Inside John McCain’s Relationship With Sarah Palin

We all remember Sarah Palin’s infamous lines, like “I can see Russia from my house,” and even though many of the American voters thought she might be a bit dim, Republican and presidential candidate John McCain saw potential in the governor of Alaska. It was a sunny day back in 2008 when McCain surprised everyone by announcing his vice president pick would be the mother of five who believed in hunting and being a true hockey mom (per CheatSheet).

Many felt Palin represented a dangerous stereotype, which was about to be crossed when she revealed she had not read much about foreign policy during her interview with Katie Couric, saying, “All of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years,” when she was asked about what periodicals she read (via BuzzFeed). It was at this moment when the American people questioned what the bipartisan candidate really saw in his running mate and queried if they even saw eye to eye.

John McCain and Sarah Palin were not bosom buddies

Even though the GOP and Tea Party got behind his pick, everyone soon became aware that John McCain’s people never did a proper background check on Sarah Palin’s credentials, which ultimately led to his loss to Barack Obama and a lifetime of regret. According to an interview with The New York Times, even though McCain had at one time defended Palin, he found himself resenting his vice presidential choice, revealing he had wished he had trusted his gut and picked Joe Lieberman instead. In an interview with CNN, Palin responded by saying that, even though she had a lot of respect for her running mate, his comments felt like a “gut punch.”

It is no surprise to learn that, during the 14 months while McCain went through treatment for brain cancer, Palin never once reached out, according to the senator’s wife, Cindy McCain (per People). In Cindy’s memoir, “Stronger,” she wrote, “In the fourteen months that John had been sick, she never once spoke to him. He had put her on the political map, and she didn’t even send him a note of good wishes when he was down” For the longtime politician, her silence spoke volumes and created an even bigger rift in their partnership.

Maybe John McCain and Sarah Palin were never meant to be friends

Many may have been able to predict that Sarah Palin would mark the downfall of John McCain. But in a last laugh move, the former senator and his family made sure not to invite her to his memorial after he passed. Instead, his eulogy was given by two former presidents who bested him in bids for the White House — Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Palin declined to comment “out of respect for Sen. John McCain and his family” (per CNN). 

It is clear that McCain and Palin did not have the smoothest working relationship, let alone a friendship. A telling sign of where the two stood at the end of McCain’s life came from McCain’s wife, who revealed that Palin was not someone you invite to a “final farewell” (per People). The Republican party has been forever changed thanks to their ticket, but voters hope that future presidential nominees will do a bit more research before choosing their running mate in the future.

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