http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/31/211032/132Andrew Halcro, a man who ran against Palin as an Independent for Governor (and received about 10% of the vote), says that McCain's staff has just arrived in Wasilla to vet Palin post-announcement:
The campaign of John McCain has sent a staff of eight people into Alaska to conduct background checks and vetting on Governor Sarah Palin.
Word is they have have eight rooms reserved at a Wasilla hotel.
And just as crazily, they didn't even read through the local newspaper's archives:
On Saturday, a Democrat tasked with opposition research contacted the Huffington Post with this piece of information: as of this weekend, the McCain campaign had not gone through old newspaper articles from the Valley Frontiersman, Palin's hometown newspaper.
How does he know? The paper's (massive) archives are not online. And when he went to research past content, he was told he was the first to inquire.
There have already been grumblings about McCain's notorious hotheadedness showing itself in his choice of Palin. She's obviously a choice borne of a political reaction -- McCain needed to shore up support among women (and try to take advantage of the PUMAs out there) while maintaining his cred with social conservatives. And even though his decision could be brilliant, it is certainly dangerous.
And now we know it goes well beyond dangerous. He was reckless.
