What Did He Know, And When Did He Know It?

This is not Watergate, but it is the pressing question of this election season. What did John McCain know about his pick for Vice President, and when did he come to know it?

Very soon after John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Friday it became apparent that his campaign had not vetted her. Over the weekend rumors began to swirl about her family, and today, in an unfortunate turn of events, Sarah Palin announced that her 17-year old daughter was 5 months pregnant and would be getting married in the future. John McCain’s campaign claims they knew about this "last week" – not necessarily a denial that they found out after Palin was announced as McCain’s VP pick.

A few hours ago, in another sign of disarray, the McCain campaign announced that Governor Palin has retained a lawyer to defend herself in the abuse of power investigation against her known as "Troopergate". The news from the McCain campaign is that the lawyer was hired three weeks ago. According to CNN:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin hired a lawyer three weeks ago to act on her behalf as state legislators investigate whether she may have abused her power in firing the state police chief for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, CNN has confirmed.

However, Palin’s lawyer first contacted Alaska investigators this Saturday, August 30, announcing that he had been retained [See lawyer’s letter here and the response from an Alaska legislator here]. It appears that the lawyer was retained after McCain announced her as his running mate.

Today it was also revealed that Palin’s husband, Todd, had been arrested many years ago on a drunk driving charge. Over the weekend Governor Palin’s 1993 no contest plea for a  fishing violation also emerged. Why are these two trivial matters of relevance, you might ask. They are relevant because of the sordid drama that is "Troopergate". It is alleged, and there is strong tape recorded evidence to support the allegations, that the Governor tried to use the power of her office to get a state trooper, her ex-brother-in-law, fired from his job. When the Alaska public safety commissioner refused, it is alleged the commissioner was fired. In an ironic turn, two of the reasons the Governor, her husband, and her staff used to try to pressure the commissioner to fire the state trooper were that the trooper had once been seen drinking a beer before driving his vehicle and that once he had shot a moose (only in Alaska!) without a proper license. It turns out the moose shooting charge stems from the trooper shooting the moose even though the permit to hunt moose was in his then wife’s (the Governor’s sister) name. The irony is that Palin was cited for her fishing violation because the permit to fish was not in Palin’s name, but in her sister-in-law’s name.

On more substantive matters, it was also learned over the weekend that Palin was not exactly being frank in her speech last Friday on her position on the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere".

At this point the evidence is overwhelming that John McCain did not properly – if at all – vet Sarah Palin, a woman he had only met once, for the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket. The McCain campaign is now in full damage control mode. They have sent lawyers to Alaska to now begin the vetting process.

This week was supposed to be the week the Republican party makes its case to the American people for four more years at helm. Instead it threatens to be consumed by the rolling disclosures about an unvetted vice presidential pick. No matter how the Republicans try to spin what is occurring, this is a disaster for the McCain campaign.

All of this could have been avoided if John McCain asked questions first, instead of shooting from the hip. The vetting now is left to the American people. It is time to vet John McCain to determine if he has the focus, the interest, the judgment, and the temperament to be the next president of the United States.

 

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