obama of Illinois did not have.
“Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard, just one?” Ms. Brown asked.

Mr. Bounds responded, “Any decision she has made as the commander of the National Guard that’s deployed overseas is more of a decision Barack Obama’s been making as he’s been running for president for the last two years.”

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