Reporters John Heilemann and Mark Halperin serve up a spicy smorgasbord of observations from the 2008 campaign — including, the McCain campaign people at one point seriously discussing the possibility that Sarah Palin was mentally unstable.

In ‘Game Change,’ Insight on the 2008 Campaign, New York Times’ Michiko Kakutani reviews the book: ” ….The authors write that one of Mrs. Clinton’s ‘senior-most lieutenants‘ watched her ‘bitter and befuddled reaction‘ to her loss in Iowa, and thought for the first time, ‘This woman shouldn’t be president.‘”

They write that during debate preps, some staff members assigned to Sarah Palin by the McCain campaign discussed the “threatening possibility: that Palin was mentally unstable.”

They add that several of Senator John McCain’s lieutenants agreed that if it looked as if their candidate might actually win in November, they would have to discuss how to relegate Ms. Palin “to the largely ceremonial role that premodern vice presidents inhabited”: “it was inconceivable” that “if McCain fell ill or died, the country be left in the hands of a President Palin.”

Mr. Halperin and Mr. Heilemann write, that the strategist John Weaver suspected the rumor Cindy McCain had a “long-term boyfriend” in Arizona “was rooted in truth,” and that the McCains “fought in front of others, during small meetings and before large events, to the amazement and discomfort of the staff.” The authors say that Mrs. McCain accused the senator of ruining her life, that she never wanted him to run again for president, and that “when it came time to film campaign videos of the couple, the camera crews had to roll for hours to capture a few minutes of warmth.” [ READ MORE ]

Game Change on Sarah Palin and John McCain

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F-Bombs Galore! | McCain/Palin Ticket

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The Clinton Campaign Post-Mortem

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McCain/Palin – The Age of Ignorance

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