Blamin’ Palin? What Are They Thinking?

Blamin’ Palin? What Are They Thinking?

By Andrea Tantaros
Republican Political Commentator/Foxnews.com Contributor

The general rule among returning Las Vegas vacationers is “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The same is true for professional political staffers returning from life on the campaign trail. Sure you re-hash certain particularly amusing or dramatic anecdotes with friends over a few beers, but you don’t purposefully blab to the national media in an effort to sandbag your candidate.

Not surprisingly, the McCain campaign doesn’t want to abide by the unspoken, but widely understood, rules of political protocol.

Certain campaign “insiders” are, and have been, engaged in an effort to throw Governor Sarah Palin under the bus for –- in their estimation — bringing the McCain ticket down. These Benedict Arnolds have leaked everything from alleged Palin “tantrums” to rumored “shopping sprees” and a seemingly exaggerated tall tale that tries to paint Palin as inappropriate for opening the door to her hotel room one morning in a towel. In my estimation the only thing that smacks of inappropriateness is the behavior of these staffers.

The fact that FOX News’ Carl Cameron ticked off a litany of these accusations, in addition to a specific list of subject areas where the offended felt Palin was less than knowledgeable, reveals their classless effort to undermine her in order to conceal their own shortcomings.

The real narrative is the long list of subject areas where they failed this campaign. We can now add loyalty and professionalism to the growing tally. This is why they didn’t deserve to win. I lost respect for many of McCain’s aides during this election cycle. Now I’m left with none.

Not only should this indiscretion give anyone thinking of hiring these now unemployed staffers extreme pause but it should also showcase why these “insiders” don’t deserve to work in politics again. Not even races for neighborhood dogcatcher, because in politics you protect your boss–win or lose.

The good news is that when Republicans think of the future of the GOP we think of Sarah Palin, not her disgruntled staff.

Governor, when you’re ready to hit the trail again, give me a call.