McCain advises Romney to pick someone qualified, someone he trusts... someone (not) like Palin

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Yesterday on ABC's This Week, faux maverick Sen. John McCain gave some advice to Mitt Romney regarding how he should go about selecting his running mate:

"The absolute, most important aspect is, if something happened to him, would that person be well qualified to take that place?" said McCain. "I happen to believe that was the primary factor in my decision in 2008. And I know it will be Mitt's."

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McCain encouraged Romney to pick a person that "he knows he could trust."

Let's be blunt: McCain is either senile or dishonest (or maybe both). He didn't pick Sarah Palin because she was "well qualified" to take his place in the event he won the presidency, nor that he knew he could trust her, he picked her because the neocons were pushing her, he fell for her, and he needed a "game change."

That last point has become the CW thanks to the book and TV HBO movie, but that doesn't make it any less true. The McCain campaign urgently needed to shake things up, to find something, anything, anyone to bring it some excitement, someone who could potentially help change the media narrative away from Obama the superstar, from Obama the inevitable winner.

And Palin certainly helped, for a time, until the country got to know her.

McCain was going to lose no matter what, and his choice of running mate ultimately didn't matter much in terms of the result. Maybe he would have done a bit better with someone else, maybe worse. But let's be clear: He didn't pick Palin because she was qualified for the job, let alone to take over from him -- and certainly not because he trusted her.

This was meant as advice, perhaps, but it came across more as a warning than anything else.

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