Palin Won't Say If She Voted for Ted Stevens

Sarah Palin flew into Wasilla to cast her vote in the race for president.

Despite the fact that it could trip up her own 2012 presidential run, Palin seemed to indicate that she had marked the paper ballot for John McCain.

"I hope, pray, believe I will be able to wake up as vice-president elect," said the governor of Alaska as she paused in front of her polling place.

But when specifically asked whether she had voted for the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, Palin said, "I am also exercising my right to privacy. And I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for. Nobody does. And that's really cool about America, also."

So, no election morning endorsement for Ted Stevens, her scandal-plagued mentor.

But, to the last, the supposed reformer could not quite bring herself to reject the senator who last week was convicted on seven counts of concealing bribes, er, gifts.

It may not just be a case of Palin balancing partisanship, personal loyalty and political reality.

Maybe she was just thinking ahead.

Palin's not talking about taking a victory lap.

After voting in Wasilla, she was flying to join McCain in Arizona. But, she said, "It's great to be home for a couple of hours here, and then we'll be back tomorrow."

And what if, as expected, Stevens loses to Democrat Nick Begich?

A special election? Another leap onto the national stage? Senator Palin?

Could be a good resumé builder for that 2012 run.

Comments (24)

1. Tina Fey was dead-on again last Saturday night, with the "I'm going to go rogue here now" moving to stage right, hawking the "Palin in 2012" T-shirts and saying "Don't wear 'em until Wednesday, 'kay?"...

   then poor Maverick says "What'ya doing over there, Sarah?"

   "Oh, just talking about taxes!"

   heheh

   Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 2:21pm

2. She is correct, none of our business which US Taxpayer Party candidate she voted for.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 2:24pm

3. And preparing for an election bid in 2012 is a sneaky evil example of the She-Devil's malicious machinations why again??

   John?

   Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 11/04/2008 @ 2:28pm

4. Cold we venture a guess that Jefferson Davis Palin went this-away...

   Candidate's name: Bob Bird

   Party: Alaskan Independence Party

   Date of birth: August 1, 1951

   Occupation:Teacher

   Employment history: 34 years – 31 in Alaska – 30 on the Kenai Peninsula

   Previous public offices held: None

   Previous unsuccessful runs for office: Republican primary for U.S. Senate (1990)

   Education: Graduate of Marian Central Catholic, Woodstock, ILL; Bachelor's from Bemidji (Minn) State University (1974); Master's from Mankato (Minn) State University (1992)

   Military service:None

   Spouse name: Rosemary

   Children: Mario, Quincy, Elena

   Web site: www.birdforsenate.com

   1. Why are you running for office?

   Because no one is asking the right questions, let alone providing the correct answers.

   2. The most important issue in this election is ____.

   The loss of civil liberties caused by the endless military adventurism of the federal government. Without these liberties, all other considerations cannot be fought or debated.

   -----

   ooohh, no, the AIP is agin God's war. What a shame.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 2:30pm

5. Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 11/04/2008 @ 2:28pm

   Perhaps because it shows SP to be feckless in her support for the campaign of the present Republican candidate (blissfully ignoring her own role in it) ?

   Perhaps because it is unseemly to show yourself to be a grasping harpy on election day (that comes tomorrow) ?

   Or maybe, John Nichols finds Sarah Palin to be utterly unqualified for the Office of President of the United States (and believes that she will never be so qualified) ?

   Posted by skeletonman at 11/04/2008 @ 2:35pm

6. Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 11/04/2008 @ 2:28pm

   Uh, CHIP...what does it say about a Veep candidate who's already shopping for the NEXT election...

   before this one is officially over?!??!??

   Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 3:03pm

7. Ah, the duhvine Sarah.

   Gonna miss her.

   A little.

   Posted by sloper at 11/04/2008 @ 3:19pm

8. Posted by sloper at 11/04/2008 @ 3:19pm

   not as much as Tina Fey. I bet she has a conundrum in the voting booth.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 3:47pm

9. John Nichols, they're gonna put you in a rubber room after tonight's election.

   Posted by ACook at 11/04/2008 @ 4:08pm

10. "Our opponents think that they have the women's vote all locked up, which is a little presumptuous," Palin said. "Little presumptuous, since only our side has a woman on the ticket."

    "You've got to ask yourself, why was Senator Hillary Clinton not even vetted by the Obama campaign? Why did it take 24 years, an entire generation from the time Geraldine Ferraro made her pioneering bid, until the next time that a woman was asked to join a national ticket?"

    Palin spoke glowingly of Clinton in the early days of her campaign, but mentions of the New York senator elicited boos from her heavily-Republican crowds. She soon dropped the references from her stump speech."

    Excerpt from:

    Clinton backers by her side, Palin makes pitch to women voters - politicalticker -10/21/08

    My question is why John McCain didn't vet you Sarah? Bet he wishes he had done his homework just a little bit better. Theo-Palinistic mumbo jumbo Rovian style..... Accuse your opponent of what you are guilty of. I digress - sorry....

    Can we make the leap of faith to believe that dear Sarah supports Ted Stevens? I assume that Sarah would not have "privately" voted for a democrat if her life depended on it since joining the GOP, but she publicly admires Hillary Clinton. Reverse logic tells you that her public condemnation of Stevens would be matched by private support of him via a vote to keep him office. This is where I am putting my nickle.

    Posted by OneVote at 11/04/2008 @ 4:20pm

11. John Nichols, they're gonna put you in a rubber room after tonight's election.

    Posted by ACook at 11/04/2008 @ 4:08pm

    i'm kinda hoping "virginia" doesn't do that to <i>me</i>.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 4:21pm

12. NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT!

    COVERT MEXICAN PLAN TO STEAL U.S. ELECTION THROUGH "TROJAN" SCHEME.

    Attack set for the heart of Philadelphia; Mexicans hope to strike election night.

    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-

    11/03/xin_032110503160270323341.jpg

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 4:24pm

13. John Nichols, they're gonna put you in a rubber room after tonight's election.------Posted by ACook at 11/04/2008 @ 4:08pm

    Why is that, ACOOK?

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 4:34pm

14. http://tinyurl.com/6llqg9

    Gotta the love the GOP.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 11/04/2008 @ 4:36pm

15. Why is that, ACOOK?

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 4:34pm

    Can't you tell the suspense has put him on edge?

    Posted by ACook at 11/04/2008 @ 4:47pm

16. "It is so encouraging to hear again that Senator Stevens and I are singing from the same sheet of music," said Governor Palin. "In his address, he pushed for action this year on a natural gas pipeline. I also have the Senator's assurance that once the state has acted on the AGIA, our Congressional Delegation will do everything it can do to expedite the federal review of the natural gas pipeline project."

    Dean Barker, The Huffington Post, 08/30/08 - Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens:"Singing from the Same Sheet of Music"

    Barker goes on to note:

    "And if you're wondering about this natural gas pipeline, it's the same one Dick Cheney was discovered to be personally bullying the Alaskan legislature about on behalf of Stevens (as he himself explained to VECO's Bill Allen)."

    Posted by OneVote at 11/04/2008 @ 5:07pm

17. that is soooooo gop, ccccccccccccc.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 5:11pm

18. Of course sister Sarah voted for "Brother Pork"

    as to

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 11/04/2008 @ 4:36pm

    The NeoCons have no shame, and the moral fiber equivalent of a Twinkie. (Now if he'd have tried for homosexual sex in the airport bathroom...)

    Posted by leftofcenter at 11/04/2008 @ 5:18pm

19. Posted by ACook at 11/04/2008 @ 4:47pm

    So, won't it be relieved soon?

    one way or the other???

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 7:36pm

20. To the People of the United States of America: FELLOW CITIZENS, the importance of this Presidential election undeniably surpasses all others in recent memory. We are at war, uncertainty is threatening our way of life, and the politicos are continuously failing us. So let us ask ourselves, who can we literally afford to trust in office? Americans are being swayed, divided, and weakened by two political parties through the use of Styrofoam backgrounds, vague slogans, and properly placed emotional gestures. But history has taught us that political rhetoric flourishes in many forms during troubled times, so do not be easily fooled by the patriotic images and shows that any politician is participating in. Still, some are saying that we should entrust the 72 year old warrior-statesman because he will righteously put "Country First". Indeed McCain, who was born on an American Naval Air Station, has had many honorable life experiences similar to those of characters we remember today via marble works of art and Plutarchic biographies. But on the other side of the deliberation stands the swarms of people who sincerely believe that the eloquent Ivy-leaguer can bring a much needed change to the political culture in Washington. The novus homo, Barack Obama, continues to inspire the masses with a sense of hope not present since the time of JFK. The Republicans and Democrats have put forth their best men: let US choose between them. But why should one of these highly regarded men (who is going to win the vote of tens of millions of tax-paying Americans) just simply be eliminated and declared loser along with those who voted for him? Does America not need all the competent leadership she has nurtured to attend her needs as Americans and not partisans? Why can't both these even-tempe

    Posted by studentoflife at 11/04/2008 @ 8:45pm

21. novus homo? What a crock. Get real.

    Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 11/04/2008 @ 9:14pm

22. ding-dong, the witch is dead; ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead!

    Posted by conservativenotrepubcon at 11/04/2008 @ 11:00pm

23. I think the quote from Palin was left incomplete:

    "And I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for. Nobody does. And that's really cool about America, also."

    I think she MUST have said, "And I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for there. Nobody does. And that's really cool about America there, also."

    Posted by MemeLynne at 11/05/2008 @ 01:28am

24. even if palin wins the special election after steven is NOT ALLOWED TO SEATED BY THE SENATE. i have a feeling that the senate will also REFUSE to seat her as well. they can refuse and its the law. they wil send her born again dumb chicken butt back to alaska make them have ANOTHER special election and then if its not a democrat they can and should refuse to seat that idiot as well.

    Posted by reality check at 11/05/2008 @ 05:42am