John McCain-Sarah Palin rift grows wider, as Sen. leaves former running mate off list of GOP stars
By Olivia Smith
Daily News STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, April 14th 2009, 11:07 AM
NBC
Sen. John McCain with Jay Leno on 'The Tonight Show,' on Monday April 13. The real joke may have been on his former presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Bukaty/AP
Palin on the campaign trail in October. In his chat with Leno, McCain left her off a list of new GOP leaders - and then went out of his way to draw attention to the omission.
Who's poised to lead the Republican party out of the woods? John McCain seems convinced that one GOP notable is not the person for the job, someone he's quite familiar with - his former running mate.
On Monday's "Tonight Show," Jay Leno asked the Arizona Senator to name the new guiding lights of the Republican party, and McCain was quick to rattle off a list of "young, dynamic" governors around the country.
Palin wasn't one of them.
McCain singled out Lousisana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney, McCain's chief rival for the Republican presidential nod in 2008.
In case anyone missed his conspicuous omission of Palin, McCain then added, "And I've left out somebody's name, and I'm gonna hear about it."
Rumors swirled late in the campaign of sniping between McCain's people and Palin, some of it over $150,000 worth of designer duds, plus hair and make-up, purchased for Palin and her family and paid for out of GOP National Committee coffers.
After news of the pricey makeover leaked out, both camps blamed the other for what amounted to a minor public relations fiasco, timed as it was with the erruption of a full-blown recession and contrasting sharply with Palin's populist image as an average "hockey mom."
And the feud continues. As recently as early April, Palin's husband Todd called the decision to spring for the clothes "out of our control," laying the blame solely on McCain's strategists in an interview with Men's Journal.
There were also reports of McCain aides calling Palin a "diva" and a "whack job" as the campaign wound to an close.
Since the election, Palin has defended herself against charges that her presence sank the Republican ticket. Less than a week after the votes were tallied, she said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show, "I think the economic collapse had a heckuva lot more to do with the campaign's collapse than me personally."
McCain may not share her conviction.
For his part, the veteran Senator says he's overwhelmed by the number of people who tell him he won their vote in November.
He told Leno, "I'm ready for a recount."
Poster Comment:
I'm no palin fan and I will NEVER support the National Globalist Party (D & R) again.
But when Juan mcKein strokes out I'm going to throw a bash the likes of which haven't been seen EVER before in these parts !