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Source: www.msnbc.msn.com --- 2 days ago
The McCain team has hastily assembled a team of former Bush White House Aides to tutor prospective vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin on foreign policy issues, write her speeches and begin preparing her for her all important October debate against Sen. Joe Biden. ... Source: firstread.msnbc.msn.com --- 1 day ago
USA Today curtain-raises Palin’s speech tonight with this story: “Call it McCain's Gamble. The Republican Presidential candidate is pulling bigger crowds and a gusher of cash to his campaign since his unexpected pick Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. But questions about how rigorously John McCain vetted Palin and fresh scrutiny of the governor's record are fueling a larger debate about McCain's shoot-from-the-hip style and Palin's qualifications, in a crisis, to be president. The piece also previews the speech. Written by former White House speechwriter Matt Scully, it will combine autobiography and policy. ‘She's going to talk to the delegates about the future of this country, about how to reform broken institutions of government,’ says McCain strategist Steve Schmidt. ‘People will hear about her reform-and-change message’ and about energy and its links to national security. ‘She'll also communicate directly to the American people who she is,’ Schmidt says.” The Washington Post adds, “In the speech, Palin is likely to emphasize her areas of policy expertise -- particularly energy and political reform -- rather than focusing on her biography or gender. An initial version of the address, which speechwriter Matthew Scully started crafting a week ago for an unnamed male vice-Presidential pick, included plenty of attacks aimed at Democratic nominee Barack Obama along with ample praise for McCain, Aides said. But t ... Source: firstread.msnbc.msn.com --- 2 days ago
The Washington Post says the news that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, “Palin's revelation continued to reshape what Republicans had hoped would be a boisterous send-off for the McCain-Palin ticket. It also left some Republicans privately voicing concern that the campaign may have missed other potentially damaging background information about McCain's little-known pick… McCain Aides pushed back hard Monday night against any suggestion that they had mishandled the selection process. ‘Nothing that has come out did not come out in the vet -- she was fully vetted,’ said a senior campaign adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.” The New York Times : “A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican Presidential ticket.” In addition to the news that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter in pregnant, “it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.” “At the least, Republic ... Source: firstread.msnbc.msn.com --- 1 day ago
Last night’s bombshell by the Washington Post’s Dan Balz : “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head Sen. John McCain’s vice Presidential vetting team until last Wednesday in Arizona, the day before McCain asked her to be his running mate, and she did not disclose the fact that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant until that meeting, two knowledgeable McCain officials acknowledged Tuesday.” The Atlantic’s Josh Green writes about how Republicans could replace Palin on the ticket. “At any point before [tonight], McCain could simply replace Palin. But once she formally accepts her nomination, he’ll no longer have the power to do so unilaterally. According to Ben Ginsberg, the former general council at the Republican National Committee, Republican rules stipulate that the 168 members of the national committee would need to ratify any replacement to make it official.” Salon’s Mike Madden looks at some of the more interesting GOP responses given to questions about Palin’s experience. “If you ask McCain's team, the skepticism about Palin's experience is totally unwarranted. ‘She's more qualified than Obama,’ senior advisor Mark Salter told Salon, citing her 13 years in elected office (including her time on the Wasilla, Ala., city council). ‘He has no business being president.’ Campaign Aides seem unwilling to drop the line that Palin's command of the Alaska National Guard gives h ...
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com --- 2 days ago
In one of those moments a network executive would excitingly term "great TV," CNN's Campbell Brown and John McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds clashed on air Monday over vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials. Tensions -- and voices -- rose after the anchorwoman told Bounds that she was just "trying to get someone from the campaign to explain what foreign policy experience [Palin] has." Bounds repeatedly skirted the question, choosing instead to criticize Barack Obama's lack of executive experience. "All right, Tucker," Brown said as she ended the segment with a broad, sarcastic smile. "I'm just going to give it to ya, baby." The clip was much in demand today -- and, CNN revealed, the McCain camp made clear it was not pleased. This afternoon, anchorman Wolf Blitzer announced on air that McCain's planned interview with Larry King tonight had been canceled by the campaign. Blitzer said McCain Aides complained that Brown had gone "over the line" in her grilling of Bounds. McCain campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella later explained the cancellation with this sharply worded statement: "After a relentless refusal by certain on-air reporters to come to terms with John McCain’s selection of Alaska’s sitting governor as our party’s nominee for vice president, we decided John McCain’s time would be better served elsewhere." Meanwhile, ABC News announced that it would be broadcasting "the only interview" with McCain d ...
Source: elections.foxnews.com --- 2 days ago
Talks between former Presidential candidate Ron Paul and John McCain’s campaign over allowing Paul to speak at the Republican Convention are “stalled,” FOX News confirmed Tuesday. Aides to Paul said they have been in discussions with the McCain campaign over the past few days to allow the nine-term congressman to work the floor of the Republican [...] ... Source: www.huffingtonpost.com --- 2 days ago
To borrow a line from a literary character who's suddenly thrust into a hallucinatory world where insanity is the norm, the whole Sarah Palin thing is becoming curiouser and curiouser. Two weeks ago, Palin was a political nobody, a former Miss Congeniality turned small-town mayor turned governor of a state with a higher moose population than human; last week she became a shockingly underqualified vice Presidential candidate, a clever election-year gimmick with no experience in foreign policy or homeland security who insists she's ready to take the reins of our nation should anything happen to her 72-year-old running-mate once in office; this week, Sarah Palin is all of these things plus a grandmother-to-be -- the result of her 17-year-old daughter's apparent unwillingness to abide by mom's heavily-promoted "abstinence only" stance -- and a lightning rod drawing one fresh jolt of controversy after another. So particularly in light of this latest disclosure, the question has to be asked: How deep is the McCain camp's reservoir of spin? Not only are Aides for John McCain swearing that Sarah Palin -- whom McCain had met in person only once before deciding that she was his political "soul mate" some time last week -- was fully and properly vetted, McCain himself is now saying that he knew about the child 17-year-old Bristol Palin was carrying when he chose the teen's mother as his running-mate. To say that this seems like flat-out garb ... Source: www.huffingtonpost.com --- 1 day ago
Just hours after Aides to John McCain accused the media and Sen. Barack Obama of engaging in sexist and chauvinist treatment of Sarah Palin, another prominent member of McCain's team said the coverage has been neither sexist nor driven by Obama. Former Rep. Rob Portman, an adviser to the Arizona Republican, argued in a brief interview with the Huffington Post that while the coverage of Palin's family travails has on occasion been out of bounds, there was no inherent gender bias to it. Moreover, Portman lauded the Obama campaign for condemning the personalized scrutiny of the presumptive Republican vice Presidential nominee. "I don't know if [the coverage] would be any worse for her than it would be someone else... Over the line is over the line and both Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden have made statements this week saying that it is over the line, saying that children of candidates really ought to be outside the political fray," said Portman, a former Bush administration official and a one-time potential McCain VP himself. "I think it is absolutely fair to look at someone's record... And it is appropriate for the media to look at that because, in a sense, the media keeps us all honest about what our positions are and if we are consistent. Where it goes over the line is when it becomes about the private life of the family. And to the extent that that does not affect public policy decisions, which in the case of the discussion this week a ... Source: www.economist.com --- 2 days ago
THE story of Sarah Palin gets more bizarre by the hour and it now seems obvious that the McCain campaign did a horrible job of vetting his running mate. Beyond the pregnant daughter, we have stories today about her loose association with the secession-minded Alaskan Independence Party, her hiring of a private lawyer in a state ethics investigation, her initial support for the "bridge to nowhere" , her history as director of Ted Stevens' 527 group , and her own crazy pastor . Is this really how the McCain campaign wanted to roll out their VP candidate, or were they simply unprepared for all that has followed the announcement? It certainly seems like the latter, and apparently the real vetting is only now beginning . The New York Times reports Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-Presidential choice. The campaign was still calling Republican operatives as late as Sunday night asking them to go to Alaska to deal with the unexpected candidacy of Ms. Palin. According to the Times , up until last week Mr McCain still hoped to pick Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge as his running mate. But the reaction of the Christian right to the possibility of pro-choice candidate ... Source: www.huffingtonpost.com --- 2 days ago
During the primary campaign, charges that Barack Obama or his surrogates engaged in sexist politics were, perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom, not all that common. For starters, much of that derision was aimed at the media -- several pundits and hosts in particular. Secondly, Hillary Clinton shied away (at least publicly) from inserting gender into the campaign, much to the consternation of her female supporters. So it is with a little tinge of surprise and much more newsworthiness that the McCain campaign leveled charges of sexism today at Barack Obama for his treatment of vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In a comment sent out by the Arizona Republican's Aides, adviser Carly Fiorina said she was "appalled by the Obama campaign's attempts to belittle Governor Sarah Palin's experience. The facts are that Sarah Palin has made more executive decisions as a Mayor and Governor than Barack Obama has made in his life. Because of Hillary Clinton's historic run for the Presidency and the treatment she received, American women are more highly tuned than ever to recognize and decry sexism in all its forms. They will not tolerate sexist treatment of Governor Palin." As evidence, Fiorina pointed to comments from Joe Biden calling Palin "good looking" and Obama comparing his campaign staff to the "50 employees" under Palin's control as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. The Biden instance may be taken out of context. The Senator was actually ... Source: weblogs.chicagotribune.com --- 9 hours ago
by John McCormick Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been good for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign fund, with sources in the Illinois Democrat's Presidential campaign saying he has raised $8 million online from more than 130,000 donors since her vice Presidential nomination acceptance speech last night at the Republican National Convention. Campaign Aides say Obama is on pace to record $10 million in post-Palin contributions by the time Sen. John McCain takes the stage this evening for his... ... Source: www.moreover.com --- 3 days ago
Bristol Palin, left, holding her infant brother, is expecting a child of her own, the McCain campaign announced. John McCain's campaign Aides said they were aware of the girl's pregnancy before the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee chose Palin ...
Source: airamerica.com --- 3 days ago
Holy crapadoodle. Reuters: "The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child. Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain Aides said. 'We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,' the Palins' statement said. 'Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,' the Palins said." ... Source: www.kentucky.com --- 2 days ago
Barack Obama's Presidential campaign can hardly believe its luck this week. Coming off a well-received convention where 40 million TV viewers saw Obama's acceptance speech, the Democratic nominee made three nightly appearances in battleground states that each drew 14,000 or more people. Meanwhile, the start of the Republican convention was blown off course by Hurricane Gustav and questions surrounding vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. All of which helps explain why Americans outside a few heartland industrial states may hardly be aware that Obama is campaigning this week. The campaign is so satisfied, Aides say, that he's making no effort to shake things up or to make national news. There are no new proposals or new lines of attack on Republican John McCain. Obama spent all of Tuesday out of public sight after cutting short his Labor Day speeches in deference to Gustav's victims. After all, there's an old saying in politics: If your opponent is self-destructing, don't get in his way. McCain has hardly self-destructed, of course, and he may rebound quickly with some good events at the convention in St. Paul. For the moment, however, Democrats could hardly have hoped for a better one-week run. ... Source: tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com --- 3 days ago
Stranger and stranger : The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child. Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain Aides said. There's also this: 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. McCain knew! Who says Palin wasn't thoroughly vetted? Late Update : Here's the statement from the Palins: "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. "Bristol and the young man she will marry are goin ... Find more results for Presidential Aides on RSSMicro.com |
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ST. PAUL -- One by one, two by two, then in quick streams, reporters Monday noon rushed down a curtained corridor on the print media floor at the Republican National Convention to swarm around one of the baldest men on the planet. They couldn't believe their eyes. Just an hour or so after the bombshell news was put out by John McCain 's campaign abo ut the pregnancy of Gov. Sarah Palin' s teenage daughter, there was the actual campaign manager himself, Steve Schmidt , walking right by. He was quickly swarmed by media representatives with tiny tape recorders doing what excites them most, chasing a breaking news story on a day they thought would be dull. Patiently, by and large, he answered question after question, some of them several times, pausing to appear to think as he crafted his responses. (See video below.) Finally, after nearly a half-hour of pushing and shoving and competing to get questions in, Schmidt said he had to go. And walked off with a squad of newly-appointed Palin Aides who'd been standing by not smiling. The excited media, now fed new details, rushed off to write their stories and flash them out to the world. Precisely as Schmidt hoped they would. It was a classic, illustrative and instructive case of political damage control. Weeks ago one of the first things out of Palin's mouth when.... ...she met with the McCain campaign's vice Presidential vetter was word of her daughter's condition and her husband's DUI ar ...
John McCain wooing Ron Paul ? That's what the Washington Times reported today. Here's the lead to the story by veteran political reporter Ralph Z. Hallow : ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The McCain campaign, acting through the Republican National Committee, has been negotiating with Rep. Ron Paul to win his support and acquire the names of his sympathizers among the 4,607 delegates and alternates at the Republican National Convention, according to a senior aide to the Texas congressman. Paul might go along with providing the McCain forces entree to his allies (at which point we imagine the Aides to the almost-official Republican Presidential nominee still will face a daunting task). But Paul himself seemed to douse any possibility that he'll be sharing a podium anytime soon with McCain and offering himself as a backer. Appearing on C-SPAN today, before hosting a large gathering of his devotees near the site of the GOP convention, Paul noted that his entire political career has been devoted to three core principles: limited government, a balanced budget and a "sensible" foreign policy. Referring to McCain, Paul said (in his typically low-key manner) that "it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense" for him to support someone who, in his view, does not adhere to those positions. Good point. -- Don Frederick Credit: Associated Press ...
IN THE HEADLINES Cindy McCain, wife of Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, speaks as first lady Laura Bush listens during the opening session of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Workers put the finishing touches on a sign for Republican vice Presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, at the Xcel Center before the first session of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughters from left, Piper, Willow and Bristol are seen Dec. 8, 2006, at the Governor's mansion, in Juneau, Alaska. John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign Aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's. (AP Photo/Juneau Empire,Brian Wallace)* * MAGS OUT, NO SALES ...
Republican John McCain, whose running mate disclosed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, has opposed proposals to spend federal money on teen-pregnancy prevention programs and voted to require poor teen mothers to stay in school or lose their benefits. In this Aug. 29, 2008 file photo, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin comes off the stage to greet the crowd after appearing with Republican Presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not in photo, during the "Road to the Convention Rally," in Dayton, Ohio. With her are her children Bristol, left, holding Trig, and Willow, center. John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant, an announcement aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughters from left, Piper, Willow and Bristol are seen Dec. 8, 2006, at the Governor's mansion, in Juneau, Alaska. John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign Aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's. (AP Photo/Juneau Empire,Brian Wallace)* * MAGS OUT, NO SALES ...
Sarah Palin's path to the Republican ticket started with her name on a list - and a team of some 25 people poring through public records searching for trouble spots without her knowledge. Then came the 70-question survey and a nearly three-hour interview. Bristol Palin, 17, holds her brother Trig during the campaign rally where Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced Bristol and Trig's mom, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as his vice Presidential running mate in Dayton, Ohio, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Sarah Palin said Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. Bristol and Trig's sister Willow stands at left. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughters from left, Piper, Willow and Bristol are seen Dec. 8, 2006, at the Governor's mansion, in Juneau, Alaska. John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign Aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's. (AP Photo/Juneau Empire,Brian Wallace)* * MAGS OUT, NO SALES Supporters of Republican vice Presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, let the media photoograph heir t-shirts during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. ...