Sen. John McCain unwilling to support Sarah Palin?
Sen. John McCain refuses to say he would support his former running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, if she runs for president in 2012.
McCain was asked directly during an interview on ABC's "This Week" if Palin can count on McCain's support. He ducked. When pressed on the question he ducked again, saying, "My corpse is still warm."
Palin was McCain's running mate, and he won't say he'll support her? This is the person he picked to be the second in command, to lead the nation should something happen to him, had he been elected President. And now he not only pauses, but won't answer whether or not he'll support her?
This was McCain's first Sunday political TV interview since he lost the election. He insists Palin helped his campaign and continues to publicly state his appreciation to the entire Palin family.
Maybe McCain is finally coming to terms with the true impact she had on his campaign. Toward the end his name didn't even appear at some of her rallies.
Barack Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet and polls have shown Republicans want Palin in 2012.
Here’s my question to you: What’s with Sen. John McCain unwilling to say he’ll support his former running mate?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Dave from Orlando, Florida writes:
It's about the smartest thing he's done since he became a candidate a few years ago.
Sherrol from Canada writes:
Funny he didn't have a problem with her when she was his running mate stirring up derision and putting her stamp on polarization. Again, it says a lot about the man who wanted to be President, a man who goes where the wind blows, who would do anything to get what he wants.
Alex writes:
Jack, Sarah Palin damaged McCain's chances of winning and as a result, McCain wants to return the favor by damaging Palin's chances of winning the Presidency in 2012.
Jeremiah from Virginia writes:
I think he is still upset about not winning the Presidency. He went "all in" when he chose Palin to be his VP in an attempt to capitalize on disappointed Hillary supporters, and ended up losing his shirt.
Susan from Tuscaloosa, Alabama writes:
McShame was not above foisting Daisy Mae Mooseburger off on the rest of us to solidify the right wing nut GOP base. I guess now that he knows he'll never be President no matter how much of his soul he sells out, he's back to putting country ahead of expediency. Personally, I'd like to see Trailer Park Barbie as the next Republican nominee. It'd make 2012 a cakewalk for Obama's re-election.
Barbara from Massachusetts writes:
This is as plain as the nose on your face. She's not qualified, period. He does not need her now or ever again.
David from Texas writes:
Jack, Jack, JACK! Why dost thou persist in perpetuating the Palin Anomaly? Please just let it go. Just let her fade back into the six months of obscure darkness from which she came.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
It says McCain finally realized what a lot other Americans realized along time ago; Palin does not have the intellectual capacity to ever get near the oval office.
I think John McCain saw the true Sarah Palin on the campaign trail and did not like what he saw. She is a model Conservative. But in this case a Model is a small plastic imitation of the real thing. It looks good on the outside, but there is nothing on the inside. I believe Sarah Palin owes each and every Alaskan a big heart felt "I am sorry" for her acting like an "Ah Shucks" and a Hockey Mom attitude. I had the please of meeting a number of people from Alaska and not ONE talked with the fake accent that she put on.
Jack: It says that McCain has learned from his "mistakes."
Talk about the biggest Flip-Flop of all time. John McCain picked her to be a heart beat away from the Presidency and now he doesn't know if he would support her? This takes flip-flopping to a whole new level.
Allen
Mountain Home ID
I think he realizes now that he made a bad choice in selecting Sarah Palin as his 'running mate' He knows now all she is is an attractive 'air head'
It means that McCain is a lot smarter than I thought he was!
I guess he is a little smarter than we thought.
McCain's wounds have not healed yet. He'll come around in due time.
Support her in what. If you think she would actually be the Republican nominee in 2012 then I have a bridge to sell you.
McCain finally sees the light. I think he realizes now that Palin is only in this for herself, and seeking a star-famed status. She has no genuine interest of the county. That's the John McCain we all know and admire, too bad it's too late. He could've had a shot at winning the Presidency if she wasn't his pick.
Jack,
It was obvious with John Mccains body language that things were not smooth between the two of them, most noticable during the concession speech.
If the real John Mccain ever materilizes again, cannot believe he
will support the hate, distrust, anger and division of our country
she instigated at her rallies.
Also there could be the factor she drew more radical crowds than
he did.
That just proves that her selection was not about "country first" as McCain had claimed during the campaign.......it was a blatant attempt to peel off some of the disaffected Hillary supporters and nothing more. I think it sealed his fate when he made that selection......although he would have been unlikely to win regardless of his VP pick.
What was most interesting to me was that Senator McCain expressed his interest in working WITH PE Obama in working on the horrendous problems facing America
Jack,
It's very clear, the reason that mccain doesn't want to support palin is because he really loves america and not willing american people to be fallen down in another recession as we already have now .
and also in other hand, palin was a joke campaigner to have been picking wrongly . Mc is not stupid Mc know all these.
This is exactly why so many people did not vote for him. The selection of Palin made it seem as if McCain wasn't able to think independantly on major choices since Palin was clearly not suited for the job. It made people question what McCain would do in other situations that were important but also would invlove political implications.
Sarah Palin doesn't have worry about John McCain. She has already received the all important support of Joe the Plumber and Right-wing Christian extremists, all over America. That's all the support she needs and is looking for anyway. Everyone else represents the worst of America.
It means this is the first honest thing he has said.. Sad to say he was ruined by his campaign, his tactics, his nasty behavior towards Obama.
Finally, maybe he realizes Palin is an unhealthy choice as well.
Why should he? It's at least two years before the campaigning should even start, and a lot can happen in that time, including a few more of Governor Palin's less ethical dealings can come to light.
McCain could have been elected had he chosen a better running mate. But he abandoned his own moderate principals and gambled on a radically right wing old school Republican who divided his own party. Why should he endorse the person who kept him from the White House?
Somethings not saying anything speaks volumes.
He's not crazy.
Sometimes not saying anything speaks volumes.
Jack,
Senator McCain probably sees the Katie Couric interview in his sleep! He realizes how dumb she really is.
Maybe he is smarter than you think. I wouldn't make a promise now about a up coming 2012 election. We don't seem to know what Obama's about yet.
Jack, he may have been dumb and blundered in picking that bozo as a running mate . . . but he ain't stupid. McCain knows darn well she isn't qualified to mop the floor unless direct adult supervision can be arranged at all times.
he is out of the campaign trail and in to the reality check where he can actually face the truth and finally speak the truth. he always knew she was not qualified to run for even city council but he wanted to pander to the conservative base. now he doesn't have to do that and can finally save US from another catastrophic mistake of electing an idiot for president.
He knows a loser when he picks one to be he`s running mate. It kind of makes you wonder what was going through that scull of his during the campain, now that he admits she is unfit to be president.
I predict as time passes, Senator McCain will even further distance himself from Governor Palin. And one day, maybe after he has retired from public life, Senator McCain will finally admit that picking Palin as his vice presidential running mate was a huge professional and personal mistake.
Still ticked off that she grew larger crowds than him and more people like him over her. This is what happens when you pick some one who is better looking than you. Not as smart but as we all know the bimbo always sneaks through into getting a great job.
Jack, that’s simple. Senator McCain is a gifted politician and a fairly smart man. He knows that Sarah Palin cannot and should not be President of the United States because Senator McCain is putting “Country First”. McCain was smart in picking her as VP during the General Election, because the only way she’d become President…well, let’s say Senator McCain wouldn’t be around to enjoy the farce that would have been her administration.
To me it says that he is in hindsight questioning his judgement about her qualifications and her ability to be Presidential. He's not going to paint himself into a corner now when Obama hasn't been sworn in yet. There is plenty of time for McCain to select whom he is going to back in 2012.
Jack, It says when I cast my vote for Obama I was smarted then all the people flocking over that bimbo Palin, and just think McCain the "MAVERICK" tried to sell that lady to us as a sure bet. Thank God they didn't win.
N. S of Huntsville, Al
John McCain just threw Sarah Palin under the Straight Talk Express
"To Thine Ownself Be True." Sen. McCain has cast off the campaign image and has come home. he's relaxed and enjoying telling it for what it really is. His only appreciation of Sarah Palin was what she could do for him in winning the Presidency. That's all. Finished. Case closed.
He used her and now will just dump her! I thought that about him all through the last couple of months of his campaign with her! I think she was to him like a little toy that you play with for a while and then throw away or push aside when you are bored or it didn't really do what you wanted it to do!
It sounds to me like John McCain is really saying: "Are you kidding? Sarah Palin wasn't my idea in the first place".
He knew she hurt him during & throughout the campaign, by talking trash about anyone that is a little bit to the center, or a bit left...not to mention that at her Rally's, people were demonstrating, and she was letting people get by with all the hatred comments they were saying about democrats, and everything else.
Larry C.
Houston, Texas
It shows that Palin wasn't his choice for VP. It was forced on him by the extreme religious right-wing of the republican party. McCain did not like her at all.
Jack,
McCain doesn't want to support a "diva" who "goes rogue" too often. He realized that her "maverick" credentials were lacking.
It's very simple Jack. McCain is refusing to abide by the dictates of his followers He adamantly resists to adhere to any group. It's a Maverick thing.
It’s about the smartest thing he’s done since he became a candidate a few years ago.
Because before she was a running mate, so he had to support her. Now she isn't a running mate so I doubt she'll ever get his support. He knows he screwed up when he chose her and probably cost him a great many votes.
Maybe because Mr. McCain watched some youtube videos and realized how much of a mistake he actually made.
Not surprised! McCain's gamble was a failure. And Palin's 15 minutes of fame is up, already!
Please stop already with this woman, she is an idiot.
Perhaps John McCain has some hard feelings because he lost an election. She seems like a viable scapegoat. Let's not forget that McCain lost another presidential election a few years back too. He is batting a thousand so far. Besides Palin does not need McCain's support. He would only bring her down. McCain the 'Maverick' is a legend in his own mind.
McCain realizes his mistake in pandering to the rabid religious right and what it cost him.
I applaud McCain for his non commitment to Palin. It appears the real John McCain is back. Besides, who knows who will come along for the GOP in the next few years. It would be foolish to commit to anyone this early.
It tells us that he was forced by the party to take her on as a running mate.
Jack, it sounds to me like he just needed a good rest in order to come to his senses. Unlike others in the Republican Party, perhaps he has figured out that the narrow view of her politics is not what the American people want. We don't need the politics of "suspicion, name calling and fear mongering that she seemed to embrace so easily.
He is admitting his mistake. He knows that she is not ready to handle a major office or lead the republican party unless they want to go down hill.
It just shows that McCain pick Palin to try to get the Clinton voters. He knew she wasn't qualified then, that is why they hid her from the media. She wasn't qualified then and she still won't be qualified in 2012, but Saturday night live will get their ratings boosted again.
It flat out means he made a serious mistake in picking a running mate and it also means that she is just as out of touch as everyone believes. She has no business being a politician in the national spotlight when she cannot even grasp the issues that plague our nation.
He didn't even want her on the ticket to begin with – she was other people's idea of a smart move. I don't blame him.
Boise, ID
It means he's being a gentleman by not flat out saying that he realized too late what an airhead she is.
I think he has just started to think about the situations she handled during the campaign and is now having second thoughts about it. I think he wishes he hadn't picked her as his running mate in the first place.
Jack, we dont' need to act like we're surprised with this comment. He chose her specifically as a political maneuver and nothing else.
Just means McCain is getting wiser in his old age. He has seen her up close and has probably said to himself, "what the bleep was I thinking?" Too bad he didn't wise up sooner before he chose her as his running mate. He just may have won!
Would you support her? Why should he?! Maybe McCain is learning from past mistakes.
It means he thinks she was qualified to have been our president had McCain been elected and then become unable to serve, but he does not want her for his president.
Maybe he's coming to his senses after his obsession with being President wears off.
It is business again. John used Sarah Palin and now he does not need her.
It means he is finally putting country and party first.
McCain has had an epiphany, now even he realizes she knew so little about government and she was never qualified for the position.
Like many politicians he doesn't want to commit to a position which may later become unpopular. It is an alternative to flip-flopping.
Jack, Sarah Palin damaged McCain's chances of winning and as a result, McCain wants to return the favor by damaging Palin's chances of winning the Presidency in 2012.
I sure hope McCain can admit a mistake in choosing Palin and will not suppor her, unlike bush, unwilling to admit mistakes too numerous to mention.
It appears that John McCain is on the road to recovery. He seems to be regaining his senses and starting to think like the Old McCain. Perhaps it can be relegated to the category of Temporary Insanity brought on by his overwhelming desire to be President. There for a while it appeared he was selling his soul for a shot at the Presidency.
It says what has been said before, he chose Palin as his running mate just to draw the crowds.
Jack,
It means the news media is unwilling to let Sarah Palin go. I have been watching since the election for the first day her name is not mentioned in the news...I am still watching. Impressive since she has yet to do anything I consider newsworthy.
It means that he had a spiritual awakening and came to the realization that while Gov. Palin may fit the needs of some that she doesn't have the capability to be a world leader.
I think he is still upset about not winning the Presidency. He went "all in" when he chose Palin to be his VP in an attempt to capitalize on dissapointed Hillary supporters, and ended up losing his shirt of his back in the process. He dosen't want the same thing to happen again.
I always knew that John McCain did NOT pick her but was told to by his party.... Hopefully it will be the last time he follows their advise... and becomes his own man again.
He's a politician. He was coerced into having her as a running mate and had to say nice things while campaigning, although his facial expressions told the truth. Now, he can afford to be the real, outspoken John McCain we used to respect and were nearly fooled by.
It means now that John McCain is no longer being "handled" and he's able to revert some to the honest, normal human being he used to be, he can verify that having the talent of being a "rabble rouser" does not qualify one for public office.
Personally, I hope that all of the Republican airheads in Washington support Palin. It will be an easy re-election for Obama, and since he will STILL be busy trying to undo all of the things that the Bush administration has done to this country, an easy election would be nice.
Senator McCain has stated that he disagrees with the divisive and bitter tactics recently used by the RNC. I could tell during his campaign that he only used those tactics because he firmly believed that he was the better candidate and that his only chance to beat Obama was to use them. And the more Sarah Palin showed herself to be Queen of Dirt-flinging, the less McCain liked her. I am glad to see that he is once again the John McCain that I have long since admired.
John McCain has won back some points he lost during the campaign. Mrs. Palin may be a good person but she would make a horrific president. The woman is downright scary.
Perhaps, McCain has finally realized what SNL knew the first time they saw her - she's a joke.
Four years, especially in the political world, is a long time away, and who knows how "maverick" she'll go.
I'm not sure. There could be 2 sides to this. Maybe he doesn't want to speak out of turn. Did Palin ACTUALLY state she was running for Pres in 2012? Or maybe he knows she isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree and doesn't want to support someone he doesn't think is qualified.
I watched the interview yesterday morning with great interest. The John McCain who I liked a few years ago is back replacing the one who ran for President. I supported Barack Obama as the best choice for the country, if the McCain I saw yesterday had been the McCain who was running for President I would have considered my decision a longer although I would probably still have picked Obama. However, I wouldn't have had as much fear as to what would happen to my country if he lost as I had during this last election if the old McCain had been running instead of what I saw of him recently.
It shows he has no scruples. If he did, he would not let the party tell him to pick her as his VP when she was not qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. But he was willing to sell his soul to get elected.
Although most of McCain's positions during the campaign were not in the best interest of this country[ and made him unrecognizable to many who had followed his public career], he may just have finally realized that supporting Sarah Palin in anything is definitely not in our best interest. Thanks, Senator McCain.
Rich Green
San Clemente, Cal.
Isn't it just a bit early to start worrying about the next presidential election? I'm still worried about this one.
McCain is finally out of the grasps of the cutthroat side of the Republican party. Now he's free to make his own rational, honest decisions about his future and our country. He has even dismissed the Republican tv spot trying to suggest Obama is linked with Blagojevich. He's asking for unity in a time we need it. I applaud his conduct and candor.
He supported her before and look what it got him.. This time he vetted her, even if it was during the campaign and he knows she is not qualified for any thing other than Alaskan politics..
Why would he? She wasn't his first choice anyway? Maybe you should ask the RNC if they will support her, they chose her in the first place.
Just because McCain picked her to be his running mate does not mean he has to back her for a Presidential run in 2012. Besides, maybe he's figured out that he made a mistake.
He probably figured out what a idiot she is. She may be qualified to be president of her hometown high school PTA
I think when McCain gave his concession speech and Palin's plan to give one also was the end of that relationship when they walked off the stage.
It says real change can occur. He's changed his mind about her!
John McCain saw Sarah Palin on the campaign trail and she convienced him to vote for Obama for the good of the nation. John McCain is old but not stupid.
Jack you would have done the same thing.
It doesn't mean anything. When the time comes, if it comes, in 2010 and, McCain is still with us, he will probably be retired and out of the limelight. Also, we may not be able to find him at any of his numerous addresses for a comment. By then even the most ardent Right wing nut job will realize that SP isn't what this country wants and certainly does not need.
The fact that he will not commit to Palin shows as he stated that his corpse is still warm, and apparently, his brain is still somewhat functioning.
It shows that the only reason he "chose" her was to appease the RNC and its radical base. It also shows he may be trying to be a maverick again instead of a puppet.
I don't think John McCain is willing to support anyone yet. He is still exhausted from the recent election and it's too soon to talk about another "bleeping" campaign.
Let me get this straight. He was willing to gamble our lives on her potentially being our president before, and now he can't support her as president. This stunt is almost as huge as him suspending his campaign.
Ok, Now the truth comes out. He is telling us what he really thinks of her after all his first Presidential like move was to choose his Vice Presidential pick. He is admitting without actually admitting that his party picked her, he didn’t.
Isn't it clear? GOP'ers have always been short sighted... look at our economy. If John McCain, the guy that supported her more than anyone else, the GOP's golden child has expressed apprehention, yet they can't listen to his words, what more can you do?
The blind are leading the blind.. .and the state of the Union and our economy is the litmus test of proof.
Senator McCain is a smart man, he realizes that Sarah Palin represents a backward Republican Party of small towns and big guns, how could he support her in a 2012 election??
Please, please, please, nominate Sarah Palin for 2012. Part of me wants her to just go away but another part of me understands demographics and politics. If she is the front runner for the republican ticket we will be guaranteed another four years of a democrat in the White House...So Drill baby drill, and Run Sarah Run!
Jack,
This goes to show how little faith McCain really has in Palin's capacity to lead. It reinforces the notion that his V.P. pick was largely one of political expediency. Now that the Palin bubble has burst, he is acting out of political expediency again by abandoning her. Which part of that behavior makes him a maverick?
McCain was smart when he did not endorse Palin for president in 2012. Let's hope the Republican Party will be wise and endorse someone else for president in 2012!
It means that he plans to run for the presidency again in 2012 without her.