“it was inconceivable” that “if McCain fell ill or died, the country be left in the hands of Palin

[HipChick]

Another Game Changer snippet..

during debate preps, some staff members assigned to Sarah Palin by the McCain campaign discussed the “threatening possibility: that Palin was mentally unstable.” They add that several of Senator John McCain’s lieutenants agreed that if it looked as if their candidate might actually win in November, they would have to discuss how to relegate Ms. Palin “to the largely ceremonial role that premodern vice presidents inhabited”: “it was inconceivable” that “if McCain fell ill or died, the country be left in the hands of a President Palin.”

[gratuitous]

1. But instead of dumping her

They kept running the campaign, hoping against hope that all the polls were wrong or the voting machines could be rigged again, and place John Sidney McCain III (who isn't really a model of stability himself) in the Oval Office. And for a back-up, the political train wreck known as Sarah Palin. Absolutely fookin' brilliant.

[vixengrl]

5. It seems the height of cynicism to want to win

even after examining the quality of the candidates you're pimping, and finding them wanting. It's like selling a drug that you know for sure cures nothing, or any product you have on hand, but know won't work. It's like a fraud.

[aquart]

8. No, it's like selling a drug that you know will kill.

[vixengrl]

21. Very possibly so--

know the flavor of the month is death---but prefers not to acknowledge it.

[Contrary1]

2. Another scary thought:

Todd would have been the president in that scenario.

[rockymountaindem]

3. This is why I'm not concerned about her

If she does run for the 2012 nomination, people in the know in her own party are so afraid of her obvious incompetence that they will ensure her defeat. In the meantime they will also create a schism with her true believers that will fracture their party. Bring that on.

[MUAD_DIB]

20. Perhaps you might have missed this.

Palin, who everybody knows is crazy, or at the very best inept, spreads her crazy around just enough so that Romney looks reasonable and comes in to accept the nomination.

[NYC_SKP]

4. IIRC, something was said about how if Palin runs in 2012, it'll be the end of the Republican Party..

To which I say...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VyekL5IHloE/SwCaYuuh55I/AAAAAAAAAIg/RVngyyrHe58/S760/palin+2012.gif

:P

[hlthe2b]

9. I caution all who are confident of "checks & balances" to Palin

to take a moment to recall eight years of George W. Bush*

[Berry Cool]

13. Nah, Palin's no Bush.

Bush was willing to follow orders and be a figurehead. Palin? No way. She wants to be her own woman. No way the RNC will tolerate that.

[demigoddess]

42. they won't tolerate it because she is female. Remember Libby Dole? the R's

said she was their most qualified female and that she was fully qualified to be president, but when she actually ran, even her husband gave to her opponents!!!!! They will not tolerate a woman in the lead position. They will skewer her themselves.

[prolesunited]

17. Like anything that was done under Bush was a failure in their eyes

Billions vanished into the pockets of the already wealthy, tax policies made them even richer, they had their wars and gained control over Iraqi oil, Katrina was cleansed, millions fell into poverty and employers regained the upper hand, etc.

The Bush years weren't a failure; they were a huge success -- that is if you're a multimillionaire.

[Bobbieo]

26. So she doesn;t run as a Republican!!!

[mattvermont]

6. And Obama won by how many points?

Imagine how the dems can do when things just sort of suck.

[opihimoimoi]

7. It wasn't incon for the 50 million who voted for the R Team

[Bucky]

38. Of course. It was entirely unincon. How could we be so foolish as to think it was incon?

What's incon?

[opihimoimoi]

39. inconceivable? :o)

[47of74]

10. President Palin? Ugh.

I feel like my head's gonna explode thinking about that too much.

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Of course, none of this is new to us

who have been paying close attention over the past year, particularly readers of the Alaskan blogs, but it's wonderful to see it being openly discussed by the national mainstream media now. The powers that be within the Republican party must be realizing how truly whacko she is. It's rare for them to come out so strongly and publicly against one of their own. They must see her as a real threat to the Republican party power structure, and they want to stop her in her tracks.

She really must be stopped now before she acquires any more crazy followers. The woman is truly delusional, and dangerous because of her particular brand of charisma. The sad thing is that there are so many other delusional people in the US who see her as "like them," who will listen to Steven Schmidt's words and assume that HE is the one who is lying, that he's jealous, that he's sexist. She is St. Sarah to them, and it's going to take something really horrific and provable to shake their faith.

There have been rumblings here for a year about all kinds of things, but so far nothing that will definitively blow her cover.

I hope it comes soon.

[Berry Cool]

14. We don't need to stop her. The Republicans will.

Because she is damaging to their brand. And she IS a threat to their party power structure. She's their problem, not ours. They will take care of her.

ed. typo

[Hekate]

27. I hope there's a pipeline from Alaskans in the know to Republican powers "down here"...

... because I really do not trust the crazy base of the GOP. I know one Repub couple for whom Sarah was the last straw, and they couldn't vote for McCain. But how many more sane Repubs can we count on, when the GOP has spent decades courting the crazies and brownshirts?

Hekate

[randr]

12. What these people did was treason.

[grytpype]

15. Link please????

[Contrary1]

18. Here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/books/11book.html

[grytpype]

19. Thx

[Contrary1]

16. "The thing that Steve Schmidt and others have failed to acknowledge so far

is John McCain’s culpability in this near disaster. Regardless of who supposedly vetted her, the buck stopped with him, and he chose a woman to be his potential Vice President – OUR potential Vice President – who is not only incompetent by his campaign’s own admission, but who does not tell the truth. His decision was irresponsible, and absolutely reckless. As much as we chuckle at Sarah Palin, his judgment put our country, and the rest of the world at risk in the name of his own political ambition. History will not judge him kindly."

http://www.themudflats.net/

[jmowreader]

37. I don't think he actually CHOSE Palin...

I think he was told "you will choose Sarah Palin as your VP or the Religious Right will stay home on Election Day and you'll be the first presidential candidate to lose every state." Even in the worst blowouts--McGovern in 1972, Mondale in 1984--the other guy took one state. Without the Religious Right, McCain would have been very lucky to take Idaho. McCain wanted Holy Joe as his running mate--the RR's refusal to accept a Jew on the ticket ended that deal.

McCain's lieutenants accepted Palin because they still believe the American media is liberal, which of course it is not. They believed if they chose an evangelical from the Lower 48 the liberal press would blow the whole thing by telling the voters the candidate was batshit crazy even though he looks perfectly normal. They also believed (1) the Alaskan electorate is in love with her, (2) she's not old enough to really be a crook, and (3) she's far enough out of the mainstream that no significant opposition research could be done. What they didn't count on is (1) Palin has significant detractors in her state, (2) Palin's got a few skeletons in her closet and Republicans buy cheap locks, and (3) this thing called the Internet makes OR incredibly easy on even the most obscure players. Palin's also outwardly insane, which doesn't help much.

[Cirque du So-What]

22. 'Inconceivable,' huh?

My memory is good enough to recall events just over a year ago, and I remember McAnus looking like death warmed over at the end of the campaign. I believe that he would not have survived the stresses of presidentin' this past year, so Iquitarod would have been thrust into office - ready or not (not). Did the 'inconceivable' part mean that she would have been ushered out the back door if McAnus kicked the bucket? Not only is such an act illegal & unconstitutional - due to her legitimate election - it would have created a crisis of epic proportions, as Iquitarod is not the sort of person to go away quietly. These mercenary fucks would have risked everything to win that election, seeing that it could have ended badly in a great many ways if McAnus had up & died. Treasonous bastids who aren't worth the rope with which they need to be hanged - and I'm typically against capital punishment!

[ProfessorGAC]

36. Iquitarod! Very Good!

That is a clever turn of phrase.
GAC

[ddeclue]

23. The Republican political consultant behind picking her for Veep basically threw her under the bus on

60 Minutes tonight. It rocked!

[kentuck]

24. There is an old saying...

"Powder and paint can make you look what you ain't."

If anyone has ever listened to her voice in the background and not know she was the person talking, you would notice how screechy and annoying this person appears to be? But her good looks distract from her god-awful voice and message. It's her God-given saving grace, I suppose?

[grytpype]

25. Wow, unbelievable.

You know, Schmidt is slagging on Palin, but he was responsible for picking her!

Weird!

[Kurt Remarque]

28. it was horrid and all too concievable

[opihimoimoi]

29. The Palin pick was insulting to America and demonstrates the abysmal GOP Brain Trust

If they can fuck up a campaign worse than the Dems can....when it comes to Leadership...How can we ever

trust them again?

They ain't deserving shit ..... Palin is a Joke....empty/hollow/shallow....

[krispos42]

30. So, knowing this, they still kept on the campaign?

Jesus, do they have ANY hint of love for their country???

[HipChick]

35. GOP keeping the country safe...from Palin

[Bucky]

43. There's a tacky 20 yr-old joke: "The secret service has orders: if something happens to Bush.."

"Shoot Quayle." I just looked up who said that. It was John Kerry. Funny, but tacky. I have the feeling with McCain & Palin no one made that joke because it'd be hitting a little too close to home.

[saracat]

31. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter. Palin is popular

No matter what we think, she came in as the second most admired woman in the nation. Hillary only beat her by one percentage point!And, while I am sure there are a lot of bulk sales bolstering her book it is selling. Thousands are waiting in line to get her autograph. She is a lot more dangeous than Many democrats want to think. And her followers are fanatics!

This nation has been so dumbed down many support her no matter what the evidence of her perfidity and ignorance.In fact, it makes them like her more. it is a real insanity and not to be dimissed as negligable.

[malaise]

32. Palin was mentally unstable.

Palin is mentally unstable. To be kind she is bat shit crazy.

[HipChick]

34. The Other Sarah..

As Steve described her,eyes glazed over,unresponsive,downcast..WTF?

[Major Hogwash]

33. Scariest bitch on the planet for 2 whole months. Now, she's a subject for comic books.

Enjoy your tea party, Sarah, the movie "Alice in Wonderland" is coming out soon.

[nomaco-10]

40. Still to this day, I get the shivers, when I think....

what if mccain had won (as if that wouldn't be bad enough) and then died in office and that nutwad would have become president. Seriously, it causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

Then it occurs to me, that nearly half this country would have been happy with that outcome. I don't know who scares me more, the pukes running for office or joe blow public that supports and enables them to be elevated to such positions of power. Scary.

[tanyev]

41. Even if his health were fine, I think it would have gotten ugly.

Sarah would have no sooner moved into her office than her egomania would have escalated to an entirely new level. She and Taawd would have been plotting ways to marginalize McCain and she would have taken her case directly to "real America". McCain would have had to send her packing back to Alaska, and the GOP civil war would already be on.

[rocktivity]

44. To me, it's quite conceivable that McCain WOULD HAVE fallen ill or died

leaving the country not in the hands of Palin, but her puppeteers.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[nomaco-10]

45. Yeah, one billy crystal....

he's been chomping at the bits to pull her strings. War and never ending poverty anyone?