Frank Rich: McCain is 'too weak' to be President Nick Cargo and David Edwards

Published: Tuesday September 16, 2008





Print This Email This MSNBC's Rachel Maddow sat down with New York Times editorial columnist Frank Rich to discuss eerie similarities they observed between a McCain/Palin administration and that of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney since they took office in 2000.



Governor Palin's office has taken such measures as instructing staffers not to speak to the press and using personal E-mail accounts for state business with aims to circumvent public records requests, and posting personal friends and former classmates in well-paying positions.



Quipped Maddow: "Disturbing secrecy? Seems like it. Cronyism? Looks that way. (Hello, Liberty University.) The ability to mangle the truth with a straight face?" And cut to a clip of one of Governor Palin's public claims that she rejected the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere."



"What's left?" Maddow continued. "Dangerous hawkishness and a clear lack of understanding of foreign policy? Well, Palin did give the old 'perhaps, so' to [ABC's] Charlie Gibson when he asked about a possible war with oil-rich, nuclear-armed Russia.



"Like I said: Scary."



Frank Rich concurred.



Senator McCain, said Rich, isn't even aware enough of what's going on to be "surprised or not surprised" by Palin's "celebrity status."



"I'm sure he's happy with this," Rich opined. "He probably didn't anticipate it--it probably went beyond their expectations. But there's of course a downside to it for him...it raises the question of who's really running the show and, you know, who's really going to be the stronger person should they get to the White House."



Whether or not McCain made the decision to make Palin his running mate, Rich said, is unclear, though it was, either way, to placate his base at the expense of his preferred mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman.



"He crumbled," Rich said, "and now we have Sarah Palin."



"She's really like a less talented Mike Huckabee with less accomplishment than Mike Huckabee," he added of Palin, noting her social conservative credentials and lack of executive experience.



Wall Street, as a major source of funding for Republican candidates, may indeed be charmed by the idea of a President and Vice President who have little knowledge of economic matters, Maddow said. "And they think, 'Perfect! Empty vessel. They know nothing, and they know they know nothing, so let's use them to advance a special interest agenda, the kind of agenda we can push through with strong-minded advisors who talk well.' And these people won't resist in any way because they don't have any ideas of their own."



The entire interview is available to view below, as broadcast on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show on September 15, 2008.









Download video via RawReplay.com









