folo

We’ve been so focused on John McCain’s massive self-sabotage yesterday, I thought I oughta check in on how his running mate’s Wednesday went . . .

You simply have to see the Katie Couric interview. Sarah Palin told Couric she “believes” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis recused himself from his firm’s representation of Freddie Mac. Couric came back, “But he still has a stake in the company, so isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Exact same answer as before, but now with a big smile.

(While Camp McCain was claiming that Freddie’s $15K/month payments to Davis Manafort from 2005 to last month are “irrelevant” because Davis — who never registered as a Freddie lobbyist — had “severed his relationship with” the firm in 2006, Newsweek was finding in corporate records proof that to this day Davis is treasurer and a corporate director of Davis Manafort. So he’s now ducking reporters too. But back to Palin . . . )

After the Davis questions got her nowhere, Couric segued to the bailout and McCain’s record of disfavoring financial-industry regulation. Could Palin name when in 26 years, other than one feint at Fannie and Freddie two years ago, John McCain has said word one supporting regulation? Despite asking-three-times persistence, that got Couric nowhere either. She did find Palin in agreement that, unless her running mate rides in to save us all today or tomorrow by voting pro-bailout (guess they didn’t copy her on the memo), we’re “on the road to” Great Depression II. But inquiring after her thoughts pro and con a moratorium on foreclosures proved utterly useless, unless “Well, some decisions that have been made poorly should not be rewarded, of course” impresses you.

Shortly thereafter, fulfilling Kevin Drum’s prediction, Lindsay Graham told CNN that if there’s no bailout deal by tomorrow, they should bounce the first Obama-McCain debate to the slot for the Palin-Biden one, next Thursday in St. Louis — Oxford can have its Veep debate some other time (post-election sounds good, I’m sure). Whereupon Kevin wearily announced, “My lesson for the day: No matter how hackishly cynical you think you are, you’re no match for the hackish cynicism of the McCain campaign.”

But hilzoy — slipping in some nifty links on McCain-and-tobacco on the way to pointing out Palin’s vacancy on foreclosures — quite understands Graham’s motivation: “after her interview with Katie Couric, they surely cannot want Sarah Palin to have one more moment of unscripted TV time than is absolutely necessary.”

Not that she’s their only source of pain. With Laura Bush blurting to CNN that “of course” Palin is clueless on foreign policy, NBC/WSJ’s new poll finds many Americans in agreement: 49% say she’s unqualified to be president if need be (40% disagree; on whether Biden is qualified, it’s 64 yes – 21 no).

So: however pathetic and damaging, I count Palin’s day by no means as total a loss as McCain’s. At least the President of Pakistan told her she’s gawjuss.