Sarah Palin Bashes McCain Staffers– Blames Campaign For Couric Debacle
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, November 13, 2009, 5:40 AM
Sarah Palin slams the McCain Camp for keeping her from reporters during the campaign in the latest excerpt released from Going Rogue to the Drudge Report.
Palin sure makes Nicolle Wallace sound like a complete dunce.
Drudge reported:
Going Rogue: An American Life
by Sarah Palin
Chapter Four; Section 8, pages 255-257By the third week in September, a “Free Sarah” campaign was under way and the press at large was growing increasingly critical of the McCain camp’s decision to keep me, my family and friends back home, and my governor’s staff all bottled up. Meanwhile, the question of which news outlet would land the first interview was a big deal, as it always is with a major party candidate.
From the beginning, Nicolle [Wallace] pushed for Katie Couric and the CBS Evening News. The campaign’s general strategy involved coming out with a network anchor, someone they felt had treated John well on the trail thus far. My suggestion was that we be consistent with that strategy and start talking to outlets like FOX and the Wall Street Journal. I really didn’t have a say in which press I was going to talk to, but for some reason Nicolle seemed compelled to get me on the Katie bandwagon.
“Katie really likes you,” she said to me one day. “she’s a working mom and admires you as a working mom. She has teenage daughter like you. She just relates to you,” Nicolle said. “believe me, I know her very well. I’ve worked with her.” Nicolle had left her gig at CBS just a few months earlier to hook up with the McCain campaign. I had to trust her experience, as she had dealt with national politics more than I had. But something always struck me as peculiar about the way she recalled her days in the White House, when she was speaking on behalf of President George W. Bush. She didn’t have much to say that was positive about her former boss or the job in general. Whenever I wanted to give a shout-out to the White House’s homeland security efforts after 9/11, we were told we couldn’t do it. I didn’t know if that was Nicolle’s call.
Nicolle went on to explain that Katie really needed a career boost. “She just has such low self-esteem,” Nicolle said. She added that Katie was going through a tough time. “She just feels she can’t trust anybody.”
I was thinking, And this has to do with John McCain’s campaign how?
Nicolle said. “She wants you to like her.”
Hearing all that, I almost started to feel sorry for her. Katie had tried to make a bold move from lively morning gal to serious anchor, but the new assignment wasn’t going very well.
“You know what? We’ll schedule a segment with her,” Nicolle said. “If it doesn’t go well, if there’s no chemistry, we won’t do any others.”
Meanwhile, the media blackout continued. It got so bad that a couple of times I had a friend in Anchorage track down phone numbers for me, and then I snuck in calls to folks like Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and someone I thought was Larry Kudlow but turned out to be Neil Cavuto’s producer.
If Nicolle Wallace truly believed that Couric cared about Sarah, or the wellbeing of any conservative for that matter, she was complelely out of touch with the real world.
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tom kubiak commented:
My hat is off to Sarah. Lay the facts out young lady and let the American people decide. You ought to be President. I don’t think PC is in your vocabulary!!!
8 My Foot commented:
Sounds to me like Nicole wanted Sarah to fail.
JLawson commented:
Sounds to me like the whole campaign was rooting for Sarah to fail. Admittedly, the POV is a bit one-sided, but it’s hard to believe that ‘veteran’ political operatives would be so tone-deaf unintentionally.
Of course, Sarah wasn’t part of the ‘inside the Beltway’ crowd – couldn’t have outsiders crashing the clique! Better to have Obama win than someone outside gain a foothold.
Ginger commented:
Those people were in McCain’s campaign to make sure he failed. Sarah Palin was NOT part of that plan! She was awaking the giant and they could not have that. Sarah is what America stands for they are not! I think McCain chose the wrong people to run his campaign. I think they were collecting a double payday! You will see them working for the demorats. Just wait!
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Kitty commented:
This is a HUGE tip-off: “Nicolle had left her gig at CBS just a few months earlier to hook up with the McCain campaign.”
K-k-k-atie has a self-esteem p-p-p-roblem? Y’gotta be kidding!
I agree with JLawson’s assessment: “Sounds to me like the whole campaign was rooting for Sarah to fail.”
…
Kitty commented:
#4 Ginger: The trouble was, McCainiac chose the people with whom he felt comfortable, people whose ideals were also his.
…
Ginger commented:
Kitty you are so right. I have had this feeling that he had no plans to win. He didn’t think that we would take such a liking to that beautiful woman and her darling little family. Just like ours.
Ruth commented:
Sarah is smart, real, and the people can read that. I still don’t understand why so many Republicans wanted to shoot her down. Could it be she is what they pretend to be?
Go Sarah!
non_dhimmie commented:
Soros money…..He put the “Staff” in order, afterall Soros paid for McLame to get nomination etc.
Don’t you all remember amnesty kerfuffle…..
Soros contributed and Mclame got nomination, before that his numbers were tanking major.
Hannity continues to have Wallace as a conservative pundit….disgusting.
plainslow commented:
I like Sarah. But she would do better for herself if she just chalked the mistakes up to lessons learned. I already have a president that blames everyone and evrything for his problems.
Larkin commented:
You mention that Ms. Wallace…” was complelely out of touch with the real world.”
Sounds like a perfect match for John McCain.
Never, ever, ever will I give another dollar to the republican party or any extension thereof until they get a clue.
Blacque Jacques Shellacque commented:
As much as I like Palin, she gets some blame for being a little too trusting of media people. It doesn’t matter being told that someone in the media “likes you”; until that’s somehow proven, it won’t hurt for conservatives to approach every media encounter with the expectation that they’ll try to stick as many knives in your back as they can, because that is what they are likely to do.
GOP08_DOA commented:
Nicolle Wallace “hook[ed]” up with the McCain campaign??? Oh. Jesus Christ. Sarah Palin’s “voice” sounds like that of a stoned teenager in just these few paragraphs. Pathetic, however, I’m not surprised. Carry on Palin worshipers. Your goddess has spoken.
OCBill commented:
I’m pretty sure Katie Couric is the one Ann Coulter referred to as “the Eva Braun of the American Left”. Given that and Couric’s comments about James Dobson being indirectly(?) responsible for Matthew Sheppard’s death should have left no doubt about Couric’s attitudes toward traditional conservatives. Nicolle Wallace was setting Palin up to fail. It was a hit job.
JAY commented:
I think this story shows Sarah was a little naive about national politics when she first entered them. I’m sure every major figure starts out that way. But she is obviously a fast learner and a shrewd woman. And she seems very willing to tell the truth. She is a force to be reckoned with by all the politicians in both parties.
Brooklyn commented:
This is rather silly. As terrible as the McCain Campaign effort was, Mrs. Palin could have simply said “no way”. Also, she could have still preformed well in a simple interview with a vapid Democratic Partisan named Couric.
I like Mrs. Palin, she is top notch, but blaming others never goes well.
And she could have simply knocked the interview out well.
Hoping Mrs. Palin has more in the book, which inspires all.
Brooklyn commented:
PS: this sneaking calls to Rush, Hannity, etc., just doesn’t sound legit.
She was on Hannity’s tv show, etc., was all over the place by the time of the Couric interview.
If you are going to take on the VP Candidacy for the USA, you better get your p’s and q’s together, know your stuff, be prepared, period.
Dan Quayle was a disaster, but I don’t remember him blaming the Bush Sr. Campaign for his own mistakes.
And yes, I like Mrs. Palin.
Anne commented:
I love, love, love Sarah, but I really wish she wouldn’t go down this road. We need a leader who is willing to let the bullets bounce off of her as she forges ahead with a common sense vision to reclaim this country. I think this detracts from that mission.
Hypogean commented:
“GOP08_DOA”?
Wow. In late 2010, as the Dems are in the midst of epic, once-in-a-lifetime failure, you’re still celebrating your great victory of 2008. Perfect.
Elizabeth commented:
Brooklyn, have you seen the whole interview? Couric cherry picked the gotcha moments and left Palin’s strongest answers on the cutting room floor.
I see this as not blaming, but outing. If Nicolle Wallace wasn’t working for Palin’s success, what was her motivation?
wow commented:
She’s said what she feels, it’s out there, not she should just let it rest. She was entitled to give her side of the story and did it. Now let’s move forward and I know she is capable of doing that. I also don’t understand why she won’t go on programs like Fox and Friends? Yes, I know she has to beard the lion in it’s den, but she shouldn’t forget her friends.
Sarah … look forward.
Anthony Mator commented:
I’m tired of politicians blaming everyone else for their failures. Can we move on?
jd115 commented:
Can you all read the whole book before you start bashing her for sharing the blame.
Ginger commented:
I think Sarah is going to be on Seans show Wednesday night! Not for sure though.
So Cal Chick commented:
Nicolle Wallace is a “kiss of death” for anyone running for office… This is not about blaming anyone…this is about lousy political instincts or the lack thereof on the part of Wallace.
Politicians need to be able to count on their campaign staff … This was the most important campaign on the ticket and lousy staffers like Wallace used it for resume building…
Palin had to place blind trust in Wallace, due to Wallace’s resume to date – From now on I will be referring to this as the disastrous ‘Wallace Effect’ … Listen to your instincts, trust yourself and those closest to you …
While many staffers are excellent, beware of the Wallace Effect – an deadly virus that kills campaigns on contact!
Annie commented:
McCain was funded by Soros/Kerry and other leftie groups via his Reform Institute – Adrianna Huffington was on the Advisory Committee…
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=56745
Brian72 commented:
Sarah Palin will be on Hannity Wed. Nov. 18.
She will be on the radio program as well.
Glenn Beck can’t be far behind.
Ginger commented:
jd115
Same as usual isn’t it? Lib’s just can’t get over Sarah because she is not like them! Narrow minded, and evil! They can’t understand that a real life human being can be smart, pretty, and most of all has a abundance of love for her country and life.
If Sarah chooses NOT to run for president in 2012, I think she should be appointed “Justice czar and go after all of the corruped one’s. It can be done! She will be able to get back a very large sum of our money that these evil people has stold from us!We will know with out a doudt that there will be no cover up from her office.
jd115 commented:
The media and quite a few Republicans blame her for losing the election and always fail to mention the inability of the presidential candidate to express clear, conservative and understandable ideas or the worst run campaign I’ve ever seen. She hit it out of the park at the convention and led the campaign to the only time when they were ahead in the polls. She did the speech with a broken teleprompter I might add. She also kicked ass at the debate. I know, I was there. Just because Charlie Gibson scoffed at her foreign policy credentials, which she had more of than Obama being commander in chief of the alaskan national guard the only around the clock active guard, and having to deal with that witch Katie Couric airing an extremely edited interview doesn’t mean she was stupid. Sarah said she read all kinds of reading material and people laughed at her. Biden said FDR was on tv in 1929 when the stock market crashed and people don’t even give it a second look. People give her a chance to say what happened.
Joanne commented:
If Nicolle’s motive was to further Katie Couric’s career rather than the Republican candidate, Palin, then something was up right there. Sometimes you just need to trust your gut.
StandYourGround commented:
McCain is a Rhino as is Romney as is Gingrich as is Huckabee, etc. ad naseum.
McCain only got Palin so that he could bring support from the conservatives. I for one was not going to vote for McCain but chose to after he brought in Palin. The media wanted McCain and when Palin became the shining beacon of conservative values both McCain and the lil bitch (Kouric) decided to set her up and take her down.
That is why McCain to this day bad mouths Palin. She IS the biggest threat to the liberals bar none.
DAR commented:
Katie Couric smells like a colonoscopy. And I LOVE that excerpt that “she has low self-esteem”….Thanks Nicole…we knew that already, but it is still funny.
Hypogean commented:
John Ziegler says the AP is purposely distorting the contents of Palin’s book:
John Ziegler: “AP Blows it in Palin Book Analysis”
I have signed a nondisclosure agreement with Harper Collins regarding Sarah Palin’s new book so until it comes out I am limited to discussing only what is currently in the public domain. However, I simply must respond to the Associated Press “report” on Going Rogue.
Even grading on the “Palin Scale” of media bias, the AP’s synopsis is a joke.
Based on how the AP sees the book, you would think that the most significant disclosure is that Palin had to pay back the McCain campaign for part of her vetting because they lost, followed closely by the fact that she felt “badgered” by Katie Couric and didn’t get her way on election night.
In short, the book that the AP supposedly read sounds like it is full of self-serving whining and almost totally lacking in substance. That is not a remotely accurate evaluation of Going Rogue.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/john-ziegler-ap-blows-it-in-palin-book-analysis/
Aitch748 commented:
Excuse me, but if Palin is getting blamed for losing the election, on top of all the other indignities she and her family have had to go through, I think she’s earned the right to tell her side of the story. If that’s called blaming others, should Palin have not written about what went on behind the scenes during the campaign at all? If we have people like Steve Schmidt (or anybody else on the campaign) possibly planting rumors that Sarah was so dumb that she didn’t know that Africa was a continent, she’s got a right to fire back if she can, and people who get smeared in the press rarely get that opportunity to fire back, so maybe people who are slamming Palin over this little excerpt should back off.
We may be tired of hearing Obama blame Bush for the economy, but that’s in large part because Obama never stops doing it. It’s not as if Bush has been giving media interviews where he keeps hammering Obama to the point where Obama is obliged to defend himself.
gary gulrud commented:
Palin learned useful lessons, no doubt, and she’s not much time and energy dwelling on them-a good sign.
Steve Schmidt
Doug MacKinnon
These two names of McCain strategists are people trying to torpedo conservatives like you and Sarah. No doubt she mentions them.
Take Back 2010 commented:
The McCain campaign was out of touch in so many ways that this doesn’t surprise me at all.
Christian Soldier commented:
i KNEW IT!!!–that Sarah had been betrayed by the mccain*(ers)–please don’t tell me mccain* didn’t know…
*lower case on purpose
Joanne commented:
Let’s face it, McCain dropped the ball in the election. Everyone was waiting for a fire ball in debates, and all they received was a wet noodle. Shame on McCain. Palin, give the chance, would have, figuratively, torn Obama limb from limb in a debate.
DaMav commented:
I remember thinking at the time that what Palin needed more than anything was to challenge Obama himself to a no holds bar debate. I think she would have kicked his butt. He was so condescending to her that he probably would have called her ‘sweetie’ while lecturing her on the 57 states.
If the whole book is nothing but a blame shift then this would be a disappointment. But all we have here is an excerpt. I very much have been looking forward to executing a “read the whole thing” since I pre-ordered it the day it hit Amazon.
nick commented:
Some of you guys are really over the deep end. Really? McCain would rather Obama win that have the previous “sleeping giant” that is Palin become increasingly popular? or have a beltway outsider gain clout? Gimme a break.
I continue to say what I’ve said all along. Palin is a mistake for the national conservative movement. Sure, she can get some pretty good support and can effectively lead a conservative state, but never a national majority IMO.
Paul_In_Houston commented:
plainslow
November 13th, 2009 | 8:56 am | #10
I like Sarah. But she would do better for herself if she just chalked the mistakes up to lessons learned. I already have a president that blames everyone and everything for his problems.
So, she should just wait for and rely on somebody else to present her side of the story?
How well is that going to work?
People are still doing their level best to present her as a dunce, mostly in order to drive a stake through the heart of any plans for her running for anything again.
While I agree with your second line about the president, I also think she should be allowed to defend herself.
At some point, when attacked like she has been and still is, she has to get her side of it across.
If some other people really are to blame for some of the problems, gracefully letting that slide would only benefit those who would prefer that she go into obscurity (“Get back into the kitchen, where you belong”).
Ain’t gonna happen.
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Richard Romano commented:
Hypogean
November 13th, 2009 | 9:41 am | #19
“GOP08_DOA”?
Wow. In late 2010, as the Dems are in the midst of epic, once-in-a-lifetime failure, you’re still celebrating your great victory of 2008. Perfect.
Amazing isn’t it? I was talking to a friend today who is a Democrat, and he just kept talking about Bush — “Bush’s mess can’t be cleaned up in a year, give Obama time,” blah blah blah.
This is the robotic answer I expect from Obama supporters — they aren’t capable of anything else.
Btw, where’ve you been Hypogean? Haven’t seen you in a while — don’t disappear! I look forward to your thoughtful analysis.
Joanne commented:
Palin is explaining, not complaining, and she has every right to complain about what has happened to her anyhow if and when she chooses.
narciso commented:
Look the McCain campaign, had given up sometime after the Lehman collapse, they didn’t bother to tell her that detail, or maybe she thought there was something still at stake,
in this race. but even before that, this record shows all the media she was slated for, but the
McCain campaign cancelled.
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/136346
She had been on Charlie Rose, the year before, along with the ‘brilliant’ Janet Napolitano, she didn’t end up on Hannity till October after the Couric interview.
Richard Romano commented:
JoanneNo Gravatar
November 13th, 2009 | 12:01 pm | #45
Palin is explaining, not complaining, and she has every right to complain about what has happened to her anyhow if and when she chooses.
She is remarkably graceful considering the despicable invective and unparalleled diatribes leveled against her.
I’m looking forward to reading her book.
Rob De Witt commented:
“You should talk to Katie Couric because “she has low self-esteem,” is “going through a tough time” and “needs the boost.”
That’s pathetic.
Siena commented:
The biggest mistake President Bush EVER made was to take the high road and let liberals control the narrative. That’s what doomed him. He is a great man but the majority of the country will never know that because he thought his deeds would speak for themselves. He thought History would judge him. Well, history is being written by liberals in all the colleges across the country so he will be remembered as the “liar” who tooks us into a “war of choice”. Sarah Palin HAS TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT before the lies about her become truth in the bizarro world of the MSM. It’s not whining, it’s called fighting back. GO SARAH!
jksisco commented:
“You should talk to Katie Couric because “she has low self-esteem,” is “going through a tough time” and “needs the boost.”
Perhaps CBS could use this as a promo, to attract more viewers.
Christian Soldier commented:
Siena # 49–is so right!
We must stop playing into the alinsky plan–thus–
no more NICE guys….let’s tell it like it is….
Sarah is right on!!!
greenfairie commented:
All of these comments with “I like Sarah but” are nothing but seminar posts.
This Nicolle Wallace was a snake in the grass. She and the other Diet Democrats running the McCain campaign didn’t like that this frontierswoman was outshining her boss and firing up the knuckle-draggin’ rednecks (i.e. people like you and me). She knew that Sarah Palin’s weak spot was her inexperience with the national media. I knew that the alphabets and CNN were going to do all they could to bring her down. She was all that stood between Dr. Utopia and the White House. Having dealt only with state and local media–which can be very, very different from dealing with the Manhattan-based media–Palin was a babe in the woods. It appears Palin knew it too. It was common sense; you go with the friendlies first then go into the lion’s den practiced and ready. She should have done an hour with Rush Limbaugh. She should have appeared on every show on the Fox lineup. Then you talk to Katie or whomever, but with the full knowledge that you’re talking to the enemy! I’m a nobody in CA and I KNOW that. Undoubtedly, Wallace knew it as well.
Palin has every right to explain what happened behind the scenes. Those people stabbed her in the back. In fact, I was hoping she would start kicking @$$ and taking names. Good for her!
Alaskan commented:
I worked along side of several of the people the RNC sent to Alaska to help out in the McCain/Palin campaign.
They didn’t get it. They didn’t get her….they were shocked and kept saying ‘does she really believe this stuff’…and ‘the RNC is not going to like that’.
NOW, when it came to money….well they loved Sarah Palin. She brought in more money to the RNC then they had seen in years, if not decades.
My personal summary…most of the people on the McCain team were Liberals, and the RNC were Progressives.
jonyjoe101 commented:
Well at least Sarah learned a little about new york/chicago politics. She had all the mental alarms going off in her head, next time she needs to listen to them.
Mainstream media is not your friend.
John Mccain didn’t give the conservatives a warm feeling, he was just as liberal as Hilary Clinton.
narciso commented:
Well Wallace was a Romney partisan for some time, and was until recently a big supporter of the One at the Tina Brown “Daily Beast”. To McCain and probably Graham, the SRM were there
allies, much like they were for Hillary, until they
found a new cause in Obama. Ironically even the local press, headed by the Anchorage Daily News
turned instantaneously against her, after August
29th, when she stopped going after her own state’s corrupt Republican fiefdom.
gary gulrud commented:
“she can get some pretty good support and can effectively lead a conservative state, but never a national majority”
Slick never got a national majority.
Tell us please, how the election breaks with, e.g.,
Oblabla-Romney-Palin
mixing it up. This with 40% Indies, 33% Donks, 27% GOP. Remember to do the electoral math including stolen contests.
Give us the percent turnouts by age group and political affiliation.
One Way commented:
Sarah’s learned from this. And I’m glad she’s letting us in on what happened. Clueless Americans have to hear the truth.
And know the history of each player: is there a recent move from Dem to Repub – from liberal associations to conservative. Because these guys can’t be trusted, imo.
It sure raised my eyebrows when I heard someone from CBS was assigned to Sarah so it didn’t surprise me one bit what parts of that interview were aired.
This is a party that lies with ease. They regularly pretend to be something/someone they’re not while painting their opposition as something/someone they’re not.
Why do you suppose Team Obama refused FOX interviews (and now plans to toss all Republicans from government positions) — they know what they do and assume others are equally diabolical.
Sarah probably didn’t feel she could buck the McCain campaign too much and hoped she could overcome what her gut was telling her.
McCain was just clueless. I feel certain he wanted to win the presidency, but has foolishly trusted the other side. (Bush with more damage – Paulson was a Dem til he suddenly gave $ to Bush’s campaign and then became Treasury Secy – disastrous). McCain’s own campaign had a former Dem on board — one who insisted McCain not bring up anything negative about Obama. How was that not an order straight from the Dem/MSM gameplan.
We’ve seen what these Dems do to win elections. Breaking the law doesn’t phase them one bit. What’s the big deal about throwing an election, fraudulently voting yourself and getting others to commit registration fraud.
Sending one of your own into the other’s campaign and getting them to do what you hope will destroy them — that’s a mild and easily justifiable thing. I’ll bet those players actually felt virtuous.
Well, we know who these Dems are now. And honest, decent Americans will hopefully stand up to do the right thing. Enough with Alinsky and the associated evils.
Robb76 commented:
Palin will be on Rush tueday. Second hour.
jainphx commented:
John McCain is a back stabber, and then after stabbing us in the back, he pretends he’s a conservative.
In my opinion, He had no intention of winning, but if he did so much the better.
he wanted to run with Lieberman, but knew it was way to obvious. He chose Sarah never thinking that she would be the almost savior of the GOP. Now the Elites have got to right their mistake by destroying her, unfortunately for them the opposite happened.
Sarah in 2012 would be a refreshing breath of clean air. I don’t care if some think she’s “not ready for prime time” she won’t and can’t do us the harm that Oears has, and that is a fact.