McCain Didn't Google Deep Enough

A few months ago, the Republican candidate told backers that choosing a running mate was easy. "You know, basically it's a Google. What you can find out now on the Internet--it's remarkable."

Now it appears that vetting his last-minute choice of Sarah Palin was no search engine slam dunk as a traffic jam of revelations clogs the path to her nomination and raises once again the question of whether McCain's shoot-from-the-hip temperament is suitable for a 21st century presidency.

The list keeps growing--the ethics investigation of her firing the state's public safety commissioner for not firing her former brother-in-law; her membership in a party that advocated Alaskan secession from the Union; her support for the Bridge to Nowhere before opposing it, along with such family items as her teenage daughter's pregnancy and husband's drunk driving arrest.

What's more troubling than any of these disclosures is the fact that the decision was so impulsive, the fact-finding behind it so slipshod and, worst of all, that McCain's staff is so clearly lying about the process to cover up its shortcomings.

After seven years of an Administration that manipulated intelligence for life-or-death decisions, the last thing the nation needs is a new President who can't even keep the information-gathering on his running mate from going off the rails.

Kennedy Nostalgia

When Caroline Kennedy was a little girl in the White House, JFK would get around her mother's objections to publicity for the children by waiting until Jacqueline Kennedy was out of town before letting photographers take pictures of her.

On Meet the Press today, there was evidence of both parents' influence as a poised, self-confident Caroline Kennedy championed Barack Obama while deftly fending off Tom Brokaw's questions about her part in the VP vetting and any possible role in a new administration.

If the Obamas make it to the White House, the new First Lady could take a leaf from the Kennedy playbook in keeping her children grounded in reality amid the enormous amount of attention they will be getting.

Tomorrow night at the convention, JFK nostalgia will be in full flower as Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg leads a tribute to the 46-year career of her uncle Ted. For those of the generations who watched her growing up through years of violent loss, her presence will evoke painful memories and at the same time provide consolation.