"Then she started campaigning."

[Miles Archer]

Blame John McCain for Donald Trump



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/blame-john-mccain-for-don_b_9033590.html

McCain then took a look at his "short list" for the veep slot on the ticket, and decided to make another maverick move -- he'd pick an obscure but photogenic governor whom few had even heard of. Thus, Sarah Palin was elevated to national political prominence.

This move was designed to stick a thumb in the eye of the Republican Party's bigwigs by ignoring all the "safe" choices McCain could have made from within the party's ranks. Palin would also be only the second woman ever to run for vice president, and the first Republican to do so. All around, it was seen as a gutsy -- if risky -- move by McCain.

Then she started campaigning. It became immediately obvious that Sarah Palin was just not ready for primetime, but the choice had already been made and so she had to be supported by all good Republicans. The party flocked to Palin's defense against that nasty "lamestream media" (as she so colorfully put it), and declared her to be even more qualified than Barack Obama (this was before she quit her governorship, halfway through her first term). They doubled down on Palin, because the Republican establishment really had no other choice. By doing so, they elevated the idea that someone like Sarah Palin was qualified to be president. Which is precisely why I blame McCain for Donald Trump's rise.

If John McCain had made a different choice for his running mate, we might never have seen Michele Bachmann run for president (or rise in the polls, if she had). We might not have had 17 people (some with zero elected experience) run for the Republican nomination this time around. Tina Fey would not be anywhere near the comedy star she is today. We all might never have learned to use the term "word salad." The abstinence lobby would have had to get along without a spokeswoman who inexplicably keeps having babies out of wedlock. "What if" is always a fun game to play, isn't it?

[liberal N proud]

1. That had to be the biggest word salad to date

And boy was it tossed!

[oberliner]

2. Agreed

Very poorly written article by a blogger promoting his poorly written blog.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Started campaigning? Yes, but first, she went shopping ...

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/10/sarah-palin-spending-201010

[Miles Archer]

5. Thanks for reminding me of that, Bozo...

...with all of the nonsense that arose from Grifterella, it's easy to forget "the shopping trip."

[Orsino]

4. McCain didn't invent the idea of the unqualified politician, but he perfected it.

Big Money was already breeding for obedience rather than talent or intellect.

Nowadays, though, one hits the road with a nice suit, a handful of one-percent talking points, and a fable about one's humble origins. PAC money and a tame press will sustain the candidate until he or she is outdone by another who pretends just a little harder.

[Miles Archer]

6. I'd have to say that Palin was the first aggressively marketed "Internet Age" train wreck

I remember getting bitten by the Internet bug around the late 1990s (I have been a self-employed Web Designer since 2001, and I started dabbling and then teaching myself the required skills around 1999-2000).

What we had on the Web in 1999 is NOTHING like what we have in 2016. Palin surfaced at a time when the possibilities were exploding like 4th of July fireworks everywhere. She was the first candidate to realize the possibilities and exploit them to the fullest.

Imagine if she had actually been a person of substance. "Maverick" McCain might have actually gotten what he wanted.