The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Was That a Denial, Governor?’

Posted on | June 17, 2011 | 58 Comments

MINNEAPOLIS
“We are not having this phone conversation.” The phone call woke me up from a well-deserved nap here at the Hilton, site of the Right Online conference. Before I’d laid down for my nap, I’d posted a brief item at The American Spectator blog:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected within a week to make a decision on whether to enter the 2012 presidential campaign, according to one Republican source.
Vendors of campaign services who hope to work for Team Palin have been told that Palin, the 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, will decide soon one way or another on mounting a 2012 campaign.

That’s what my source said. And here’s what Sarah Palin said:

To which I replied:

See what I’m saying? My source hears something, my source tells me, and I report it: a mere two sentences. Next thing you know, the governor herself is Tweeting a statement — which, I repeat, does not look exactly like a denial — and, I am told, both my post and Palin’s response are discussed on the radio by Rush Limbaugh. And then my nap gets interrupted by a phone call that’s so off-the-record I’m not even supposed to say I got a phone call.

Sigh. My apologies to all those reporters at the NYT, the WaPo and other mainstream media who are trying to chase down this story. Good luck. I’m going to try to finish my nap now.

UPDATE: Nap delayed again, because there’s a Memeorandum thread now, and I see that CNN’s Alison Harding takes Palin’s Tweet as a denial. But is it?

Did the governor say, “No, I’m not planning to make a decision next week”? Or, better yet, did she deny that her team have informed interested parties to expect a decision in that time frame?

Jim Geraghty at NRO has some helpful thoughts on exactly how long Palin could wait, noting that “the ranks of the unaffiliated staffers and volunteers grows thinner week by week.”

Geraghty also spots the key phrase in my AmSpec report: “vendors of campaign services who hope to work for Team Palin.” These are businesses. They can’t operate on the basis of maybe getting contracts from a potential campaign that may or may not happen. So it would obviously be in their interest to ask, “How soon will we know? When will a decision be made?”

BTW, I’ve talked to my original source twice since this story broke. And I’m standing by the story.

UPDATE II: Allahpundit also examines the timetable of a Palin campaign rollout (or not). But Allahpundit talks about an “announcement” and my source didn’t say anything about an announcement. No, my source was talking about a decision. An announcement and a decision are two different things.

UPDATE III: It is interesting to see some idiots try to depict me as being anti-Palin. Just FYI:

So, memo to Palin fans: Just because I’m a reporter doesn’t mean I’m the enemy.

UPDATE IV: Thanks, Rush!


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Category: Right Online, Sarah Palin

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  • Anonymous

    Enjoy your nap Stacy, but I will tell you,  that if the “Republican source” that you site does not have a name attached to it  I will summarily dismiss it as gossip.

    Go Sarah/2012 & Beyond

  • Anonymous

    After reading this post, I printed a hard copy of it, crumpled it up, and then ate it, thus destroying all traces of this classified information.

  • Anonymous

    This is not a big deal…

    A lot of people are waiting for Palin to announce, and the expectations can go overboard.

    P.S. I like your site, and visit often!

  • Anonymous

    I am a big Palin supporter.  No big deal RS.  She one way or the other wanted to not allow story the spread.

  • http://twitter.com/isleofyouth PhilipJames

    Was this a flush out some leakers operation by SarahPac?

  • Anonymous

    Get in a good nap, RS.

    So you can enjoy “The Undefeated” tonight.
    :)

  • Norman Invasion

    “And then my nap gets interrupted by a phone call that’s so off-the-record I’m not even supposed to say I got a phone call.”

    I don’t just endorse this statement, I live it every day.

  • Anonymous

    It’s not gossip. If it were mere gossip, I wouldn’t have bothered to report it. You don’t have my source’s name, but you have my name on the story and I stand by the story.

  • http://www.solitudeholdings.com/blog1/ Dan C

    WHO IS THE SOURCE? Is this now the standard for everyone? Can I just say I have a source that says you did or will do XYZ?

    So if she DOES NOT announce next week does that mean your source is FOS or misinformed I guess?

  • The Wondering Jew

    I bet Lynn Vincent is Stacy’s source. . . .  We can see if he will either confirm or deny that. . .

  • The Wondering Jew

    I bet Lynn Vincent is Stacy’s source. . . .  We can see if he will either confirm or deny that. . .

  • Anonymous

    Gondwanaland has always been at war with Laurasia.

  • ctb

    I like that you’re standing by the story. As a Palin supporter it gives me hope that it’s true!

  • Anonymous

    Something really fishy going on here!
    This guy’s trying to get traffic to site.
    I understood her tweet perfectly.
    ?????????????????????

  • Anonymous

    One thing for sure is she is not wired like a Regular Politician.  She beats to her own drum.  Will see next week I guess.

  • smd

    I took her tweet to mean “Hey Robert, should have called my staff to check that statement before printing it.”  Could be that’s all there is to it.

  • Joe

    The only good reason to disturb your nap is a tweet from Alyssa Milano.  Sarah Palin running or not, pshaw!  That can wait. 

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  • Anonymous

    Dude: I did call call her staff. Is it my fault if her staff don’t answer the phone?

  • Anonymous

    Can I just make up a story about a politican or Obama and say a “source”. If Obama or any politican questions it, a reasonable response would not be “They didn’t deny it!”.

    Real journalism entails verifying the story with the subject or having written, audio, video  proof. This “source” did not even hint at a relationship to Palin or SarahPAC.  Not every Republican is associated with Palin so what makes him/her creditable?

  • Anonymous

    I am a Republican. I have a tip for you. Will you print it?

  • http://www.solitudeholdings.com/blog1/ Dan C

    Sounds like maybe a misunderstanding over DECIDING and ANNOUNCING. No big deal. No harm no foul. She could decide literally anytime, yet not announce for awhile. 

  • Anonymous

    Stacey said the source contacted him.  If he is incorrect let it play out, but he has been consistent with his story and is standing by his source, so he obviously has faith in it.  Stacey is a good reporter.

  • http://twitter.com/sdo1 Steve in TN

    The Cult of #Palin grows.

  • Anonymous

    Right, because Robert Stacy McCain was taught at the Washington Times that the VERY FIRST THING YOU DO in urinalism is to burn a source.

    The one thing I like about Stacy above all other things is that his stuff doesn’t appear in HuffPo.

  • Anonymous

    Hang in there….been reading you for seveeral years.  Love your reporting.
    I believe you and I am a big fan of Palin.  Her tweet really didn’t deny what you said.  Words have meaning…the problem here is they have different meaning to different folks depending on what they want to hear.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.org Bob Belvedere

    How do you know what the source told Stacy.  Were you there?  This is a source who told him something in confidence.  Stacy, being the honorable and ethical reporter he is, would not have gone with the story if he had not verified the source’s bona fides.

    In a situation like this, you have to rely on Stacy’s reputation as a honorable and ethical reporter.  He has a well-deserved standing as just such a person.  And he would not risk his career just to report something that, in the long run, is not that big a deal.

    If you need someone to vouch for Stacy’s character, there are a whole bunch of us who would be willing to put our reputations on the line to vouch for Robert Stacy McCain and a whole lot of reporters, editors, publishers, and journalists who would not hesitate to do the same.

    It’s at times like these when I, a big supporter of Sarah Palin, am embarrassed by the Paulista-like reactions of some of Mrs. Palin’s supporters.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.org Bob Belvedere

    Stacy is a great reporter.

    There…fixed that for you.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1385852725 Richard Mcenroe

    Palinistas, I know Stacy McCain.  He is a good reporter.  He deserves at LEAST a warning shot or running start…

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    People, people, people, see what the mainstream media has done to you, and to all of us? The wanton and widespread abuse of the journalistic code of ethics has made us all so cynical we can’t take anybody’s word for anything anymore.

  • Anonymous

    I agree. My concern is not with Stacy, but with the source not being identified. I trust Stacy as well but don’t trust annonymous sources.

    They give me the hives./s

    The mainstream media has abused this privilege so I am wary.

    Go Sarah/2012 & Beyond

  • ltw

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/sarah-palin-shoots-down-report-that-shell-announce-next-week.html

    Don’t let C4Palin get the scoop!

    I don’t mind you getting the scoop, RSM. “Robert Shoe-Leather McCain”.

    Go Palin 2012!

     

  • Anonymous

    “Just because I’m a reporter doesn’t mean I’m the enemy.”

    It’s more like a rebuttable presumption. :)

  • Anonymous

    The correct spelling of his name should be put on the masthead.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t know enough about him to say he’s good or bad. I’m sure he is a stand up guy since everyone is vouching for him. I read a C4P post that copied an article from Ynet about Palin and other politicians planning to attend the Restore Courage rally in Israel without fact checking with the supposed people who were going. The person who put the post on C4P apologized rather than saying “Palin didn’t deny it”. I’m just critical of today’s journalism standards. 

    All’s well:) 

  • Anonymous

    My reaction is the same as Sarah’s and Rebecca’s. I don’t know enough about his articles to attempt to make judgements on him. As a Christian, I apologize for causing him more undo stress. I’m simply justifably critical of journalism standards especially since the media’s antics over the last 3 weeks.

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    I bet its not.

  • hutch

    One thing for sure, I doubt she makes a ‘decision’ next week now.

  • smd

    OK.  Wasn’t listed in here: “My source hears something, my source tells me, and I report it.”  My misinterpretation of your word.  You tried, her staff didn’t help you out, leaving you to print what you had.  Now if Sarah didn’t know that you tried then the scenario is still valid, but it’s nothing to do with you.  Good work. 

  • smd

    Change “your word” to “your words”.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.org Bob Belvedere

    Only once he has the sex change operation.

  • http://thecampofthesaints.org Bob Belvedere

    A little reserach in the Archives Of Justice would have shown any of these folks that Stacy is a stand-up guy and old-school reporter.

    http://thecampofthesaints.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/stacy-mccain-reporter-30.jpg

  • gg

    If you need someone to vouch for Stacy’s character, there are a whole
    bunch of us who would be willing to put our reputations on the line…

    I’m in!

  • gg

    Did you guys notice that Right Online conservative blogger conference always happens in the same city as the one chosen by the lefties for their Netroots Nation conference?

    Even then Netroots get at least 10 times more media coverage than their imitators in the right!

  • http://thepagantemple.blogspot.com/ ThePaganTemple

    They shouldn’t even have it at the same time, let alone in the same city.

  • gg

    ‘Was That a Denial, Governor?’

    Hey RSM, Why don’t you pick a conservative woman of your own league, like say Little Miss Attila, to pick an argument with and use your silly verbal tactics?

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  • KC

    Saw a thread somewhere that Robert Stacy McCain is one of the ghost writer/colaborator of “Going Rogue”. Kudos to RCM if true. I’ve no reason to doubt RCM’s insider source, and given the timimg debut of “undefeated” in Iowa RightOnline, there’re compelling reaons behind these preps (writing on the wall).  Timing of sthe strategic winning essence, the only question is when exactly?

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