One Storm that Isn't Blowing Over

Republicans hoped the storm would all blow over, meaning the storm over the botched pick of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. But it doesn't look like it will anytime soon.When faced with unwelcome news, there's the time honored tactic of releasing it when folks aren't paying attention, which is what the New York Times reports that the McCain campaign was trying to do:

“We are going to flush the toilet,” said Tucker Eskew, who is a senior adviser to Ms. Palin, describing the campaign’s plans for Labor Day, when much of the nation was busy with family and social activities.
The trouble is a pregnant teenager is the kind of story that is irresistible even when families are disinclined to talk about Georgia or energy policy. A daughter's pregnancy is hardly a threat to the republic, but it has added to the growing story of a botched roll out of McCain's running mate.

Even an experienced hand like Priscilla Rakestraw couldn't resist an apt but unfortunate quote, given here to USA Today:

"I think there will be a period of surprise and questions: When did McCain know and what did he know?" said Priscilla Rakestraw, a Republican National Committee member from Delaware.

For instance, did he know about Palin's membership in a party calling for a vote on secession from the United States? Jake Tapper of ABC News noticed that the fringe party's motto is at odds with McCain's latest slogan:

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.
And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."
Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.

But at least she has that mavericky opposition to earmarks, doesn't she? Not according to the Achorage Daily News:

But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.

But wait, there's more, according to the Washington Post:

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 1 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

As far as I know, Wilmington, Delaware's largest city (where I used to work) has never hired a Washington lobbyist. Wasilla is smaller than one of Wilmington's council districts. I'm trying to imagine how one might spend $27 million in my council district.
But doesn't McCain's have an advantage on national security? We could ask an experienced GOP hand like David Frum:

Ms. Palin's experience in government makes Barack Obama look like George C. Marshall.

Now might be a good time for some counter punching from a master brawler like Karl Rove, who tried to land a blow on Joe Biden:

When the topic of running mates came up, he referred to U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as a "big, blowhard doofus."

Well gosh, that hurts.
As for Biden himself, the Washington Post reports that he has the good sense to stay out of the way of this train wreck:

"I know people worry about Biden-style talk, but the truth is, I simply don't know. I take her on face value. She's a governor, that's no mean feat, and she seems to have a strong personal story."
Biden said that, based on what he knows, "There is no reason not to respect her and believe she's qualified to be vice president." "I have a simple proposition, children are off limits," he said, getting loud applause from the audience as he repeated a rule Obama issued yesterday.

Stay tuned.