We've known of McCain's choice for less than a week, yet Palin is already in political hot water on many fronts. The question of the just how well the McCain campaign vetted Palin has thus been raised. First, I think that we should look into that question and then I think that we should address why it matters. While the McCain campaign maintains that it vetted Palin just as thoroughly as it did other finalists for the VP slot, one can understand why this may not actually be the case based on process alone. Let's now look at the process used with Palin and the possible holes in it.
The McCain campaign has stated that its teams of researchers went to Alaska to vet Palin long before the selection was made, perhpas going back months. However, there is evidence available that calls this into question.
- The records of Palin's hometown newspaper, the Valley Frontiersman, were never searched by the McCain campaign. This would have been a lengthy process, since this small newspaper does not maintain its print record on the Internet.
- The McCain campaign did not seek to interview Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, who it is alleged that Palin had fired after he refused to remove her sister's former husband from his job as a state trooper. Monegan is the major witness in an on-going ethics investigation against Palin -- "Trooper-Gate" -- and it seems odd that the campaign would not want his side of the story prior to making its selection.
- The McCain campaign did not search the public archives of Wasilla, the small town where Palin was mayor. Since this role was the bulk of her experience in government -- not to mention a big part of the claim that Palin has significant executive experience -- this seems an amazing oversight. It would have been a long task, since most records are not electronic., again giving rise to questions not only about how thorough was the vetting, but just how long a process it was.
- Campaign officials claimed that an FBI background check was party of its vetting of Palin, a point the FBI immediately stated was not the case. The FBI does not run such checks for political campaigns.
- No in-person vetting of the governor took place until the day before McCain's selection of Palin was actually made, and only two days prior to its announcement to the world. McCain himself did not speak face-to-face with Palin until the next day, the day prior to the announcement of her selection. He only spoke with her once by phone the previous Sunday. Again, this is most peculiar given the fact that his choice for the VP slot is not only the most important decision in terms of governance that he will make prior to the election, it is also the most important decision politically in terms of the race itself.
- There is no record of the campaign speaking to any political or business leaders in Alaska regarding Palin. Evidence of this includes both Alaska Senate president Lynda Green and state Representative Gail Philips, who is also a former speaker of the State House, being on record as having not been asked any questions by the campaign. Indeed, both maintain that they have learned of no evidence that anyone in politics, nor those with prominent business ties, were asked any questions by the campaign. As Philips put it, “I started calling around and asking, and I have not been able to find one person that was called. I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. Not one of them had heard. Alaska is a very small community, we know people all over, but I haven’t found anybody who was asked anything.”
- Republican attorneys for the campaign went to Alaska on -- or near -- September 1st for a "deeper vetting" of Palin, days after the announcement of her joining McCain's ticket was made. Later, this team was referred to as a "rapid response team," one that would learn about -- and then supposedly help put out -- any political fires that started regarding Palin.
- In the speech that Palin gave when being introduced as McCain's running mate, she made particular reference to being against the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere." This, however, was not really the case, as I outlined in a blog post titled "Sarah Palin & Ted Stevens" of September 1, 2008 (currently linked here during September 2008; it will be archived, but still viewable, thereafter). Indeed, her ties of support for the project -- and the receipt of its federal dollars -- is deep and very much on the record. This seems a politically opaque choice at best, allowing Palin's voracity to be called into question from the get-go.
The above points speak to the vetting process of Palin by the McCain campaign and its possible shortcomings. Now, let's turn to other pieces of relevant information about Palin that have emerged onto the national stage since her announcement as McCain's VP selection. Note that I'm not indicating here whether or not these pieces of information were known or not to the campaign prior to her selection as McCain's choice for VP. Rather, these are simply pieces of information that are relevant both to the selection of Palin as a running mate and to the selection by the nation of our vice president.
- Probably the most relevant piece of information about Palin is the on-going ethics investigation of her -- generally known as "Trooper-Gate" -- by the Alaskan legislature. After Palin was tapped as McCain's running mate, I posted a background piece on this investigation. If you are unfamiliar with the facts, I recommend reading both it and the links in it for the relevant background. It should be noted that while Palin had been cooperating with the investigation by the legislature until becoming the VP pick -- indeed she has repeatedly said that she has "nothing to hide" -- her tune has now changed. After hiring a lawyer to represent her in the matter, she first tried to stall the investigation. Now, her tactic has changed to having the legislature's investigation killed altogether. Palin is refusing to testify and subpoenas have been promised. (This is just the spectacle we need after the law-trampling Bush years, no?)
- Palin's ties to indicted Republican Senator Ted Stevens run much deeper than the "Bridge to Nowhere" outlined above. Indeed, she built her state-wide political muscle as the director of Steven's 527 group, "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc." Such 527 groups are able to raise unlimited amounts of money for political candidates. While 527s are legal generally, the legality of Stevens' particular group has been called into question as part of on-going criminal charges against the Senator. (Palin has thus far refused to comment on her role at the 527.)
Stevens also supported Palin in her effort to become Alaska's governor in 2006, going so far as to produce a television commercial for her. That commercial was featured on Palin's web site until the very morning that McCain announced Palin as his running mate. You can see the ad, as well as its original link on Palin's web site, here.)
The links between Palin and Stevens raise a lot of questions, about both Palin herself and the man who asked her to be his running mate. Regarding Palin, what does it say that she closely linked herself to the first US senator to be indicted for criminal felonies -- indeed to be indicted for any type of criminal activity -- in 15 years. (Information on Stevens' legal woes can be found here.)
- McCain is trying to run on a platform of being against excessive government spending and so-called earmarks. They have tried to paint Palin in this light, but her record reflects quite the opposite. As Sam Stein of The Huffington Post tells it:
As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she hired the firm of Hoffman Silver Gilman & Blasco to help secure spending projects for her town. The expenditure apparently paid off. From 2000 through 2002, Wasilla received more than $5.5 million in federal cash for transportation and social service projects.According to the group Citizens Against Government Waste, the city received $1 million for a bus facility in 2000. In 2001, the Wasilla Health Center was granted a half million dollars for a community mental health center. That same year the city's emergency shelter also was granted $500,000 for a transitional living program for homeless youth. A year later, the Wasilla regional dispatch center received $1 million in pork, the city was granted $1.5 million for water and sewer improvements, and received an additional $600,000 for a bus facility.
The use of the earmark system that -- as a vice presidential candidate -- Palin now criticizes continued into her tenure as governor. As the Los Angeles Times reported, the state of Alaska requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million for next year's federal budget. And according to Citizens Against Government Waste, Alaska received $379,669,715 in pork during fiscal year 2008, nearly $100 million more than any other state.
Perhaps just as damning, the particular lobbyiest that Palin hired was Steven Silver. Silver worked for disgraced -- and now convicted felon -- Jack Abramoff. (BTW, the best comprehensive background on Abramoff and his Republican "K Street Project" can be found here. I can't recommend it highly enough.)
What is most spectacular about this entire political spectacle is that McCain himself once criticized Palin on this issue. Indeed, he targeted her as a feeder at the federal teat. From the Chicago Tribune:
In 2001, McCain's list of spending that had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla. The Arizona senator targeted $1 million in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town -- one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion.McCain also criticized $450,000 set aside for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin's tenure as mayor and cleared Congress soon after she left office in 2002. The funding was provided to help direct locally grown produce to schools, prisons and other government institutions, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
- Many Republican leaders in Alaska do not have a high opinion of their governor. While not dispositive of Palin's abilities, the viewpoints of those in her own party will be used against her -- and against McCain -- politically. Indeed, look at these quotes from the two top Republicans in the state legislature:
"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"
Another top Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Veep, replied with this: "She's old enough. She's a U.S. citizen."
- In a July 2008 CNBC television interview, Palin remarkably noted her own ignorance of what exactly the position of the vice presidency entails. The interview can be found here. The interview was about Trooper-Gate, but turned to Internet speculation that Palin would be a possible VP selection of McCain. Palin answered with the following: "But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me: 'What is it exactly that the VP does everyday?'"
- Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin, was a registered member of the Alaska Independance Party, the third largest political party in Alaska, for most of 1995 through 2002. Widely diverging from McCain's campaign slogan of "Country First," the slogan for the AIP is "Alaska First -- Alaska Always," with its general intent being succession from the United States. Todd Palin presumably changed his party affiliation when he did in an effort to not torpedo his wife's first forays into statewide politics, which began in 2002. Sarah Palin herself was never a formal member of the AIP, but Palin did send a video message to the party's 2008 convention, which included the message "keep up the good work." AIP founder Joe Vogler had the following to say during an interview in 1991.
"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government."
"And I won't be buried under their damn flag, I'll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home."
"And then you get mad. And you say, the hell with them. And you renounce allegiance, and you pledge your efforts, your effects, your honor, your life to Alaska."
- People as close to Palin as her mother-in-law are uncertain of Palin's qualifications, going so far as to say they question whether or not they will vote for the GOP ticket this November. This certainly also indicates that close family members were not part of any vetting process. Faye Palin, the mother-in-law in question, was quoted as saying of Sarah Palin, "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain." Harsh.
- It is thought in part that Palin was put on the ticket in order to appeal to supporters of Hillary Clinton who may be displeased with Obama. Given that Palin is very far right socially, this seems a real stretch to me on its face. Regardless, it seems even more unlikely when Palin is on record mocking Clinton herself as a "whiner."
- Andrew Sullivan has noted that Palin has on-the-record statements saying that she simply has not followed foreign affairs, including the war in Iraq. He notes this interview with Alaska Business Monthly magazine.
Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?
Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.
As Sullivan notes, wondering just how thoroughly Palin was vetted, "As far as I can tell, her response to this central issue of national security was three-fold: I don't know enough to have an opinion apart from what I hear on the news, I agree with the Democratic party's focus on the welfare and safety of the troops, I'm a loyal Republican and patriot."
Her knowledge of foreign policy will certainly be a key point in the campaign going forward and the McCain campaign should have been ready to address this issue from day one. Instead, they have simply noted that she has foreign policy experience because "Alaska is the closest state to Russia" -- seriously? seriously? -- and that she is commander in chief of the Alaskan national guard. Of course, Major General Craig Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaskan national guard, told the AP that Palin plays no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska national guard. The entire operation, he goes further, is under federal control, with the governor not even briefed on any such situations.
Perhaps the most damning point on this issue is that when McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds was interviewed by CNN's Campbell Brown regarding Palin's qualifications to be commander in chief should she become president, he had nothing. Perhaps fearing a repeat performance, McCain cancelled his scheduled appearance last night on Larry King Live. (Brown truly eviscerated Bounds.)
- Again, Palin's time as mayor of Wasilla is touted by the Mccain folks as a large part of her executive experience. However, it is damaging to note that there was a recall effort against her during her tenure. The movement was in response to Palin's firing of the town's police chief and library director for "not fully supporting her." Many believed that it was political payback for these individuals not supporting her candidacy for the mayoral position. The recall was ultimately tabled.
- In a similar pattern, Palin herself diminished the value of her role as Wasilla's mayor, when in an October 1996 inerview, she had the following response when reporter Laura Mitchell Harris asked Palin how she would govern Wasilla after she fired many of its previously appointed leaders?... how she would govern with little experience at the top? Palin's response regarding governing Wasilla: "It's not rocket science. It's $6 million and 53 employees."
- The day after Palin's place on the ticket was made public, the McCain campaign announced that Palin's daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant. The pregnancy itself is no ones business other than Bristol's and anyone with whom she chooses to share it. Barack Obama himself made this perfectly clear that the children of candidates are off limits and his campaign has lived up to his words thus far. However, the existence of the pregnancy does raise interesting political questions. The McCain campaign maintains that it learned of the pregnancy the day before Palin's selection as McCain's running mate. If true, he had to know that the situation would undoubtedly raise questions surrounding both his and Palin's views on hot-button topics ranging from sex education to a woman's right to choose. Both Palin and McCain opposed programs to prevent teen pregnancy via sex education. Palin also slashed funding for a program designed to benefit teen mothers in need of a place to live.
Interestingly, it is the McCain campaign that has kept the issue of the pregnancy front and center. Josh Marshall of TPM noted it this way:Since there is widespread agreement that the children of candidates should not become topics of campaign debate, it behooves us to note that the McCain campaign has almost singlehandedly made Sarah Palin's daughter a central figure in the Republican convention.
It was the McCain campaign that announced Palin's daughter's pregnancy. That alone might be understandable since it appears a supermarket tabloid was about to print the story. But it was the McCain campaign, entirely on its own, that dished up unsubstantiated claims about maternity tests and all sorts of other lurid nonsense that had never been seen in print anywhere. And now the McCain campaign has staged a ceremonial laying-on-of-hands on the tarmac in St. Paul in which Sen. McCain has given his official blessing to the young couple and embrace of Bristol's boyfriend Levi.
...
Let's be clear about what's happening here. Overwhelmingly, reporters are pressing eminently reasonable questions -- her role in troopergate, her lack of experience, her connections to the AIP, her history of earmarking and lobbyists, etc. Meanwhile, the McCain campaign is going absolutely non-stop about Palin's daughter. It is unmistakable. [Note: the story includes photos and video.]
- Finally, and quite in jest, I raise the specter of outlandish 1980's hair styles as seen in this video clip of Palin as an Alaskan sportscaster. Out-freakin-standing!
There are two sets of questions raised by all of this. First, does the seemingly poor job of vetting that McCain and his campaign did of Palin speak to his capacity to be an effective chief executive? And second, does what we have learned about his choice for his running mate speak to the same? Would it be worse to know that McCain hadn't learned of all of these things prior to making his selection of Palin... or would it be worse to know that he had and chose her anyway?
There has been a lot of information presented here. No doubt, it will take some time to digest. I'll close then by quoting -- in full -- a TPM piece by Josh Marshall that speaks well on these issues.
I've written below how Sarah Palin not only lacks the experience to be president but also the judgment and temperament for the job. Far more damaging for McCain, however, is that his choice of Palin provides tangible and now readily understandable evidence that John McCain lacks the judgment and temperament for the presidency. You're already seeing conservative commentators reacting to his decision by calling McCain reckless and the more risky choice in this election.
They say the choice of a vice president is a candidate's first presidential decision. In his speech last week, Bill Clinton said that on this test Barack Obama hit it out of the park. That may be campaign trail hyperbole. But no one questions that Joe Biden has the experience, knowledge and stature to become president. John McCain has campaigned on a vision of America at war, facing numerous present and potential enemies. And though he faces a not insignificant chance of dying during his first term of office (he's a 72 year old man who has twice battled cancer), he has picked a running mate who he knows little about and who is manifestly unready to serve as president.
Impulsive, reckless? As Joe Klein puts it, McCain is "He has proven himself, yet again, ready on day one--to shoot from the hip." It's hard to see how this doesn't make a joke out of the importance he's claimed to place on having a commander-in-chief seasoned and experienced enough to lead in dangerous times.
Just after McCain announced his pick, a number of commentators -- some independent analysts and others Republican partisans -- said that this was McCain reverting to form. He's a gambler, he likes rolling the dice, playing craps -- to use the most chosen metaphor. (Little discussed is that McCain is, in the literal sense, a big time gambler, though he appears to keep the amount of money he loses under control.) But is that the temperament one wants in a president and commander-in-chief? Someone whose inclination, at critical moments of decision, is toward risky, high-stakes gambles? That kind of erratic behavior is pardonable, even an asset in a senator (who has little direct power beyond 1 of 100 votes and the ability to persuade people). But it's a dangerous trait for a leader of a country of 300 million.
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