McCain Offered Early Clues On Palin Pick!

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a self-professed political reformer, has become an instant celebrity. The media has been infatuated with her ever since John McCain announced her selection as his vice presidential running mate on August 29th.

Political analysts have suggested Palin’s selection appeared to be a "huge gamble" by McCain who had been trailing in public opinion polls for most of the summer, but with Palin on the team the GOP ticket has roared back into contention.

McCain’s choice may not have been that surprising when listening to clues he’d been offering along the campaign trail.

At a town hall meeting in Albuquerque on July 15^th, John McCain revealed what he was looking for in a running mate. Now that he has picked Palin we thought we’d post an audio file featuring a brief exchange between McCain and Jacob Schroeder, an 8-year-old reporter for Scholastic Kids News, during the Q & A segment at the New Mexico event.

Click the pink play button to hear the exchange between McCain and Schroeder.



Schroeder first asked, “When do you plan to announce the selection of your vice presidential running mate?”

McCain told the young reporter, “It’s a process that is somewhat difficult because we have so many highly qualified individuals who we have to consider."

Schroeder asked this follow up question, “What qualities are you looking for in a vice presidential running mate?”

McCain told Schroeder, “Someone exactly like you: young, vigorous, talented.”

The eventual nominee continued, “That person has to share not only in my principals and my values, but also my priorities. One of the hardest things for the president to do my friends is to establish priorities. You can imagine how difficult some of these priorities are going to be given the enormous challenges that we face. So, that person has to share not only the principals and values that I think are important to leading this nation, but also that person must share the priorities [of the president].”

McCain also added a little civics lesson when he said, “Could I also remind you, and I’m sure you know this because you study hard, that the Vice President of the United States really only has two duties. One duty is in case of a tie vote in the Senate of the United States then the Vice President comes on to the floor of the Senate and casts tie-breaking vote. The other duty that the vice president has is to inquire daily into the health of the president. I’m sure that will be a big job for whoever the vice president will be."

Schroeder, who is home schooled, also covered Democrat Barack Obama’s Economic Summit in Albuquerque on February 1^st. Photojournalist Mark Bralley has details on Schroeder’s coverage here.

More than pigs, pitbulls and lipstick. White Women Voters Rush to Support the McCain-Palin Ticket.

Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler opened the new season with a hilarious sketch spoofing sexism in the race.




It's not yet clear whether or not McCain has even explained her role in his administration.

McCain clearly acknowledged, at the town hall meeting, that he understands the Vice President is “one heartbeat away from the presidency” as has been said many times since the surprise selection of Palin. But, in this video it's unclear if Palin is prepared for the post.

Since Palin's pick there has been a 20 percent shift in polls. Heading into Denver, White Women voters favored Democrat Barack Obama. Following McCain's pick now has a 12 point advantage with that voter group.

Could Sarah Palin's selection have a favorable effect for the Republicans on some of these red-state Senate races? Analysts at FiveThirtyEight.com believe so:

I think that's possible; in North Carolina, for instance, it's a nice boon to Republicans to motivate conservative women to turn out. But, if the general effect of the Palin selection is to tend to polarize the electorate, the reverse could be true in a blue state like Minnesota.

New Mexico Independent writer Joel Gay has an interesting article on his experiences with Governor Palin while he was a reporter in Alaska here.

Audio: McCain Town Hall Meeting (Albuquerque - July 15, 2008)

Photo Credits: MG Bralley

Contributing to this post: LP from NMFBIHOP

Goveror Bill Richardson to Launch Hispanics For Obama.

On Monday morning, which is the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, Governor Bill Richardson will launch a new group "Hispanics for Obama," which is interesting because Obama's website already has an official Latinos of Obama group.

Richardson is also scheduled to help open Obama's 35th office in NM at a facility in Sante Fe around 9:30am.

LP, a blogger at New Mexico FBIHOP, found this MAP of Obama's New Mexico campaign offices (many sharing space with other candidates) online. LP also suggests Obama's local campaign staff has a "huge" organizing lead over McCain's more centrally operated offices in the Land of Enchantment.


For additional political events ahead this week check both of the state parties websites:

NM Republican Party Events and NM Democrat Party Events

Photo Credit: MG Bralley

Congressman Says New Mexico Can't Afford Teacher Merit Pay.

Saturday afternoon, nearly 200 South Valley Democrats skipped the lower State Fair Admission fees and decided to attend the opening of Barack Obama's 34th office in New Mexico instead.

The Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Joe Baca (CA43), who was born in New Mexico, told the crowd he's never forgotten his local roots, and they can count on him to be the state's "6th" congressional member in congress.

Later, he told "The Word" that creating good paying jobs is the best way to lower the number of people living below the poverty level (estimated at 17 percent) here.

He says Democrats will fix the No Child Left Behind program, which was never properly funded, and get back to teaching kids how to think critically rather than teaching them test answers.

But in this audio interview, Baca told us there's no way to budget merit pay for teachers.



It's is difficult to determine if Baca represents 21 or 22 members in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, because last year one of it's members quit.

California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez quit the group and accused Baca of calling her a "whore."

In February 2007, The Politico reported:

The Sanchez withdrawal is a blow to Baca and his allies who have been trying to bring the caucus back together after a series of internal spats last year. Many of the more junior members and the women have butted heads with him and senior lawmakers.

... six members withdrew from the group's political action committee after Baca and his allies authorized political contributions to family members who were running for state and local offices.

Chairman Baca told the Politico that Sanchez' claims were baseless,but you can read here about two other Representatives complaining last winter about their treatment, by Baca, in the Caucus.

Baca indicated it is likely that Ben Ray Lujan Jr. will join the caucus in Washington if he's elected in November.

McCain Surrogates Talk to "The Word" About Their National Roles.

We talked to Representative Heather Wilson just after she was appointed by Senior McCain Strategist Steve Schmidt to the Sarah Palin Truth Squad. We also got introduced to Mitt Romney. We'll wrap up the week with audio from both of these conversations.

Wilson talks to us about her role on the new McCain-Palin Truth Squad. She says Palin makes the GOP’s all-Western presidential ticket more appealing to voters in New Mexico. Wilson told “the word” she believes Obama’s appeal is fading because voters are taking a second look at the democratic candidate.

Wilson also responded to information revealed in lobbyist Kevin Ring’s federal indictment .He's already pleaded guilty. The indictment shows email correspondence between someone on her staff and the corrupt lobbyists connected to Jack Abramoff who's spending four years in prison. Wilson She says her office has strict rules regulating gifts, including tickets to Clippers games.

We also connected with former Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney. He tells “the word” why he continues to advocate the McCain-Palin ticket.