Is mysterious website tipping off McCain's VP?

This is fourth in a series of articles that follow Sarah Palin's rise to national political prominence:

Is mysterious website tipping off McCain's VP? Page suggests this GOP figure will complete party's ticket

Posted: August 18, 2008
9:58 pm Eastern

By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Alaska's Sarah Palin is a bold, first-term Republican governor, a former beauty pageant winner, a mother of five and, if a website of mysterious origin proves prophetic, she could be Sen. John McCain's choice for vice presidential running mate.

Scouring the Internet for possible presidential and VP combinations, most websites – such as McCainRomney.com, McCainHuckabee.com or McCainJindal.com – turn up as domain names for sale or general information sites.

Then there's McCainPalin.com.

The page displays paid political advertising and the statement, "Welcome to McCainPalin.com–the best source for information on the John McCain - Sarah Palin 2008 Republican Presidential Ticket. Stayed (sic) tuned for important announcements."

Despite a report by Washington D.C.'s Roll Call last week that Palin had submitted paperwork to the Republican national office, her press secretary, Bill McAllister, told WND that McCain has given no indication of choosing her as his running mate.

"The governor will play some kind of unspecified role in the convention," McAllister said, "but the only contact with the McCain campaign has been a request for her to participate in a national conference call on energy issues. There has been no outreach or vetting regarding the vice presidency."

Palin has drawn attention as a potential running mate because of appeal to the Republican base. She has personally demonstrated pro-life beliefs and a willingness to tackle tough issues, including an incident in which she took on Republican leadership in her state for ethics violations.

Editor Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard last year called Palin "a politician of eye-popping integrity."

"Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle – especially to transparency and accountability in government – can produce political success," Barnes wrote.
Who then, created the McCainPalin.com website and asked readers to "stay tuned" for an announcement?

Several websites and blogs are promoting Palin for the GOP ticket, including Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President, PalinforVP.com and My McCain Blog, which created the campaign sign pictured above. Palin's press secretary acknowledged to WND that these sites have been in existence for several months and are consolidating their resources to rally Palin supporters.
Supporters and bloggers that WND was able to contact, however, denied any knowledge of who created McCainPalin.com.

Adam Brickley, founder of Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President, told WND he thought it was created by a supporter, but he really didn't know.

"It has been up for a while and used to be a fully functional webpage with newsfeeds, bios, etc. However, the 'stay tuned' message is new," he said. "I really have no idea who runs it."

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