Sarah Palin?

So it would appear; there must have been a leak, because InTrade suddenly has had her at 90 cents bid.

Uh-oh; Cindy better watch out. Another former beauty queen.

It’s OK, though. McCain and Palin are kindred spirits; Palin believes in abusing her official powers on behalf of family members, and then denying it.

Palin’s sister was in a nasty divorce/custody battle with a state trooper. Officials of her administration were caught on tape making at least two dozen phone calls to the head of the state police asking why the trooper hadn’t been fired, based on charges brought by the sister as part of the custody battle. Somehow, the head of the state police wound up getting fired. He alleges it was for not firing the trooper.

Gov. Palin insists that it was for “not being a team player,” and says she had no idea that her appointees were making phone calls about the matter. Seems that her appointees “did not speak for me.” Now that sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

So John McCain once again proves that, whatever his supposed principles, he won’t stand up to Karl Rove and the Christian right when they start to apply the pressure.

And, Sen. McCain, Gov. Palin’s credentials to be Commander-in-Chief are … ?

Update Palin is still the betting favorite; apparently she’s flying to Dayton. But there’s a flurry of betting for Tom Ridge. After thinking about Palin for a couple of minutes, the thought that McCain might pick a person of substance seems like a relief. Could that have been the strategy?

Second update CNBC says it’s Palin.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com