McCain’s VP Search Designed for Surprise

BOSTON — John McCain’s search for a running mate was remarkable in that it was carried out in secret, concluded with a bang and conducted in sharp contrast to the freewheeling style of his early presidential campaign or his hard-charging Navy days. The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting spirited his ultimate choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, first to Arizona and then to Ohio on a pair of secret corporate jet flights. When her family joined her Thursday night, they stayed in a hotel under an assumed name. And when it came time to announce Palin’s selection on Friday morning in Dayton, Ohio, the news came as a surprise not only to the public, but also to members of her own staff 4,000 miles away in Anchorage. “Nobody knew about his announcement this morning except (a traveling aide) and the governor’s chief of staff, who found out about this last night,” said Sharon Leighow, a Palin gubernatorial spokeswoman. That was precisely McCain’s ... (link)