McCain was facing a real problem in that election, I think. I mean, look, if he'd run with a chimp as running mate, the chimp would have made McCain look like an irrational and grouchy old man, a political dinosaur way past his prime (if he ever had one), and his staffers would have been quite concerned. See what I'm sayin'?

Anyway, the collapsing economy torpedoe'd any chance McCain ever had. Sarah Palin was just additional entertainment on the side at that point.