# McCain wished he picked Lieberman to run with in 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 6, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693 "2018-05-06T12:47:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/21 "2018-05-06T16:12:33Z")
I couldn’t vote for him over picking Palin. If had picked Lieberman… Then I still definitely wouldn’t have voted for him. And wouldn’t have in 2000 were I able. Video game politics might be a weird deciding vote for some people, but I didn’t forget his ignorance in that realm. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/22 "2018-05-06T16:23:35Z")
> [@Batano](#): > > I think it was more that she was just so fucking stupid. She didn’t normalize lying, she normalized idiocracy. I remember just after she was nominated and hearing her first interview. The press, at the time, seemed to be a bit enchanted with this small town woman who was being thrust into national politics and how it was going to shake up the race. But all I heard was a nitwit who sounded more like a clueless housewife\* than anything else. \*pardon the potentially sexist language, but that’s exactly the image she created in my mind as I heard her on the radio for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/23 "2018-05-06T16:51:34Z")
As others have said, the choice of Palin ended whatever residual respect I had left for the national Republican Party. It showed that the even the responsible Republicans like McCain felt they had to cater to their party’s lunatic wing. The same election saw people trying to damage Obama’s reputation by highlighting his past association with Jeremiah Wright. Obama responded by stating his opposition to Wright’s extremist views. He didn’t name Wright to be his running mate. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/24 "2018-05-06T17:36:56Z")
But his e-mails! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/25 "2018-05-06T17:38:54Z")
The pick of Palin was an ill considered decision, precipitated by bad time and information management and a mess of conflicting priorities in the running-mate picking process between candidate, candidate’s team, and party’s team, as shown by how the prime other choice was Lieberman. The idea was to do a “break all the established rules” ticket, to emphasize the “maverick” thing. Let’s face it, Lieberman would have created a massive ideological clash with the Movement Conservative (and how would it have sat with all the people who had “Sore/Loserman” stickers on their trucks?); at least with Palin you could claim it was a way to secure the base through cynical “if the top of the ticket is old, male, DC establishment and pragmatist, let’s let’s pair him with young, female, flyover-country outsider and Movement Conservative” casting. Palin got a rush-job vetting because the VP search and screening process took too long and reportedly went down many dead ends, leaving themselves without fallbacks when other choices either demurred or were found wanting or brought pushback from one faction or another. The Palin pick got through partly because she was unknown enough that there was no time to articulate reservations in time to stop it. (Also, lest we forget, in her introductory speech at the Convention she looked and sounded very good. It was when she came down into direct fire range that her level of unreadiness came out for most of us. ) ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/26 "2018-05-06T17:56:40Z")
I recall many women, especially liberal women, express jealousy over Palin. She was attractive, successful, had a vibrant family, and a good looking husband. McCain literally campaigned for Obama at times. He probably was afraid Palin might hand him a win. I wish him no ill, but this warmonger should have left the political stage a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/27 "2018-05-06T18:18:08Z")
She was successful at what, again? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/28 "2018-05-06T18:32:42Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > McCain literally campaigned for Obama at times. He probably was afraid Palin might hand him a win. Are you claiming that McCain intentionally set out to lose the election in order to get Obama elected? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/29 "2018-05-06T19:11:18Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > I recall many women, especially liberal women, express jealousy over Palin. She was attractive, successful, had a vibrant family, and a good looking husband. McCain literally campaigned for Obama at times. He probably was afraid Palin might hand him a win. I wish him no ill, but this warmonger should have left the political stage a long time ago. The word you are looking for is “envy”, and the words I am looking for are “your statement is comical.” Oh, good, I found them. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/30 "2018-05-06T19:16:01Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > She was successful at what, again? Getting elected and using government resources to solve her personal problems. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/31 "2018-05-06T19:29:53Z")
Let’s not act like Lieberman wasn’t also a piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/32 "2018-05-06T21:10:46Z")
I’ll give **LAZombie** credit: While “vibrant” isn’t the word I would have picked to describe Palin’s family, it is actually accurate. Kind of odd, though, given that the Republicans (including Palin’s family themselves) have spent decades railing against that sort of “vibrancy”. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/33 "2018-05-06T21:28:35Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Let’s not act like Lieberman wasn’t also a piece of shit. let me guess - this is because he lost in the Dem primary in 2006 and ran as an independent and won? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/34 "2018-05-06T21:37:33Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > let me guess - this is because he lost in the Dem primary in 2006 and ran as an independent and won? That’s very low on the list of reasons, but it’s on the list. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/35 "2018-05-06T21:39:41Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > let me guess - this is because he lost in the Dem primary in 2006 and ran as an independent and won? No, because Joseph Lieberman (R) Scumbag was the most spineless politician of his generation. His entire career was based around Pious Joe being the center of attention. We saw it with his pearl-clutching, woe-is-me grandstanding during the Clinton impeachment. We saw it with his cowardly betrayal of Gore during the Florida recount. We saw it, worst of all, with his sabotaging of the Affordable Care Act. I wish McCain _had_ chosen that piece of shit. He would have fucked it up somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/36 "2018-05-06T21:42:24Z")
what did Lieberman do with the Florida recount? Don’t recall anything about him there. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/37 "2018-05-07T04:48:41Z")
I was wondering the same thing ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/38 "2018-05-07T05:24:40Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > Post-truth and unprepared, not stupid. Remember the post-election stories with testimony from those who tried to prepare her? She was unprepared either because she was too stupid to get it or because she didn’t give a crap. Not as bad as Trump, but getting there. She did score some clothes from this operation though. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/39 "2018-05-07T10:40:33Z")
McCain’s key area of expertise was, supposedly, foreign policy in the Middle East; yet he was continually confused about which groups were Shi’ite, which Sunni. Read [Game Change](https://www.amazon.com/Game-Change-Clintons-McCain-Lifetime/dp/0061733644) about the 2008 campaign; read specifically about the White House meeting he called to address the credit crisis. This story, which has nothing to do with Palin, should lay to rest any notion McCain was a capable leader. McCain seems like a _good_ person, with integrity, and that’s certainly a refreshing change from most GOP candidates. But it is absurd to suggest that he was qualified to be President. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/40 "2018-05-07T11:04:52Z")
They claimed she did not own those clothes , they also were bought for her whole family just for the campaign. I vaguely recall some statement that they were going to be donated to charity once the election was over. My guess is nobody ever checked to see if the clothes donation really happened. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693.md?page=3)