Politics

McCain Regrets Choosing Sarah Palin As Running Mate In 2008

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If John McCain had to do it over again, he would have chosen a different running mate when he was the GOP nominee in 2008.

According to a Saturday New York Times report, McCain would have ignored his advisers and passed over Sarah Palin in favor of his good friend, then-Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. The news was reportedly uncovered by the Times from an advance copy of the Arizona senator’s upcoming book, “The Restless Wave.”

The Times reports: “While he continues to defend Ms. Palin’s performance, Mr. McCain uses the documentary and the book to unburden himself about not selecting Mr. Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent, as his running mate.”

At the time, McCain’s advisers felt that picking Lieberman would divide Republicans and alienate the GOP base, especially in light of issues like abortion.

“It was sound advice that I could reason for myself,” McCain wrote in his book. “But my gut told me to ignore it and I wish I had.”

In an upcoming HBO documentary, McCain also reportedly calls not selecting Lieberman “another mistake.”

“It touched me greatly,” Lieberman told the Times, pointing out that he never knew McCain’s thoughts on that subject.

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