(h/t Heather) Ruh roh...I think McCain's big gamble may have thrown snake eyes. Jack Cafferty asked the question if John McCain undercuts his own m
August 29, 2008

(h/t Heather)

Ruh roh...I think McCain's big gamble may have thrown snake eyes. Jack Cafferty asked the question if John McCain undercuts his own message by choosing a younger politician with no foreign policy experience as his Vice President. Before the show even went on the air, Cafferty had 6,000 emails. By the next segment, they had received some 11,000 emails today.

And the response should not make McCain feel good.

Rebecca in California: "As a lifelong Republican soccer mom living in an affluent community, I was impressed with Senator Obama's acceptance speech last evening. Having my morning latte with a few of my Republican friends, I almost spit my coffee when I heard the news. Is McCain really putting the best interests of our nation first? To me, he is pandering to women, trying to obtain their vote. It seems he wants another 'trophy' to parade around with. What is wrong with this man?"

Transcripts below the fold

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: The question about Mrs. Palin went up on CNN.com about an hour and a half ago. We have received, before this show started, over 6,000 e-mails on this little topic. And the Republicans ain't going to like this.

All we've heard from John McCain is Barack Obama's too young, Barack Obama's too inexperienced, he can't be the commander in chief. Who do you want answering the phone at the White House in 3:00 in the morning? Blah, blah, blah, blah.

So what does he do? He picks somebody to be his running mate who is younger than Barack Obama, has less experience than Barack Obama. Sarah Palin's 44. Obama's 46.

Sarah Palin's in her first term as governor of Alaska. That's a state that has 13 people and some caribou. Obama is a member of the United States Senate from Illinois.

It's not a big deal except for this: If McCain wins, he'll be the oldest person ever inaugurated for a first term at 72. He's got a history of health problems, including bouts with melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer. It's reasonable to at least consider that McCain's running mate could be called upon to be our president.

Meanwhile, some may see this as a move for McCain to attract disaffected women who voted for Hillary Clinton and aren't yet behind Obama. Others might see it as pandering.

It might not work for a few reasons. Palin, like McCain, is pro- life. Also, she might be a woman, but she's no Hillary Clinton when it comes to experience or her ideology. At some point, voters are going to have to ask themselves, who would they rather have running the country if it ever became necessary: Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?

Here's the question: Does John McCain undercut his own message by naming someone even younger and more inexperienced than Barack Obama to be his running mate?

You can go to CNN.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog. This could be ballgame over.

BLITZER: Six thousand e-mails in only an hour. That's a lot, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes, before the show even went on the air.

BLITZER: Yes. Get ready for a few thousand more in the next few minutes. Thanks very much, Jack. We'll check back with you.

[snip]

CAFFERTY: The question this hour, Wolf, is, does John McCain undercut his own message by naming someone younger and even more inexperienced than Barack Obama to be his running mate?

This is a very small sampling of the over 11,000 e-mails I have gotten in the last hour-and-a-half or so.

Rebecca in California: "As a lifelong Republican soccer mom living in an affluent community, I was impressed with Senator Obama's acceptance speech last evening. Having my morning latte with a few of my Republican friends, I almost spit my coffee when I heard the news. Is McCain really putting the best interests of our nation first? To me, he is pandering to women, trying to obtain their vote. It seems he wants another 'trophy' to parade around with. What is wrong with this man?"

Dave writes: "The fact that absolutely no one in or around her or McCain's inner circle had not even the smallest clue this was going to happen shows it was a last-minute desperation pick. McCain is falling all over himself after the Democratic Convention and is now grasping at straws."

Mitch in Michigan writes: "I think McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as V.P. very similar to Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. It shows how much a McCain presidency would be just like the Bush presidency, with the selection of totally unqualified individuals for high government posts. We've seen the disastrous results of such picks by Bush. We can not let McCain continue this saga."

Horatio writes: "These negative comments about Palin's inexperience are hilarious. She's a whopping three years younger than Obama, and has about the same amount of experience. If she's an irresponsible choice, Obama as president is even worse, since he's at the top of the ticket. Palin is a great balance for the ticket: young, smart, and has an independent streak a mile wide."

Christine writes: "I am a true-Bill-Hillary -- a true-blue Hillary supporter, but I am sure -- I'm sure Hillary did not mean to put 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that a pro-life, pro- gun, homeschooling nobody from the frozen tundra of Alaska could slide in."

Doug writes: "Had I known that being a hockey mom under 45 and having virtually no political experience was the desired V.P. running mate for McCain, I would have asked my wife to throw her hat into the ring. McCain has just handed the presidency to Barack Obama."

Meagan writes: "Cafferty, for once, and probably the only time, I actually agree with you, better than I could have said it."

And Glenn writes: "It is a bold move by John McCain to reach out to the Eskimo vote, which has been totally ignored by the news media."

If you didn't see your e-mail here, you can go to my blog at CNN.com/caffertyfile, and look for yours there.

But, I'm telling you, there's 11,000 postings. We got a lot of mail to this, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it certainly has.

All right, Jack, thank you.

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