I realize this probably isn't news or perhaps it's old news. However, it is news to me. I watched the first part of Greta van Susterin's interview with "the first dude", Todd Palin, and in the interview he says that on a Saturday about three weeks ago (August 23, 2008) while he was working on the Slope, Sarah called him about the news. He said (transcript and emphasis mine):
"There were inquiries from certain people about some of our background... Didn't know if she was on a shortlist or if this was all for show..."
So he returned home to be with the kids so that she could "go outside for that day".
This was in response to Greta's question:
"Take me back to when you first heard there was a possibility that Senator McCain wanted to talk to you..."
The relevant section starts at the 3:05 mark.
I'm sorry, but I can't find a transcript to post of the relevant section. I will keep looking and if I find it I will update the Diary.
So, I went back to the August 31 article in the Washington Post to remind myself what the McCain camp said about vetting her and found the following quote noteworthy:
Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager and the person at the point of the vice presidential process, said there was no abrupt change of course in the final hours. Nor, he said, was Palin selected without having gone through the full vetting process that was done for other finalists. That process included reviews of financial and other personal data, an FBI background check and considerable discussion among the handful of McCain advisers involved in the deliberations.
"Nobody was vetted less or more than anyone in the final stages, and John had access to all that information and made the decision," Davis said. "It's really not much more complicated than that."
So, if Todd Palin is to be believed, they did a complete and thorough vetting of Sarah Palin in about 3-4 days. Wowzers!
Unless, of course, Sarah Palin kept her husband in the dark about all of this. And how likely is that???
Or, perhaps the McCain camp IS that good in their vetting process?
Or, perhaps, she was a last minute desparate pick?
I think we all know which of the above scenarios is likely...