John McCain's Judgment & Temperment - NPR Reports He Only Recently Made (Changed) His VP Decision

[Median Democrat]

NPR reports that Palin was actually told to, and was working on, a different non-Vice-President speech, and that Pawlenty was going to be the choice. However, in the last day or so, McCain confirmed that he had not made up his mind, then something (the last 2 days of the DNC?) made him decide to take a risk. Even Palin aides this morning seemed somewhat surprised that she was the VP pick.

So, separate and apart from Palin's qualifications, what does this say about McCain's decision making process? It is almost reactionary, as though he is just relying on his gut. sort of like Bush who would depend on his gut, rather than evidence and analysis.

I don't think this is an issue you can campaign on, but it worries me regarding McCain's decision making process. With Biden, even at the risk of early leaks, Obama was extremely methodical in picking his Vice-President. The heavy vetting of the folks on the short list made clear that Obama was trying to get as much evidence as possible. In contrast, John McCain seemed to make a last minute gut reaction that perhaps even surprised Palin since she was busily working on a different speech.

[XemaSab]

1. I think he saw the writing on the wall

The dems have MASSIVE mo' coming out of the convention, and he needed a way to get back in the spotlight.

[SteelPenguin]

3. he took a hail mary pass

it's up to us to knock it down. If we do, we win.

[Median Democrat]

7. McCain Has Been Drinking The Shock and Awe Kool-Aid

Talk about knee jerk. Once the warm fuzzy glow wears off, her extreme views should scare off moderate voters once they get through Big Media's cover-up of such positions.

[liberal N proud]

2. McCains staff probably held up pictures of several people

And McCain picked her because he thought she was hot.

[Cronus Protagonist]

4. These "gut" decisions are red meat for low-information habitual party-line voters

They adore that kind of "John Wayne" stuff regardless of the outcome. The outcome doesn't matter, what matters is that the decision came from "the gut", not from an opinion poll or for political expediency. This is a dog whistle to the Republican base, and it's also a long shot too. The fact that it is a "hail Mary" is precisely why it is a good decision for his base - it shows he relies on his own gut, he's his own man.

[stillcool]

12. How do you think those..

voters will feel about President... What's Her Name?

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. I've never noticed any Republicans caring about such things

They just want to win at all cost. If this were a nuclear war and they got 1 more missile exploded before the last Republican human died on the planet, that one Republican would be totally happy that they won, the cost be damned. See, one thing we tend to forget... we're not dealing with reasonable people here. It's ALL about the gut. It's totally irrational. Now that McCain has shown he can be wildly irrational, he probably gained a few notches among his base.

[monmouth]

5. He's a large "fail" in Vegas also....n/t

[Stern21]

6. Hell, he dumped his first wife for a wealthy bathing suit model

Why not dump Pawlenty for Miss Congeniality?

There's a strange pattern here.

[CoffeeCat]

8. This is absolutely obvious...

McCain saw the throngs of Obama suporters, and they heard his very assertive, specific
speech and how he delivered it--and they saw the Obamas and the Bidens on stage--kicking
his political ass to the curb, and he had to recalibrate.

The Republicans were shaking in their boots after they saw Obama's speech. They knew that their
only chance of beating Obama was throwing a Hail Mary and praying that it worked.

Pawlenty was the clear choice before Obama spoke.

Picking a controversial, unconventional pick is their only hope of beating Obama. McCain was
forced to pick someone who would spark discussion and take the spotlight away from Obama's
earth-shattering, marvel of a speech in front of 80,000 supporters.

Remember--last night, McCain was struggling to get 10,000 people into his vp-speech venue. Not
a good sign. They made this decision from a position of weakness and desperation.

It will get them some traction for a day or two--and then McCain will start tanking in the polls.

The choice of Palin is absurd.

[Median Democrat]

10. Then, Either McCain Was Lying, Or this Is Another Knee Jerk Political Decision

The McCain camp had leaked earlier this week that McCain made his decision, then McCain denied he had made a decision, then all of a sudden its Palin, who was busily working on her assigned speech topic, which was not a VP acceptance speech. I mean how often have McCain and Palin even been in the same room together? For all we know, they will hate each others guts if they have to work together.

So, forget Palin, is this how John McCain makes important decisions? Remember, there is the criticism that John McCain often makes decisions based on the last person he spoke to. This confirms this sort of approach to decision making.

[kestrel91316]

9. He saw Obama's speech and shit his pants and made a panicked

decision. And now he has to run with Miss Wasilla 1984.

Has anyone asked Cindy McCain what she thinks? Is she maybe just a little worried about this younger, prettier model that her cheating bastard of a husband has taken up with?

[Median Democrat]

14. Also, Sarah Palin? Is She The Best Woman? What About Meg Whitman?

I was actually more worried that he might take someone like Meg Whitman, who could actually argue that she brings an entirely new and needed set of experience to the White House, as the former founder of E-Bay. Sure, Meg is not eye candy, but you can hardly dispute the amazing amount of influence Meg Whitman has had on many Americans. That would have been a very interesting pick.

But Palin over Whitman? Explain this one to me.

To me, this further undermines any notion that McCain is independent, because he simply engaged in checklist democracy by picking a woman whose views are designed to appeal to the Christian Right.

[kestrel91316]

17. He's trying for the Bubba vote - you know, the guys who like

to eat at Hooters.

[gemlake]

11. I think McCain wanted someone shorter than him n/m

[mwb970]

13. This smells like Rove to me.

A cynical move made with blatant calculation, putting party before country, and winning at all costs? Who do we know who operates like that?

Look at McCain with Palin. He looks uncomfortable. There is no chemistry. He acts like he is as unfamiliar with her as we are. The image of them holding hands while acknowledging a crowd evokes a dicey old-man-young-woman dynamic. Plus there is the matter of her obvious non-qualification as potential president and CIC. The whole thing is very iffy.

I had never heard of Palin until this morning, but I am finding her to be likable and attractive (much better than Cindy, for example) but not at all (vice-)presidential material. I would like to hear more about her someday, but this is very much the wrong place for her right now.

[Median Democrat]

15. Totally Polticial. Do they even know each other well? How will they work together for four years?

I know VP picks are heavily based on politics, but how often have they even been in the same state?

[lamp_shade]

16. Rove. n/t

[Median Democrat]

18. Update - John McCain Only Met Palin Once Before

Once again, this looks like a knee jerk reaction despite the McCain's campaign's attempts to embellish the process. The fact of the matter is that they hardly know each other.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/29/1307122.aspx

[Naturyl]

20. This pick is made of fail.

McCain smells failure after the DNC convention and is hoping wacky actions like this will save him.