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Extra: What About Sarah Palin?

January 10, 2010 9:40 AM

Mark Halperin of Time and John Heilemann of New York Magazine covered the McCain-Palin campaign and spent two years researching their book "Game Change."

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by something90120 July 26, 2010 7:20 PM EDT
It seems to me that Americans no longer believe that "Anyone can be President". You seem to crave a savior. As some wag once called "The West Wing" syndrome - "President knows best."
This proves that you have lost your reliance on yourselves. You expect the President - and the government - to solve your problems. This is a big change from the past!
Why couldn't Sarah be President? She's not smart enough? Educated enough? She talks funny? It's the way juviniles make fun of their teachers.
The whole point of the position of President is that it be held by an ordinary citizen. Someone in tune with the real problems of ordinary Americans. Many Presidents grow into the job as they do it. In fact, they all do. There is no shame in that.
But the most interesting thing about the Palin haters is the complete silence of the feminists. It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that feminism is not gender based, as it claims, but based on ideology instead.
She is just a human being - flesh and blood. She stuck her neck out to run for political office. You might not agree with her policies but you should respect her guts.
I do.
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by another 1 bites the dust January 14, 2010 2:02 AM EST
i wish i could say some of this 'surprises' me, but honestly it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that sarah palin was not the first choice for veep-nom and that she wasn't the best choice either. in fact upon reading that sarah palin was mccain's choice i found myself wondering why he didn't go with gov. christ of florida (a heavy electorate state the reps. needed to win) or sen. lieberman (while arguably a 'crazy' choice as party crossers are not appreciated during the convention mode - it would have made sense as the two sens. have some similar philosophies and it would go with the 'maverick' branding). and even from a 'y chromosomal' place there was snowe, hutchinson, and a host of congressional women that have the substance to be second in command. the only sad thing is that sen. mccain went with the choice of someone who he barely knew....which doesn't bode well for him should he have become our prez. sarah palin will never be the republican nominee...i have way to much faith that the faithful will not be able to find another option. besides if the operatives found themselves explaining the difference between ww1 and ww2 with palin then i am sure she could never put together a national team to make a credible (ie - able to fundraise, put together cogent messaging, create a unifying national platform, etc) run at the white house.
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by Ranman231 January 12, 2010 2:36 AM EST
Perryford: Shame on you and egg on your face for lacking to share any sincere unbiased comments and pretending to be a fair and balance viewer. You are obviously a Rightwing Neocon Conservative who believes that politicians have a collective right to smear and distort the truth and do whatever it takes to get elected , including scaring everyday people into a manufactured war in Iraq, mischaracterization of our great political leaders and using attack adds. Yes this ranks up with the same old Carl Roe dirty rightwing politics (Watergate Mentality)that has caused such a divide and political schism in our government. The individuals running the McCain campaign have come public with the true facts that have exposed the right wing party had in a desperate political move plucked and picked out of thin air a Female populist conservative like Sarah Palin, only to use her a rightwing mouthpiece to build up the Republican base and draw a higher percentage of the disenchanted women voters who have been disappointed with our male dominated government. Personally I could of picked over 100 highly accomplished and political savvy Female candidates that would of put Sarah Palin?s leadership qualities to utter shame, but none of them believe in the rightwing agenda to do all and anything at whatever cost to win. Everyone has an angle and yours is so obvious, give it up and forget about using the " I have been a fan of 60 mins" lie. Who cares, go back to your rightwing Fox wanabe reliable respectable and credible news source. If you really have been a fan of 60 mins since childhood you would have expected and appreciated 60 mins to come up with this fantastic, behind the scenes , mind blowing game changing story. Sarah Palin is but a shadow of political substance and a great wall of conservative fabrication. It?s about time prime time news allows the truth to get center stage and allow the individuals that were running the campaign reveal what kind of individuals we are really dealing with and what there willing to risk. All American deserves to know the what a REAL POLITICAL FARCE Sarah Palin is as a politician (I am sure she is a great Mom and Family person). It is so scary to think she could have been one step removed from running the worlds most powerful military, not because she is a women, but because she is Sarah Palin a right wing attack dog , with no integrity. I sure am glad that most Americans did not duped into another 8 years of bad right wing conservative government with a FOX MANUFACTURED HOLLYWOOD PLASTIC ICONIC SARAH PALIN
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by onbliss January 11, 2010 11:42 PM EST
I found the VP pick terribly cynical and disheartening (what did it say about the women they were trying to win over? nothing good). I found the interview heartbreaking -- to hear a campaign operative admit this much, and hear him echo the sentiments of colleagues afraid that the result would be a terrifying one. I am absolutely stunned, to hear the "extras." I am sure if I sat in on all of the outtakes, I would be weeping on the floor. I don't think I'm being melodramatic here. REasonable people. Reasonable intelligent people who -- granted -- were charged with a mission to win -- felt in their heart of hearts, that the result of their good work would be "terrifying" and "unfathomable." And yet they forged ahead! They FORGED AHEAD FOLKS! IN ORDER TO WIN!!

Apparently, I'm not jaded enough.

Thank you Anderson. I don't normally like you at all. But this was a &*^()$)* devastating interview -- if not for the operatives -- absolutely for McCain. He should bid us all farewell and go riding into the sunset. He is not qualified to represent anyone.
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by arenaud333 January 11, 2010 9:17 PM EST
ANDERSON COOPER (AC): "What had she DONE that so impressed them". Mark HALPERIN (MH): "(...)". (after listening in silence for five seconds, as if doubting whether he's heard right, or as though his rational brain has trouble processing that information) all-of-a-sudden, AC: "he [Steve Schmidt] was searching on GoogleTM ?!" MH: "Google and YouTubeTM, (...) [he] looked at the Sarah Palin video(s). and he went WOWWW! She popped!! (...) She had enough [in the way] of ''star power''... [] that was enough..." etc., etc.
ok. before i say anything, i want to mention that, as a person, as a woman, i ACTUALLY like Sarah PALIN... (in spite of the lying & the desingenuousness) as a fellow human being & as a christian, i find her engaging, warm, friendly, down-to-earth, etc. (much like Maureen Dowd felt about a certain George W. Bush when he was a candidate for the investiture of his party). i tell you: until the day i die, until i draw my last breath, i will remember that long pause and silence before Mr Cooper came out of his stunned state, emerged & came back with the (unbelieving) question "he [searched] on Google?!". i will remember that is how THE PERSON SET TO LEAD THE FREE WORLD (should an elected Mr MCCAIN be suddenly unfit anymore to serve as P.O.T.U.S.) AT A TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS LIKE FEW OTHERS IN HISTORY, would had been chosen. you just can't make that stuff up. a novelist couldn't have invented it....
and thus also a man, whom i'd always greatly admired during most of his political career (whose very personal life-story is so compelling that you'd think it came out of a book), by approving the suggestion of his closest advisers & endorsing [then] Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, proved to the face of the whole world that he in fact was unfit to govern as President of the greatest, most powerful nation ever to grace the face of the earth. i mean, if he couldn't get the choice of his running-mate right, what could he have got right?
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by roach9703 January 11, 2010 5:22 PM EST
If Sarah did not resign a governor of Alaska, I would have taken her more seriously. As to the allegations of extreme foreign policy ignorance, these assertions need to be better developed and proven.
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by perryford January 11, 2010 3:03 PM EST
I have watched 60 minutes since I was a young girl, and regret to say that after your "interview" last pm I will NEVER watch again. These men are obviously striking back at Sarah Palin after reading what she had to say about them in her BEST SELLING book "Going Rouge". Prediction: these men will sell a very small percentage of the books that Mrs. Palin sold!! Sour Grapes? If you are truly Journalists (which many people question) you should have told both sides of the story. Read her book- maybe it would open your eyes. Are you terrified of her future since she is soooo well received by the American public? Try to get tickets for any of her talks and you will see what I mean!! It is funny that in a 13 minute interview about their entire book, which touched on many people (including Harry Reid...who was mentioned not once) you aired over 10 minutes about Sarah Palin. This tells me one thing....This woman has a future, and you folks at CBS don't like it one bit. One of your many former viewers, Julie Ford
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