The selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate was shocking and mystifying. Stunning for its demonstration of bad judgment on the part of McCain, I just could not figure out why he would select someone who was already under investigation in her home state. But what if that was not the strategy to begin with? What if instead the design was to select a woman who they already knew would pull out quickly?
President George W. Bush’s decision to mount a troop "surge" in Iraq last year was taken against the initial recommendations of his top advisers, including his field commander, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.
Keep your eyes on Pennsylvania and Michigan.
There are battleground states in the presidential election, and then there are these two, looming larger than most others because they offer such a rich opportunity for Republican John McCain and potential peril for Democrat Barack Obama.
Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav.
Their trip comes just as delegates are preparing for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday.
John McCain will try to reclaim his reformist image at a Republican National Convention tightly scripted to put some distance between the conservative presidential candidate and his party’s unpopular standard-bearer, President Bush.