JOHN McCAIN'S BEST HOPE -- "I AM DUMPING SARAH PALIN"

WROTE FOLLOWING COLUMN ON SEPT. 26, 2008
JOHN McCAIN'S BEST HOPE -- "I AM DUMPING SARAH PALIN"
If John McCain makes the following speech, I will vote for him for president.
I know that my fantasy of sleeping with Sarah Palin is more realistic than the below fantasy, but I’m a dreamer.
"My friends, for most of my career, I have been regarded by the overwhelming majority of people who know me as a straight talker – someone who will tell people the truth as I see it even if it angers my conservative and Republican friends. I can show you articles written by dozens of journalists of every ideological stripe praising me for my political courage.
"Unfortunately, I have also made some very serious mistakes. I’m a human being who has in the past been persuaded to do things I should not have done. I hope you judge me by how I’ve responded to those mistakes rather than the mistakes themselves.
"For example, I reacted to my involvement in the Keating S&L scandal by becoming a diehard proponent of campaign finance reform and I’ve become more interested in civil rights issues after conservatives persuaded me to take a neutral position on the Confederate flag - a position that I knew was immoral.
"I’ve also made mistakes in this presidential campaign. So has Barack Obama. He has not confessed his errors. I am about to admit a very big one.
"On Aug. 29, I selected Sarah Palin to be my vice presidential running mate. It was not my choice. I hope you will be patient as I explain to you what happened – and why I am asking you to support the McCain-Joe Lieberman ticket.
"The truth is that I have been in public service for 26 years. Unlike Senator Obama, I did not need attorneys and investigators to help me determine who will be an excellent vice president. When I announced I was running for president in 1999, I already had a short list of potential running mates. I had a similar list when I announced my candidacy for this election.
"I have worked with Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge for decades, and I knew then and know now that they will be outstanding vice presidents. There were others on my short list. People like Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Joe Biden, and Chuck Hagel. Unfortunately, the latter group was not interested in being vice president or not interested in being my running mate.
"After I won the Republican nomination in March, I began finalizing my vice presidential selection. Like all other presidential nominees, I had my staff put together a list of people I knew I would not select, but would please other politicians and voters. Senator Obama did the same thing, but he won’t tell you that. I just did.
"Because so many conservatives were opposed to my candidacy, my vetters looked for politicians who would please conservatives. My final list included Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, and Sarah Palin. I don’t consider any of them suitable to be my vice president although they all have wonderful qualities and could be wonderful presidents someday.
"I think it is clear that I never considered Sarah Palin a serious candidate. I talked to her only once in my life prior to Aug. 22, the day that Senator Obama selected Joe Biden. On that day, I decided to choose Joe Lieberman over Tom Ridge as my running mate.
"I sincerely wish that I had announced my friend Joe on that day. Unfortunately, I told other high-level Republicans about my decision before telling voters. That was an unconscionable mistake. In turn, they informed other influential conservatives about my choice.
"What I did next was even worse – I listened to my critics. The straight talk is that several influential Republicans threatened me. They said they would make sure that I would lose the election if I selected Lieberman or Ridge. They threatened highly-organized campaigns against me at the Republican Convention and voter boycotts afterward.
"I was a POW in Vietnam for six years. I pride myself on my courage. On Aug. 22, though, I was a political coward. I hope to earn your respect by admitting my mistake and being forthright about what happened.
"The people who threatened me included Karl Rove, James Dobson, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh. They are all wildly popular in some circles, but they care far more about their narrow political ideology than this nation. They are not true patriots. Senator Obama is supported by liberals who have the same me-first principles, but he won’t denounce them. I just did.
"Because I never believed that I would be forced to withdraw my nomination of Joe Lieberman, I did not have a backup plan. With the Republican Convention only days away, my advisors did not have time to vet anyone who was not on the final list. I had four choices.
"On Aug. 28, I met Sarah Palin. I was astounded. She was dynamic, charismatic, and came across as someone with great courage. I was particularly impressed by her account of how she challenged the Republican establishment in Alaska and fought government waste. These characteristics blended with my past history better than Romney, Pawlenty, and Jindal.
"I know now that her account of how she opposed "The Bridge To Nowhere" and other big government projects is factually incorrect, and I owe Americans an apology for not checking out her claims. I owe you all an even bigger apology for concluding that she had the knowledge and judgment to be vice president. You will have to take my word that the principles she expressed to me on Aug. 28 made me comfortable that she had what it takes to serve as vice president.
"Unfortunately, in the last month, it is has become very clear to me that Governor Palin just doesn’t have an understanding of many important issues. I wish that members of what I used to call my base were with me on Aug. 28.
"The truth is that journalists have asked her better questions than I did. More importantly, my own advisers have been very upset about her grasp of issues while trying to prepare her for the vice presidential debate and interviews.
"I attended a debate prep session for the first time yesterday. Watching Joe Lieberman try to explain sophisticated foreign policy ideas to Governor Palin was the final straw. I cannot in good conscience ask the American people to support me with Sarah Palin as my running mate.
"The problem with the current presidency is that George W. Bush has not been able to admit his mistakes. I’m convinced that Barack Obama might have the same flaw. I don’t.
"I ask you all to forgive me and support the McCain-Lieberman ticket. In office, we will fight for bipartisan solutions to America’s problems and act like we are the president and vice president of the USA, not the president and vice president of one political party."