Eric Dondero of Libertarian Republican in the comments at Independent Political Report is discussing the 2008 Election. He talks about how Libertarian Candidate Bob Barr was surging in August and then explains why McCain chose Palin.
…why did Bob Barr get only 525,000 votes, versus the 2 to 3 million he was well on his way to garnering?
Two words:
SARAH PALIN!
Ryan Christiano, top staffer for John McCain for President confirmed to me in an email when directly asked 3 months after the campaign ended, that “yes” Sarah Palin was picked largely to appeal to “libertarian voters,” and to ward off Bob Barr.
Recall Barr was polling 5 to 6% in Zogby way up til late August.
So Sarah was very attractive to libertarian leaning voters. And if you believe the numbers she added 4 to 5% to McCain’s totals. That is not insignificant.
Look at the numbers for the Presidential race. Obama got just short of 53%. McCain got just shy of 46% of the vote. Now imagine the attitude of The WON if McCain had been down around 41 or 42%. He has been insufferable already. With that kind of difference the Zer∅ would have been impossible.
Cross Posted at Power and Control
Comments
3 responses to “Why McCain Picked Palin”
Sorry, but Dondero knows about as much about libertarianism as Paris Hilton knows about string theory.
I think a better explanation is “Palin appealed to Republican leaning voters who didn’t like McCain.”
Joe,
Dondero understands more about libertarian theory and practice than you and I put together. And I was Secretary/Treasurer of my local Libertarian Club (Rockford, Illinois) for three years (because the locals thought I was knowledgeable and committed).
I left the Libs for the same reason Dondero left them – insane foreign policy.
But the question is not whether Dondero is a libertarian or not. The question is: is his reporting on the McCain Campaign accurate?
I can tell you he was correct about Zogby and provide a link to prove it.