This is what really blows my mind:
With time running out â?? and as Mr. McCain discarded two safer choices, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, as too predictable â?? he turned to Ms. Palin. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later. Advisers to Mr. Pawlenty and another of the finalists on Mr. McCainâ??s list described an intensive vetting process for those candidates that lasted one to two months.
â??They didnâ??t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,â? said a Republican close to the campaign. â??This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didnâ??t get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.â?
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People familiar with the process said Ms. Palin had responded to a standard form with more than 70 questions. Although The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. background check, an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public.
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In Alaska, several state leaders and local officials said they knew of no efforts by the McCain campaign to find out more information about Ms. Palin before the announcement of her selection, Although campaigns are typically discreet when they make inquiries into potential running mates, officials in Alaska said Monday they thought it was peculiar that no one in the state had the slightest hint that Ms. Palin might be under consideration.
â??They didnâ??t speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didnâ??t speak to anyone in the business community,â? said Lyda Green, the State Senate president, who lives in Wasilla, where Ms. Palin served as mayor.
Representative Gail Phillips, a Republican and former speaker of the State House, said the widespread surprise in Alaska when Ms. Palin was named to the ticket made her wonder how intensively the McCain campaign had vetted her.
â??I started calling around and asking, and I have not been able to find one person that was called,â? Ms. Phillips said. â??I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. Not one of them had heard. Alaska is a very small community, we know people all over, but I havenâ??t found anybody who was asked anything.â?
The current mayor of Wasilla, Dianne M. Keller, said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Ms. Palinâ??s background. And Randy Ruedrich, the state Republican Party chairman, said he knew nothing of any vetting that had been conducted.
State Senator Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the ethics investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. â??I heard not a word, not a single contact,â? he said.
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New York Times
