In memos, e-mails and phone calls this week, Obama campaign officials have urged surrogates and allies to mention Republicans who are "nervous" about the Palin pick and to link those worries to George McGovern's aborted vice presidential pick of Thomas Eagleton in 1972, according to three Democratic surrogates.
That year, McGovern rescinded the pick after learning that Eagleton had been treated for depression. Questions about the thoroughness of the Palin vet have been raised, particularly about how and when Palin disclosed the news that her teenage daughter is pregnant and whether Palin's political resume had been thoroughly scrubbed.
On Wednesday, the campaign's chief surrogate wranglers distributed a three page compilation of quotes from Republicans concerned about the Palin pick. (See the text after the jump.) One surrogate said he had been urged to bring up the example of Eagleton in order to seed the idea that McCain might consider dropping him from the ticket.
Obama spokesperson Bill Burton said that surrogates haven't been pushed to mention Eagleton. "We did not give that guidance," he said.
Responding to Palin has been a challenge.
In public, the Obama campaign has stuck to its message, noting that Palin's speech last night barely referenced the economy. Today, Obama told reporters that he didn't particularly mind Palin's jabs at him, and he then made one of his own: "I assume that she wants to be treated the same way that guys want to be treated which means that their records are under scrutiny. I've been through this for 19 months. She's been through it, what for 4 days so far?"
One of the Democratic surrogates said that when he asked for guidance about Bristol Palin, Palin's pregnant daughter, his handler at the campaign told him that the campaign had nothing to say about it and did not want Democrats to mention it.
Alaska's Republican State Senate President: Palin Not
Prepared, Thought Pick Was A Joke. "State
Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called
her at 6 a.m. to give her the news.
'She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice
president or president?' said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of
Wasilla. 'Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the
nation?'" [Anchorage Daily News,
8/29/08]
Alaska's Republican House Speaker Has Nothing Positive To
Say About Palin's Qualifications. "State
House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was astonished at the
news. He didn't want to get into the issue of her qualifications. 'She's old enough,' Harris said. 'She's a
U.S. citizen.'" [Anchorage Daily News,
8/29/08]
Conservative Rick Rydell: Questionable Vetting. "Conservative host
Rick Rydell said there are some benefits to the state, but it's a gamble for
McCain to pick an unknown with what he considered 'questionable vetting.' 'It
seems almost like a Hail Mary pass at the end of a football game,' Rydell said
in an interview after his show Friday.
Rydell said McCain has destroyed his argument about Barack Obama's lack
of experience." [Anchorage Daily News,
8/29/08]
California Republican Delegates Worried About Palin Pick. California Republican delegates Karen and
Robert Bonadio (father and daughter) said they are worried about McCain's pick
for VP. "They like her story a lot . .
. But the Bonadios heard that Palin and
her family are hunters, actually going out into the countryside to shoot wild
creatures that weren't doing anything to her. That offends the L.A. delegates
greatly, and they really don't want to hear that different parts of the country
may have different cultures and views of such things. The Bonadios don't know that they want such a
smalltown person as vice president. And they intend to make that point clear
this week if they get another chance to talk with the senator." [LA
Times, 8/31/08]
St.
Louis Republican Delegate Deeply Concerned With Palin Selection. "Several Republican delegates said they too
were shocked by the selection of Ms. Palin and, while they wished her well, were deeply concerned that she
did not have the experience in foreign policy or national security to be
commander in chief. 'We've been told for the last few months that experience is
what matters most in the next White House,' said John Scates, a delegate from
St. Louis. 'But McCain is picking someone whose experience is little to nothing
or, at best, unknown.'" [New York Times, 8/31/08]
Conservative
Columnist: Palin Pick Near Suicidal. "'The Palin selection
completely undercuts the argument about Obama's inexperience and readiness to
lead' wrote syndicated conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer. 'To
gratuitously undercut the remarkably successful 'Is he ready to lead' line of
attack seems near suicidal.'" [Ottawa Citizen, 8/31/08]
Alabama
Republican Delegate: Palin Not Qualified.
"As they began gathering in Minneapolis-St.
Paul for the start of their convention on Monday, some Republican delegates
said they were concerned that Ms. Palin did not have the experience in foreign
policy or national security to be commander in chief. 'We're in a global war, we're in a global
economy, so it's less than honest if someone says that this woman is qualified
to lead America right now,' said Todd Burkhalter, a Republican delegate from
Mobile, Ala." [New York Times, 8/30/08]
Republican Operatives Worry
About Palin Pick. "'I want to believe this is a game-changer, but when I close my
eyes I see New Orleans in 1988,' said a dumbstruck Republican operative,
recalling the convention where Vice President George H.W. Bush tapped Dan
Quayle" . . . 'Hell, I don't know
anything about her,' a top Republican fund-raiser sputtered. 'She may attract
some independent women, but I can't think of a state where she can make a
difference.'" [New
York Daily News, 8/29/08]
Republicans Describe Palin Pick As
"Desperate" And Contrary to McCain's "Country First" Slogan. "Shannen
Coffin, a former White House counsel to Dick Cheney, the vice-president, said
choosing Palin seemed 'desperate' and that it would be difficult to attack
Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, on the grounds of inexperience. 'It is
hard to imagine Palin playing the same sort of role that modern vice-presidents
like Gore, Bush, Cheney or Mondale played,' he said. Anti-abortion conservative Republicans
applauded the choice as daring and modern, but others criticised her lack of
foreign policy expertise and inexperience in a national election. David Frum, President George W. Bush's former
speech-writer, warned: 'The McCain campaign's slogan is 'country first'. If it
were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an
untested small-town mayor a heartbeat from the presidency?'" [TimesOnline,
8/31/08]
Alaskan
Republicans Have Reservations About Palin.
"[A]
growing chorus of Alaskans expressed reservations. 'She's not qualified, she
doesn't have the judgment, to be next in line to the president of the United
States,' Larry Persily, who until June worked in the governor's Washington
office as a congressional liaison, said in a phone interview. A supporter of Palin's campaign for governor,
Jim Whitaker, the Republican mayor of Fairbanks, also questioned Palin's
readiness to serve as vice president.
Whitaker said that while he is 'still an avid supporter' of Palin as
governor, he will continue to back Democratic presidential nominee Barack
Obama." [Bloomberg,
9/1/08]
Republican
Strategist: I'm Perplexed. David Marin, a principal at the
Podesta Group and a Republican congressional strategist said, "I'm perplexed.
Maybe the choice is pure genius. Maybe McCain has energized the base,
re-established his maverick credentials, re-emphasized his reform agenda, and
added historic new cracks to the odious glass ceiling, all with a single
decision. Maybe Palin will amaze us all and be able to stand toe-to-toe with
Biden. Maybe she'll add some much-needed sizzle. But I thought the McCain campaign was about
experience at a time of national crisis. And I thought he understood the outcome
will ultimately rest with independents, with 'post partisans.' I guess it's a
good thing most people vote for president, not VP, because, right now at least,
this has Bentsen-Quayle written all over it."
[Politico,
9/1/08]
Former
McCain Advisor: Palin Pick Suggests Lack of Confidence. "'It
was certainly a surprising pick,' says Dan Schnur, who served as McCain's
communications director during the Arizona senator's 2000 presidential
campaign. It's the sort of pick, he says, that you would expect when a
candidate is 'behind 10 or 15 points in the polls.' But with McCain and Obama running neck and
neck, most analysts would anticipate a safer choice. 'So it seems the senator
and his advisers aren't as confident' as they might be, Schnur says." [NPR.org,
8/29/08]
Local
Conservative Blogger: McCain's Worst Mistake.
"Sherry
Whitstine, a local [Alaska] conservative blogger, was dumbfounded by Palin's
selection, and not in a good way. Palin is 'small potatoes,' said Whitstine,
who is still struggling to come to grips with McCain's decision. '[Trying to
make Palin]
the VP of our country is probably the worst mistake of [McCain's] entire life,'
Whitstine said." [Chicago Tribune,
9/1/08]
Pat Buchanan Mocks Palin With Joe
Scarborough. On
MSNBC on August 29, 2008 (before the announcement), Pat Buchanan had this to
say about Sarah Palin: "You mentioned the
word commander in chief. And it is --
it is hard to see Sarah Palin
as commander in chief within the
next year or something like that. I think that's the real risk that just --
this woman, she might be outstanding. She might get women, get conservatives,
energize the base. But I think the argument made against her would be that she
just is not ready to be commander
in chief, and she could
be eaten alive in a debate with Joe Biden."
Buchanan went on to acknowledge that Obama has done more to validate
himself, saying "No, you are right. He validated himself, Barack Obama, by
beating everybody all the -- over 18 months."
[MSNBC, 8/29/08; YouTube]
Karl
Rove: Palin "Risky" Pick. Before the news
of her daughter's pregnancy broke, Karl Rove told the Maine Republican
delegation that Sarah Palin is a "risky" choice for vice president. [TheAtlantic.com,
9/1/08; PolitickerME.com,
9/1/08]
Washington
Post: Republicans Nervous. "[S]ome
Republicans remained nervous about the party's ticket, worrying about the potential
for more surprises in the days ahead. 'Palin's daughter's pregnancy is probably
much ado about nothing -- I think,' one GOP strategist said. 'If there's more,
it will raise questions about the whole vetting process because she's such an
unknown.' Another McCain loyalist said he doubts the controversy will last. 'It
came out in the vetting, and if that's true, then the vetting worked,' he said.
'If that's not true, then I would have concerns.'" [Washington
Post, 9/2/08]
Prominent
Republican Writer Says Palin Pick Neither Wise Nor Responsible. Former Bush speechwriter, David Frum, said
this about Sarah Palin: "Ms. Palin's experience in government makes Barack
Obama look like George C. Marshall. She served two terms on the city council of
Wasilla, Alaska, population 9,000. She served two terms as mayor. In November,
2006, she was elected governor of the state, a job she has held for a little
more than 18 months. She has zero foreign policy experience, and no record on
national security issues. All this would
matter less, but for this fact: The day that John McCain announced his
selection of Sarah Palin was his birthday. His 72nd birthday. . . If anything
were to happen to a President McCain, the destiny of the free world would be
placed in the hands of a woman who until recently was a small-town mayor." He concluded by saying, "Ms. Palin is a bold
pick, and probably a shrewd one. It's not nearly so clear that she is a
responsible pick, or a wise one." [AEI.org,
9/2/08]
Veteran
Republican: Palin Pick Reckless. "Each
new fact we learn about Sarah Palin--her reversal on the bridge to nowhere, her
disagreements with McCain on issues from windfall profits to global warming,
emerging facts about troopergate--contribute to the feeling that this whole
Palin thing is being made up as we go along. It may be fun to read about, and
it sure is fun to cover, but it also supports the judgment of the Palin pick
that I first heard from a Republican veteran shortly after the announcement:
'Reckless.'" [Slate, 9/1/08]
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