Sarah Palin caused 'stress, drama, panic' on campaign trail, says John McCain's daughter Meghan

The New York Daily News ^ | 2010-08-31 | Meena Hartenstein

[rabscuttle385]

John McCain shocked voters and pundits alike by picking Sarah Palin as a running mate in 2008, and McCain's daughter reveals the choice caused plenty of behind-the-scenes drama too.

In her new book "Dirty Sexy Politics," Meghan McCain says Palin brought "stress, drama, complications, panic and loads of uncertainty" to the campaign.

"She was not just an overnight success or even a political Cinderella story," McCain writes in an excerpt obtained by ABC News. "She was a sudden, freakishly huge, full-fledged phenomenon. It seemed too much. And it seemed too easy."

Speaking out about the former Alaska Gov. for the first time, McCain admits she once wondered if her father's loss "was Sarah Palin's fault."

She ultimately decided Palin wasn't responsible for John McCain's failure to win the presidency.

"I do clearly state at the end that we did not lose because of her, and I'm speaking out now because I do have conflicting feelings about her," McCain said Tuesday on ABC's Good Morning America. "She brought so much momentum and enthusiasm to the campaign."

(snip)

"Sarah Palin. She was turning out to be somebody who leaves a wake of confusion and chaos - to the point of dizziness - wherever she went."

Though McCain now says there are a lot of things she does like about Palin, she stayed cagey on where her vote would lie if the former VP candidate runs for president in 2012.

"I really don't like these hypothetical questions...It depends on the situation," McCain told ABC. "It's going to be a very interesting election, no matter what happens."

[jla]

Milady...You rock!

[FrdmLvr]

I’ll probably get flammed, but I was very impressed with Cindy. She was so behind the scenes with her charity work that I’d never heard before the campaign how she started and ran that relief organization in Africa and had been doing so for years, started with her inheritance and funded with no assistance from the government, and she also works with the people, giving of her time and not just her money. She never looked for any recognition for it, as far as I could tell. I think the only reason it was brought out at all was that the campaign managers wanted to do it. I always thought she would have made a great First Lady.