Senator John McCain鈥檚 running mate was ripped apart by the press long before she landed in the pages of 鈥淕ame Change.鈥� But Halperin and Heilemann crystallize the whispers and rumors from the campaign trail into a particularly damning portrait in the book.
Palin, who was thoroughly unversed in foreign affairs, is described as unresponsive, even immature in her interview and debate preparation sessions.
鈥淲hen her aides tried to quiz her, she would routinely shut down,鈥� the authors write. 鈥淐hin on her chest, arms folded, eyes cast to the floor, speechless and motionless, lost in what those around her described as a kind of catatonic stupor.鈥�
Even more chilling were the campaign staff members鈥� fear of a 鈥渢hreatening possibility: that Palin was mentally unstable.鈥� McCain鈥檚 top lieutenants had discussed what to do with Palin if their candidate actually won in November. They decided, write Heilemann and Halperin, to relegate Palin 鈥渢o the largely ceremonial role that premodern vice presidents inhabited鈥�: 鈥渋t was inconceivable鈥� that 鈥渋f McCain fell ill or died, the country be left in the hands of a President Palin.鈥�
