An army of political operatives from the McCain campaign has descended on Alaska to scour Sarah Palin's record for embarrassing revelations. Yes, only just now.
McCain's campaign has sent at least one dozen researchers and lawyers to Alaska to pore over Palin's background, ready to respond to questions about her tenure as governor and mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. Griffin has been leading the team in Alaska, which includes operatives of the Republican National Committee.They are only just now getting around to poring over her background. I don't know what explains this. How was this woman chosen as McCain's running mate? Who chose her? What were the criteria?
Republicans are rebutting what they describe as smears against Palin. Last week, McCain's campaign formed a "truth squad," which includes current and former GOP politicians who agree to speak with reporters. Heading up the effort from Arlington, Va., are Mark Paoletta and O'Callaghan, both Republican lawyers, and Brian Jones, a former communications director for McCain.
It is self-evident that Palin did not undergo the usual vetting process. Any suggestion to the contrary is laughable. For example, under any vetting process, the fact that she was under investigation for abusing the power of her office would have been a disqualifying fact for most campaigns. That was not the case with Palin, so what happened here? Where did the pressure to put her on the ticket come from?
How Sarah Palin became the Republican Party's 2008 vice-presidential nominee is the real story that remains to be told about this campaign.
