# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/41 "2018-05-07T11:25:17Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > She did a half way decent job in the debate vs. Biden. Better than her other TV appearances. It was crunch time. They had to prepare her better than ever before, and Biden had to appear nice to her. > [@Voyager](#): > > 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. Yes, I’ve read that book (Game Change). But I thought it was more like “she did not give a crap”, sort of like how McCain didn’t bother to educate himself on topics like the fall of the economy since he only really cared about international topics such as war. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/42 "2018-05-07T14:36:40Z")
Palin wasn’t stupid, per se, she was just a bullshit artist who wasn’t about to start learning at her age. (BTW, how lovely is it that we can refer to her in the past tense? Dodged a bullet, we did.) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/43 "2018-05-07T15:08:28Z")
At first, I liked McCain because of seemed decent and would go against some of the baser aspects of his party\*. At some point though, you should stop getting credit for opposing rapacious, tribalistic, fundamentalist ratfucking when you’re a major member of the rapacious, tribalistic fundamentalist ratfucking party. Since post-truth has been brought up in relation to Palin and conservative talk radio, when did post-truth conservative talk radio start in the US? Was it with Limbaugh or were there important predecessors? Does it ultimately come from the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine? - Like here: [Flashback: McCain tells supporter Obama is 'a decent... - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIjenjANqAk) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/44 "2018-05-07T15:12:43Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Palin wasn’t stupid, per se, she was just a bullshit artist who wasn’t about to start learning at her age. > > (BTW, how lovely is it that we can refer to her in the past tense? \*\* Dodged a bullet, we did\*\*.) Unfortunately, we wound up on the artillery range. ---
**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 7, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/45 "2018-05-07T15:59:18Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Since post-truth has been brought up in relation to Palin and conservative talk radio, when did post-truth conservative talk radio start in the US? Was it with Limbaugh or were there important predecessors? Does it ultimately come from the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine? I’d put it earlier with Rupert Murdoch. He began buying newspapers in the seventies and then got into television in the eighties. ---
**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 7, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/46 "2018-05-07T16:11:41Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 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. It’s tough to teach somebody facts when they don’t see facts as important. Anyone who’s tried to force an uninterested child into doing their homework knows that. You can understand why Palin thought facts were unimportant. She had succeeded in life without ever bothering to learn too much. Facts hadn’t gotten her elected Mayor or Governor. So she figured personality was what mattered not knowledge. But she (and Donald Trump) didn’t realize was that the Presidency was a whole new level they were unfamiliar with. You can’t bullshit your way through the Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/47 "2018-05-07T16:32:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But she (and Donald Trump) didn’t realize was that the Presidency was a whole new level they were unfamiliar with. You can’t bullshit your way through the Presidency. Trump’s giving it his level best (at bullshitting, that is). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/48 "2018-05-07T17:32:20Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The Republicans have “needed” one candidate from the “kook right” on every ticket. Sarah was just kookier that her predecessors. I’ve heard this sort of argument before, but I have a hard time understanding it. Clearly I am no politician, but if I ostensibly represent the “right” wing of what amounts to a biparty political race, why should I give a damn about courting those even further to the right, especially to the fringe? Maybe they stay home and don’t vote for me–whoopy do, they’re certainly not going to support my opponent. Because rather than give them a voice, and possibly even a say in my governing decisions, I am courting leftward to steal my opponent’s centrist voters. Is the “kook” vote essentially a response to that? “Fine, you want to alienate your fringe and tempt them to stay home? Well I’ll court MY fringe and get them to turn out!”? ---
**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 7, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/49 "2018-05-07T17:50:20Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I’ve heard this sort of argument before, but I have a hard time understanding it. Clearly I am no politician, but if I ostensibly represent the “right” wing of what amounts to a biparty political race, why should I give a damn about courting those even further to the right, especially to the fringe? Maybe they stay home and don’t vote for me–whoopy do, they’re certainly not going to support my opponent. Because rather than give them a voice, and possibly even a say in my governing decisions, I am courting leftward to steal my opponent’s centrist voters. Is the “kook” vote essentially a response to that? “Fine, you want to alienate your fringe and tempt them to stay home? Well I’ll court MY fringe and get them to turn out!”? It’s not just a matter of which candidate people vote for. It’s getting people to show up and vote at all. People on the fringe wing of your party who stay home don’t hurt you as much as people who vote for the other candidate. But they can still cost you an election. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/50 "2018-05-07T18:01:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s not just a matter of which candidate people vote for. It’s getting people to show up and vote at all. > > People on the fringe wing of your party who stay home don’t hurt you as much as people who vote for the other candidate. But they can still cost you an election. Ok, that’s kind of what I thought, but it sounds desperate. I’d be inclined to ignore my fringe, run a clandestine social media campaign smearing my opponent to his fringe, saying he isn’t fringey enough for them, and when he responds by aggressively courting his fringe, I point out those efforts to the center and say, “tsk tsk tsk, what an extremist!” I wonder if Obama did that, he was clever enough. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/51 "2018-05-07T18:05:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You can’t bullshit your way through the Presidency. It’s been done before. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/52 "2018-05-07T19:39:20Z")
I would have still voted for Obama, but I would have respected a vote for a McCain/Lieberman ticket. I had voted for GWB twice (lifelong Republican at that point) and was only starting to waiver to vote D. But Bush had poisoned me against the GOP, and Obama was really an inspiring, irresistible candidate. If it had been McCain/Lieberman against a less inspiring Democrat (like, Hillary) it would have been a more difficult choice. Having Palin on one side and Obama on the other made it a no-brainer. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/53 "2018-05-13T00:31:02Z")
Hillary ignored her fringe and you see where that got her. They stayed home or voted for Jill Stein. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/54 "2018-05-13T00:42:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s not just a matter of which candidate people vote for. It’s getting people to show up and vote at all. > > People on the fringe wing of your party who stay home don’t hurt you as much as people who vote for the other candidate. But they can still cost you an election. True, but I just don’t see a fringe who would have not voted for McCain if not for Palin. Maybe Lieberman would lose a few for being Jewish, but there were other choices. I honestly think part of the appeal was her being a woman. I think that was intended to win over some Independents from the “making history” idea of the first black president. She was supposed to check two boxes, not just the Evangelical one. ---
**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 13, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/55 "2018-05-13T02:38:46Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > what did Lieberman do with the Florida recount? Don’t recall anything about him there. As I recall, he said all absentee-military ballots registered in Florida should be counted regardless of technical problems. This was a tad problematic because the election rather starkly revealed that the state’s entire election process was riddled with technical problems. The Democrats wanted to consider “voter intent” in districts with a lot of minorities (plausibly believed to tend Democrat) even if the crappy voting machines with their hanging chad made the ballot somewhat ambiguous, whereas Republicans wanted absentee-military (and likely pro-Republican) “voter intent” considered even if the ballots weren’t dated properly or correctly certified or had any number of flaws that would normally invalidate them entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/56 "2018-05-13T03:11:47Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > Post-truth and unprepared, not stupid. > [@Voyager](#): > > 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. Palin didn’t lack for ambition. But her performance after the campaign revealed very real deficiencies in brain power. GWBush wasn’t the brightest light on the porch. But he was able to attend cram school with Condaleza Rice et al. and reliably hit his talking points on television. If Palin had the ability to do that after the 2008 defeat, she would have. Even conservatives got sick of her incoherence, which ultimately led to her contract being cancelled at Fox News. [Why Fox News dropped Sarah Palin - CSMonitor.com](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2013/0126/Why-Fox-News-dropped-Sarah-Palin) Palin’s talents relied heavily on prepared remarks and her beauty, which like all things fades with time. She never mastered the equivalent of a press conference, not that she didn’t try. Does this make her stupid? Not quite, but it does easily make her stupider than the great majority of congressional representatives and senators. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/57 "2018-05-16T07:16:41Z")
McCain is a disgusting attention whore who will say or do anything to remain in the press, hence his current flurry of “revelations“. That said as stupid as picking Lieberman would’ve been, picking Palin was even worse. But hey, at the time it got him a lot of press so he was OK with it until suddenly he wasn’t which also got him a lot of press. The guy was a “Maverick “only because it got him mentioned a lot in the media ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693/58 "2018-05-16T14:38:04Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > [http://thehill.com/homenews/news/386392-mccain-i-regret-picking-palin-as-my-vice-presidential-nominee](http://thehill.com/homenews/news/386392-mccain-i-regret-picking-palin-as-my-vice-presidential-nominee) > > A pro choice former Dem would have made an interesting ticket with McCain I didn’t vote for him, precisely because of Palin. First, I had no idea who she was, and then, when I did know who she was, I concluded she was a complete idiot. Yes, even a bigger idiot than Biden. She was a total gimmick pick. Very pretty to look at, that’s about it. I wish he picked Lieberman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-wished-he-picked-lieberman-to-run-with-in-2008/813693.md?page=2)