New book tells inside story of how McCain picked Palin

A new book by two Washington Post journalist highlights how John McCain picked Sarah Palin for Vice President and how he hoped she could win him the White House.

An excerpt of The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election released Monday by the Washington Post tells the inside story of how Senator John McCain picked former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential running mate. The book, written by Don Balz and Haynes Johnson of the Washington Post, will be released Tuesday, August 4. It recounts the story that is the 2008 United States Presidential election. In it, Balz and Johnson share the tale of how Palin came to be McCain's VP nominee and just how late the decision was made. Palin was flown to Flagstaff, Arizona to meet McCain the day before the Democratic National Convention. In one night, she was vetted by lawyers and interviewed by top campaign staffers. The next day, she met with McCain and his wife, Cindy. Less than three hours after their interview began, Palin was the Vice Presidential candidate. The authors also recount and analyze many other important facets of the 2008 campaign. The book looks at the impact of race relations on the political landscape and how Hillary Clinton threw away her shot at the Presidency. Nothing, however, is more telling or more dramatic than the detailed account of how McCain picked his VP nominee. The list, according to the excerpt, which can be read here, of potential candidates included as many as two-dozen names in the beginning. Notably included were Senator Joe Lieberman, McCain's longtime friend and former Democrat; former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney; Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. All were on the list of finalists. Lieberman was, according to staffers, McCain's pick until about a week prior to his selection of Palin. It was then that his top strategists convinced the staffer that Lieberman might not read well with the party's right-wing base. In the end, McCain's staffers thought Palin was better-suited to mix up the race than Pawlenty or Romney. On the night of Wednesday, August 20th, Palin met with staffers and talked to a campaign lawyer over the phone. She was put through a rigorous three-hour interview and a 70-question questionnaire. It was at this point, when the campaign discovered Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant. They brushed it off. This was the extent to which Palin was vetted. The next morning, Palin met with McCain. They talked for several hours, after which McCain talked with his wife and his staff. Palin was offered the job the same day. The next day, she was introduced in Dayton, Ohio as the Vice Presidential candidate.

Constance Ordeman

Sarah Palin introduced as John McCain's choice for Vice Presidential candidate.

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The book also details how the McCain campaign was unprepared for Palin. The media office in Washington was never told - and was forced to gather information about the Governor from the Internet. Even the advance team for the Dayton, Ohio event was not informed until the morning of the announcement. They had brought a podium for a tall nominee, suggesting that Mitt Romney was the pick. McCain never gave much insight as to why he picked Palin, other than to shake up the campaign. When McCain discussed Palin with his staff, he asked "What's your bottom line?" to which a staffer replied: "John, high risk, high reward." McCain answered back, "You shouldn't have told me that. I've been a risk-taker all of my life."