ROLL THE DICE

McCain Picked Palin as His Running Mate by Literally Saying: ‘Fuck It’

A top McCain source confirmed the conversation, which took place in August 2008 on McCain’s Arizona ranch.

When Sen. John McCain was consulting his advisers on who he should pick as his running mate in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election, his wife, Cindy, counseled that to choose then-Gov. Sarah Palin would be “a gamble.” The former Arizona senator’s face lit up in response, and he mimed rolling a pair of dice, saying, “Fuck it. Let’s do it.” The conversation, held on the McCains’ Arizona ranch in August 2008, was described in a forthcoming book by New York Times political reporter Jeremy M. Peters. On Sunday, Axios reported it had confirmed the conversation with a top McCain source. In his book, Peters writes that longtime McCain aide Mark Salter warned the senator, “There’s worse things, John, than losing an election. You could lose your reputation.” After turning to campaign strategist Steve Schmidt, McCain then brought up the possibility of picking Palin to his wife. After she replied that it would be a gamble, McCain reportedly replied, “Well, I wish you hadn’t said that,” before balling up his fist and blowing on it, as if for luck.