The Daily Bric-A-Brac: Sarah!

So Bill Burton is spending a day under the bus... although I gather that, down the road, the campaign will be grateful for its "hair-trigger" reaction.

Barack Obama is a bigger cultural phenomenon than American Idol, the Beijing Olympics, and the Oscars.

McCain first met Palin in February of 2008, according to an official tick-tock e-mailed to reporters. I've posted it after the jump.

Dan Gerstein, a former adviser to Sen. Joe Lieberman, in the New York Daily News:

"In picking an unknown, untested, half-a-term woman governor from Alaska to be his running mate, John McCain is following in a long line of reckless men who have rolled the dice for a beauty queen. Except in this case, McCain is taking one of the biggest, boldest gambles in modern American political history."

From the McCain campaign

John McCain first met Governor Sarah Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February of 2008 and came away extraordinarily impressed.  John McCain followed her career and admired her tenacity and her many accomplishments.   She was scheduled for a high profile speaking role at our convention and included in the VP selection process because of his admiration for her strong reform credentials.   Last Sunday, Governor Palin and John McCain had a conversation over the phone. Governor Palin was at the Alaska State Fair, and John McCain was at his home at Phoenix.  Previously, Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, had also been in regular contact with the Governor as part of the on-going selection process.  This past week, Governor Palin arrived with Kris Perry in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Wednesday evening. Upon arrival, Governor Palin and her longtime aide Kris Perry met with Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter of the McCain campaign at Mr. Bob Delgado's home in Flagstaff. Mr. Delgado is the CEO of the Hensley corporation, which is Mrs. Cindy McCain's family business. On Thursday morning, Governor Palin and staff were joined by Mrs. Cindy McCain and later joined by John McCain at the McCain family home in Sedona, Arizona. At approximately 11:00 a.m. Thursday August 28, 2008, John McCain formally invited Governor Sarah Palin to join the Republican ticket as the vice presidential nominee on the deck of the McCain family home.

Later that morning, John McCain departed for Phoenix and Governor Palin departed with staff to Flagstaff, Arizona.  Governor Palin, Kris Perry, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter proceeded to the Manchester Inn and Conference Center in Middleton, Ohio. They were checked into the hotel as the Upton Family. While there, Governor Palin's children, who had been told they were going to Ohio to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary, were told for the first time that their mother would be a nominee for Vice President of the United States of America.   

Today, John McCain was proud to announce that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a proven-reformer, will share a partnership with him to shake things up in Washington and to make government more effective for American families