Vetting of Levi Johnston is raising questions

McCain says the process was thorough, but others describe a more cursory examination.
By Mark D. Harback and Mary Renton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 3, 2008

ST. PAUL, MINN. -- John McCain first met Levi Johnston in February. Six months later, he asked his girlfriend’s mother to be his running mate.

The way McCain weighed and discarded vice presidential prospects over that time has come under scrutiny as the choice of Levi Johnston’s girlfriend’s mom turns politically perilous. The question is whether McCain carefully vetted Levi Johnston and, if he did not, what that says about the judgment and decision-making the presumed Republican nominee would bring to the White House.

A Republican strategist with close ties to the McCain camp, however, said Johnston’s girlfriend’s mom was a last-minute choice after McCain had given up on his preferred pick, Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, who addressed the convention Tuesday night. "He did so with such speed that they weren't able to do the full vet," said the GOP source, who did not want to be identified discussing the campaign's internal machinations.

Johnston was one of just a few boyfriends of the daughters of governors who McCain, shopping for a running mate, met for a private 90-minute session at the February meeting of the National Governors Assn. Later that evening, the two followed up at a private reception, where McCain pressed Johnston for his views on energy issues. Aides said McCain was "extremely impressed."

Despite the last few rough days, McCain has no regrets about his choice. Asked if there was any chance Johnston’s girlfriend’s mom would be dropped from the ticket, McCain responded indignantly: "Why? What would be the reason? Levi’s girlfriend is pregnant? A bunch of cable chatter? He made the right pick. He's very excited."

Holdin'

This article about candy bans at school resulting in an explosion in black market in sugar sales reminded me of one of my first lessons in economics.

Back in middle school my older brother had a lucrative business selling candy out of his locker at school. I decided to get in on the business so I went down to the local candy store and bought an assortment of the most popular candy. My math went something like this:

Where Cp = Candy purchased, Cs = Candy sold and P = profit. Therefore:
P = (($0.55*Cs) - ($0.50*Cp))

Unfortunately I quickly found that nobody would pay $0.55 for a pack of gum when they could buy it themselves at the store for $0.50. I couldn't understand how my brother kept a steady supply of customers while I was quickly going broke.

My brother eventually discovered that I was trying to steal his customers. I thought I was dead but surprisingly he didn't pummel me. Instead he explained how he was able to maintain a monopoly on the candy market in school.

It seems his business plan was a bit more refined than mine, resulting in lower initial expenditures of capital, though at a significantly higher risk. Here's his formula for success went something like this:

Cp = Candy purchased, Cs = Candy sold, 5F = five fingered discount and P = profit. Therefore:
P = (($0.55*Cs) - (($0.50*Cp)/ 5F)).

My brother eventually sold the business and is now in law enforcement. It seems he may have done better going into something like mortgage lending. He seems to have the knack for it.......

Stick To Celebrities

Update: Now that this post has been picked up at Hotair.com (thanks Ed) it'll be interesting to see if TMZ includes this story in their tv broadcast tonight. They received an overwhelming amount of pro-military comments to their post even before the bigger blogs picked it up. We'll see if they have the balls to include it, in all it's anti-military glory, in a national broadcast.

--------------------------

The celebrity stalking website TMZ posts on the Navy's efforts to recover the remains of lost WWII airmen in the South Pacific, their hook being that "former "Bachelor" bachelor Andy Baldwin" is part of the dive team involved in the operation.

Former "Bachelor" bachelor Andy Baldwin just got back from the island of Palau in the South Pacific -- not on vacation, on a mission with the Navy. Now let's talk about why we the taxpayers are footing the bill on such BS.

Baldwin was among 20 military types who were on a search mission in the middle of the ocean. What, you ask, were they looking for? A B-24J bomber that went down during the war. Not Iraq. Not Vietnam. No, not Korea. We're talking WWII, as in more than 60 years ago.

TMZ has a survey on the site asking "Ridiculous waste? Yes / No". So far the vote is split 50/50, but the comment section is overwhelmingly pro military and anti TMZ rant. In fact as of 8:52am (pacific time) you have to scroll down to comment 23 before you find one commenter that agrees with TMZ.

(Thanks to Ed Morrissey at Hotair for the link)

Audacity of Nope

Gerard Vanderleun nails this one

This is my new favorite poster.

Supreme BDS

A subtle bit of BDS in the Heller Supreme Court arguments:

"MR. DELLINGER: I don't dispute, Mr. Chief Justice, that the Second Amendment is positive law that a litigant can invoke in court if a State were to decide after recent events that it couldn't rely upon the Federal Government in natural disasters* and wanted to have a State-only militia and wanted to have everybody trained in the use of a weapon, a Federal law that interfered with that would be a law that could be challenged in court by, by an individual."

Which natural disaster could Mr. Dellinger be referring to?

It seems that local governments have been far more abusive during natural disasters than the federal government.

(emphasis mine)

Guessing Games

It's time for another round of Name That Party!

Admittedly, Detroit city council posts are non-partisan but the references to Monica Conyer's husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, should contain SOME hint as to party affiliation.

Responsibility

Vivian is an idiot.

Hyperbole

Since when does a handgun, shotgun and a deer rifle constitute an arsenal?

Hot Stuff

Sweden is planning to use body heat from thousands of subway commuters to heat office buildings.

It's more of this...and it's cool.

Dear Internet

Dear Internet,

I am BORED out of my mind. Please do something, anything.

The One To Watch

CNN has this handy delegate tracker that really helps clarify the GOP race.