Vetted My Ass

The Washington Post's front page story this morning puts a brutal and final end to the lie that McSame's folks checked out Palin thoroughly.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head of 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.

Palin was one of two finalists in the vice presidential sweepstakes who were interviewed last week by former White House counsel Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., just days before McCain introduced her to the nation as his choice. The other finalist was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. One of the officials said Culvahouse was chasing down last-minute information about Pawlenty at the request of the campaign as late as last Thursday, the day McCain offered the job to Palin and she accepted.

The new details of the selection process provide a fuller picture of how and when McCain made his decision. Despite the late interview of the little-known Palin, senior McCain advisers said Tuesday night that she was chosen only after a lengthy and deliberative process that included the same background investigation given to others on McCain's shortlist and considerable debate among the candidate's inner circle about all his choices.

McCain did not speak face to face with Palin until Thursday morning, at his retreat in Sedona, Ariz. He also talked to her by telephone the previous Sunday. McCain had spoken with all of the others on his shortlist over the course of a selection process that went on for several months, but he was least familiar personally with the person he finally chose.

No, this was a rash, go-for-broke decision that reveals two things: One, just how bad McSame's chances are to win, and Two, just how poor John McSame's judgment is. It's not a brilliant, inspired choice. It's a roll of the dice. He has shown that he doesn't have the temperament to do this job. Period. He's not fit for the job. It's time people started realizing we need somebody who knows what the hell they are doing, not a gambler and an impulsive war hawk with a temper.

McSame lacks the credibility for President based on this decision. Period.