By GottaLaff

They're breaking, and pushing, this story on MSNBC.

Last minute vetting does not inspire confidence. As Rachel Maddow asked, if McCain were president, and had to choose a Secretary of State, or Defense, would that be improvised, too? Would it be one emotional, impulsive decision among many others? We do not want a president who runs things by the seat of his pants. These are decisions that affect the safety and well-being of a whole country, and beyond:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head of Sen. John McCain's vice presidential vetting team until last Wednesday in Arizona, the day before McCain asked her to be his running mate, and she did not disclose the fact that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant until that meeting, two knowledgeable McCain officials acknowledged Tuesday.

Palin was one of two finalists in the vice presidential sweepstakes who were interviewed last week by former White House counsel Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., just days before McCain introduced her to the nation as his choice. The other finalist was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. One of the officials said Culvahouse was chasing down last-minute information about Pawlenty at the request of the campaign as late as last Thursday, the day McCain offered the job to Palin and she accepted. [...]

McCain did not speak face to face with Palin until Thursday morning, at his retreat in Sedona, Ariz. He also talked to her by telephone the previous Sunday. McCain had spoken with all of the others on his shortlist over the course of a selection process that went on for several months, but he was least familiar personally with the person he finally chose.

Palin flew to Arizona last Wednesday and met with senior McCain advisers Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter that night in Flagstaff. What had not been known previously was that she had met earlier the same day with Culvahouse. [...]

Campaign officials declined Tuesday to respond to questions about whether she had returned the questionnaire to the vetting team before she arrived in Arizona, saying they would not provide details of the timing of the process.

McCain officials said that questionnaire and the personal interview revealed three new facts previously unknown to the team: Palin's daughter's pregnancy, the arrest of her husband two decades ago for driving while intoxicated, and a fine Palin paid for fishing without proper identification. [...]

Culvahouse's personal interviews of the prospective vice presidential candidates included other questions as well. Among them: If the CIA were to report that Osama bin Laden had been identified in the frontiers of northern Pakistan, but that an attempt to kill him would result in civilian casualties, would the person authorize such an action? If Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean announced that he was holding a news conference with a mystery person to reveal damaging information about the candidate, who would they most fear it would be? [...]

But the final stages did not occur until last week as the self-imposed deadline loomed. Aides had said earlier that Palin was invited to meet McCain in Arizona only after she appeared to be a likely choice, barring something unforeseen in her interview with the candidate. But what they had not said was that Culvahouse had not yet conducted his interview until that time as well.

Howard Fineman just now on MSNBC:
Republicans claim they know everything there is to know about Palin, but they still have their fingers crossed. They have to turn from vetting to prepping, crammed into the next 4-5 weeks. A team is prepping her, while vetting/keeping fingers crossed, for the Biden debate. They did not send the people they needed to investigate her thoroughly enough, they were "flying blind". She still has to learn the mechanics of the campaign trail, deal with her family, deal with Troopergate, deal with Alaska. The McCain campaign is feeling positive, not worried... yet.

Supporters are holding their breath in advance of tomorrow night.Sounds like tomorrow night is awfully crucial to them. So, Howard, tell me: Are you saying that Republicans are basing everything on a-- wait for it-- speech? How ironic. Make that "hypocritical".