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McCain's New Palin Strategy: Blame The
Media |
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September 3, 2008 ST. PAUL, Minn. — John
McCain's campaign on Wednesday angrily called
for an end to questions about its review of
Sarah Palin's background, deriding a "faux
media scandal designed to destroy the first
female Republican nominee" for vice president.
"This nonsense is over," declared senior
campaign adviser Steve Schmidt in a written
statement.
The statement stood out for its admission that
Palin is under siege _ it condemns "this
vetting controversy" _ and for its attempt to
blunt questions about how rigorously McCain
and his campaign explored the background of a
candidate who may get the nation's second most
powerful job. It also suggested that Palin is
a victim of gender bias in the media.
"The McCain campaign will have no further
comment about our long and thorough process,"
Schmidt said, lashing out at "the old boys'
network" that he says runs media
organizations.
Top McCain advisers said they welcome and
expect a review of Palin's mayoral and
gubernatorial record but that the media has
crossed that line with its inquiries.
"Certainly, her record deserves scrutiny, but
I think we ought to look at her record,"
campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters on
a conference call. He condemned "the salacious
nature" of some news stories designed to
"throw dirt at our candidate." He also
lamented a "frenzied" mentality on Palin and
urged the media to "dial it back."
Davis also called for the same level of
scrutiny on Democrats Barack Obama and Joe
Biden.
McCain's campaign also scheduled a news
conference with leading Republican women to
defend Palin's executive experience, and
released a new campaign ad for key states, an
indication that advisers are concerned that a
flurry of criticism may be taking a toll on
her image.
The ad quotes a Wall Street Journal editorial
that says: "Governor Palin's credentials as an
agent of reform exceed Barack Obama's and that
she has 'earned a reputation as a reformer'
and 'has a record of bipartisan reform.'"
Conversely, the ad says, Obama offers only
"empty words."
McCain shook up the presidential race last
Friday by picking Palin, a little-known
governor serving her first term in Alaska.
Since then, the self-styled "hockey mom" with
a record of bucking the state's political
establishment has had a bright spotlight
trained on her private and public life.
First, she announced that her unmarried
17-year-old daughter, Bristol Palin, was
pregnant. Among the other revelations:
_A private attorney is authorized to spend
$95,000 of state money to defend her against
accusations of abuse of power.
_Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her
city and state, contrary to her reformist
image.
_Her husband once belonged to a fringe
political group in Alaska, with some members
supporting secession from the United States.
_She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the
past.
None of the revelations seen to have shaken
McCain's confidence or undermined her support
among GOP delegates.
After four days of intense scrutiny, Palin
gets a chance to respond with a televised
speech at the Republican National Convention
on Wednesday. In addition to accepting the
nomination, the first woman to do so for the
GOP, Palin will tell her story: small-town
mayor with a taste for mooseburgers; the wife
of a blue-collar North Slope oil worker; and
the mother of five, including one born this
spring with Down syndrome.
Said Tucker Eskew, a senior McCain adviser:
"She will speak as a governor, a former mayor
and someone with both hands on the steering
wheel of America's energy economy. She will
detail her record of shaking up the status quo
in Alaska and standing up to entrenched
interests to put the government back on the
side of the people."
Defending his choice and the team that helped
pick her, McCain said Tuesday that "the
vetting process was completely thorough."
Advisers said Palin went through a rigorous
process that included a three-hour interview
and a survey with some 70 questions,
including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have
you been faithful in your marriage? Have you
ever used or purchased drugs? Have you ever
downloaded pornography?
McCain's aides rejected suggestions from
Democrats that her selection was a hurried,
last-minute attempt to shake up the campaign
and wrest female voters from Obama. They
insisted Palin was a strong contender from the
start.
But one senior Republican familiar with the
search, who requested anonymity because McCain
did not authorize the conversation, said Palin
had virtually fallen from the radar. Only late
in the summer, when McCain asked for more
alternatives, was she made a finalist.
As conservatives closed ranks behind their
like-minded foe of abortion, Schmidt accused
the media of essentially being sexist.
"This vetting controversy is a faux media
scandal designed to destroy the first female
Republican nominee for vice president of the
United States who has never been a part of the
old boys' network that has come to dominate
the news establishment of this country," his
statement said.
When she was introduced as McCain's running
mate last week, Palin portrayed herself as a
political maverick in McCain's mold: "I've
stood up to the old politics as usual, to the
special interests, to the lobbyists, the big
oil companies and the good old boy network,"
she said.
But Alaska's first female governor has at
times benefited from Alaska's entrenched
political system.
For one thing, Palin accepted at least $4,500
in campaign contributions in the same
fundraising scheme at the center of a public
corruption scandal that led to the indictment
of Sen. Ted Stevens.
The contributions, made during Palin's failed
2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant
governor, were not illegal for her to accept.
But they show how Palin, who has bucked
Stevens and his allies, is nonetheless linked
with Alaska's old guard. |
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