Who’s to Blame for the Palin Debacle?

Newsweek, the magazine that gave you a cover with a close up of Sarah Palin’s moustache, now has revealed allegations of many behind the scenes problems with Sarah Palin as she campaigned for John McCain. These problems included uncontrolled spending for clothes for herself and her family, having staffers put clothing purchases for her on the staffers credit cards, tantrums and infighting, diva behavior, refusing to take coaching before TV appearances, and greeting male staffers in her hotel room wrapped in a towel. (SHE was wrapped in the towel, not the hotel room.) There were also many concerns about her overall intelligence, saying she didn’t know Africa was a continent, and not knowing the three big countries involved in NAFTA.

This doesn’t come as much surprise to me and I find these allegations completely believable. I found myself wondering why these allegations didn’t come out sooner. In the video below (oddly, from Fox (Faux) News - who never utters a bad word about a republican, ever!) the reporter seems to indicate that they DID know about it, but since it was information given off the record at the time, it couldn’t be used.

Of course, Sarah Palin defends herself. She makes it sound like it’s just negativity from negative people. And frankly, if staffers felt this way about her, then they shouldn’t have continued working for the campaign. The fact that they kept this under wraps during the campaign may be considered commendable as far as their ability to keep a secret, but their true colors are showing now that the campaign is over and the blame game is beginning. It seems they are very quick - maybe too quick - to throw Palin under the bus.

I think the person on the top of the blame list should be John McCain. He selected Sarah as his running mate. His campaign clearly didn’t vet her thoroughly or they didn’t care to. Many voters saw his selection of a woman for his running mate as his last ditch attempt to get ahead of the game with women voters that had been in the Hilary Clinton camp. When Sarah opened her mouth for the first time for an interview, it was clear that his choice was flawed, and people began to really wonder about McCain's judgement.

It seems they couldn’t control her, either. Palin may have figured that this may be her one and only chance to play in the big leagues, so she probably tried to use the exposure for all she could. As a result, she has to accept some of the blame for her failures in being able to present herself in the best light, especially after she reportedly went “rogue” and strayed from the campaign message, or if she really did refuse attempts to be coached before TV appearances.

The news of all the troubles with Palin may have another purpose than just disgruntled staffers finally getting the last word. With some news sources reporting that maybe Sarah will make her own bid for the presidency in 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised if even those in her own republican party want to quash those chances by releasing her “behind the scenes” antics.

Let’s hope that her two months of fame are up.

Fox (Faux) News on Palin Allegations



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