The Political Chase

Kelly O’Donnell on McCain Selecting Palin

NBC New’s Kelly O’Donnell just gave this report on McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

John McCain’s most frequent answer to “What was he looking for in a running mate?” was not “Someone who could step in in a moment’s notice.” It was: “Someone who shares my values, principles, and priorities.” And that you can find in Sarah Palin. He was not making the case on a regular basis that it would have to be someone who would step in.

Secondly, what has been the biggest concern of the McCain campaign? From their point of view — a disparity in media coverage. What have they just done? Every news organization will now feel compelled to cover Sarah Palin. It’s a historic opportunity — not since Geraldine Ferraro in ‘84 will there be greater coverage of this part of the race. And that is part of what they’ve been looking for — some kind of parity. So, in addition to that — you know, she looks hawky, she looks hunting. She really can appeal, in their view, to some of those voters around the country. So, for all those risks, those are two little insights I wanted to just add to the conversation that I think help to explain what they’ve done here.

I may have misinterpreted O’Donnell’s statement, “you know, she looks hawky, she looks hunting”. I played that part of her statement over and over again — it was a little hard to discern if that is precisely what she said, but I believe I have quoted her correctly.

That’s a pretty telling statement about McCain’s decision making. If McCain wins, he will be 73 years old on Inauguration Day, and he’s more interested in choosing a running mate that will get press coverage than a candidate that is qualified to serve as president if he were to die.