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Well, according to Max Blumenthal, it may have been the Council for National Policy:

Secretive Right-Wing Group Vetted Palin

Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC’s spectacle in Denver, the country’s most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.

CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges; in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told the group, “The destiny of the nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement.” This year, thanks to Sarah Palin’s selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain.

More…

The Council for National Policy was co-founded by Tim LaHaye (of the “Left Behind” series). Apparently, in this election, he and his group weren’t going to be ‘left behind’… (At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges..)

From Wikipedia:

The Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University considers the Council for National Policy a leading force in the Dominionist movement. TheocracyWatch, a CRESP project, describes it as “an umbrella organization of right-wing leaders who gather regularly to plot strategy, share ideas and fund causes and candidates to advance the theocratic agenda.”

About that vetting..

According to the Washington Post, Sarah Palin wasn’t vetted until the day before her name was announced. This from Crooks & Liars:

You gotta be kidding me:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head of Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential vetting team until last Wednesday in Arizona, the day before McCain asked her to be his running mate, and she did not disclose the fact that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant until that meeting, two knowledgeable McCain officials acknowledged Tuesday.

In the first and most telling executive decision of his potential presidency, John McCain makes a rash, reckless decision that, God forbid he falls ill while in office, will be disastrous for this country. Is that the kind of judgment we need in the White House for another four years?

The selection of Sarah Palin certainly doesn’t seem to have been a well thought out decision..

I have to wonder if this was a panic decision by the GOP (and the radical religious right) following the speeches by the amazing speeches of Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, and the exceptional acceptance speech by Barack Obama the last night of the DNC before 84,000 people, that was watched by 38,000,000 viewers. It sure seemed that John McCain had been leaning towards his good friend Joe Lieberman up until that point. Did they approach McCain and strongly suggest that if he didn’t select Sarah Palin (who is hard core Pro-Life, anti-abortion), they would consider running a third-party candidate, in which case, he would lose?

Also from Wikipedia:

Leading members of the CNP voted in a meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, on September 29, 2007, to consider launching a third party candidate if the 2008 Republican nominee is a pro-choice candidate. (This was an implicit reference to Rudy Giuliani, whose liberal opinions on several social issues, such as abortion, gay rights and gun ownership have disturbed the Christian right.) The CNP’s statement read, “If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate.” Attending the meeting were notable social conservatives, including James Dobson, Richard Viguerie, Tony Perkins and Morton Blackwell.

The Council for National Policy scheduled a conference in late October 2007. Most Republican presidential candidates pledged to appear, with the exception of Giuliani.

So, again I ask, who really picked Sarah Palin?