CBS’s Rodriguez: ‘Allegations’ Palin Consulted Her Husband in Decisions

On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez teased an upcoming segment on the presidential campaign by implying a new scandal was brewing around Sarah Palin: "Palin-tology, Obama sharpens his attacks, as questions are asked about Todd Palin's role in his wife's office." In the later segment, Rodriguez talked to former Bush advisor Dan Bartlett and Democratic strategist Joe Trippi about the campaign and asked Bartlett: "We see new investigations springing up this morning, allegations that she consulted with her husband before making major decisions and vetoing millions of dollars of projects, that she appointed friends in key positions. Dan, do you think that this could hurt?"

Bartlett responded by observing: "Well, show me a politician who doesn't consult their spouse or their friends when they get into political office. I think there's nothing here yet that I've seen that's gained any traction." Meanwhile, Rodriguez has not asked similar questions about what degree of influence Michelle Obama has over her husband’s political decisions.

At the beginning of the segment, Rodriguez got reaction from Bartlett and Trippi to a new Obama attack ad against McCain. The ad uses quotes from major media outlets, including CBS News, calling McCain campaign ads, the ‘sleaziest,’ ‘truly vile,’ and ‘a lie’:

What's happened to John McCain? He's running the 'sleaziest ads ever' [Joe Klein, Time], 'truly vile' [The Washington Post], 'Dishonest smears' [New Republic] that he repeats even after it's been 'exposed as a lie' [CBS News], 'truth be damned' [Chicago Tribune] A 'disgraceful dishonorable campaign' [The Washington Post]. After voting with Bush 90% of the time, proposing the same disastrous economic policies. It seems 'deception' [The Washington Post] is all he has left.

Here is the full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASER:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Palin-tology, Obama sharpens his attacks, as questions are asked about Todd Palin's role in his wife's office.

7:11AM TEASER:

RODRIGUEZ: And up next, we're going to talk about the governor of Alaska. What Sarah Palin's record there tells us about her.

7:15AM SEGMENT:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: The campaign trail is heating up again. Today, Barack Obama releases a new ad.

[CLIP OF OBAMA CAMPAIGN AD]

BARACK OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.

JOHN MCCAIN: I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What's happened to John McCain? He's running the 'sleaziest ads ever' [Joe Klein, Time], 'truly vile' [The Washington Post], 'Dishonest smears' [New Republic] that he repeats even after it's been 'exposed as a lie' [CBS News], 'truth be damned' [Chicago Tribune] A 'disgraceful dishonorable campaign' [The Washington Post]. After voting with Bush 90% of the time, proposing the same disastrous economic policies. It seems 'deception' [The Washington Post] is all he has left.

[END OF CLIP]

RODRIGUEZ: Joining us now, two CBS News political consultants. Dan Bartlett, a former senior advisor to President Bush and Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist. Good morning, gentlemen.

DAN BARTLETT: Good morning, Maggie.

JOE TRIPPI: Good morning, Maggie.

RODRIGUEZ: Dan, let me start with you. Is that ad effective?

DAN BARTLETT: Well, we'll see. I think one of the real challenges for Barack Obama is to identify with the American people and demonstrate that he shares their values. Now spending so much time going after John McCain, the question really for the voters to ask, do we know enough about Barack Obama? You know, John McCain has been in his political life here for 25 years and he's been on the national stage for the last ten. It's going to be very hard for him to change the McCain brand overnight like he's trying to do, but you can tell that they are getting a little anxious with the polls tightening the way they are, Maggie.

RODRIGUEZ: Who's getting a little anxious? Barack Obama, right?

BARTLETT: Well, I think -- oh, yeah, I think Barack Obama. I think they're getting all of this advice now that they have to go after John McCain and it's my judgment that that's not his real issue here. It's not John McCain. It's that the American people have yet to decide whether they know enough about Barack Obama to give him the most powerful position in the world.

RODRIGUEZ: Joe, whatever John McCain is doing, seems to be working for him, with all of the polls tightening, as Dan mentioned, and with everybody still talking about Sarah Palin. What do you think the Obama campaign needs to do. Are ads like this going to be enough?

JOE TRIPPI: Well, I think they're starting to do what they need to do, which is to take it to John McCain. I mean, what the American people need to ask themselves is which John McCain that they're seeing. I mean, and that's what the Democrats have to put forward. Is this the guy who said 'I'll take the -- I'll never take the low road to the highest office in the land'? Where'd that guy go? That's what the Democrats are pushing here and what the Obama campaign is pushing. I think they were thrown off balance by the Sarah Palin pick. Sort of started talking about her, talked too much about, you know, sort of those kind of details and didn't move to McCain, and the difference between McCain and Obama, which is what they have to do.

RODRIGUEZ: Sarah Palin, there's so much that came out this weekend. We saw the Democrats on the Sunday morning shows attacking her record. We see new investigations springing up this morning, allegations that she consulted with her husband before making major decisions and vetoing millions of dollars of projects, that she appointed friends in key positions. Dan, do you think that this could hurt?

BARTLETT: Well, show me a politician who doesn't consult their spouse or their friends when they get into political office. I think there's nothing here yet that I've seen that's gained any traction. I think the Democrats got -- were caught, as Joe mentioned, flat-footed with the choice of Sarah Palin and then she's proven herself on the national stage to be quite effective. So, so far, I would say that she's winning this definitional phase of her announcement as the vice presidential candidate. Obviously there are some treacherous roads ahead with the debates and everything, but so far I haven't seen anything that's come out of these investigations that's going to slow up her steam -- her steam rolling that she's doing across the country right now.

RODRIGUEZ: I have to say, I can't wait for those debates, because, Joe, what happened to the issues? Remember those?

TRIPPI: Yeah. Well, I mean, she is going to have to face Joe Biden, but I have two words for my fellow Democrats, Dan Quayle. I mean, it doesn't really matter. He became Vice President of the United States. They've got to get -- what they've done today, I think the Obama campaign, putting the focus on John McCain, on what his campaign is doing, 'the sleaziest' and 'lies' in these ads make that case that he is not the high-road guy he says he is and start to do the differences again between McCain and Obama.

BARTLETT: I agree with Joe on that

RODRIGUEZ: Alright. Two words for you, gentlemen: Thank you. Dan Bartlett, Joe Trippi, thanks.

BARTLETT: Thanks.

TRIPPI: Thanks.

RODRIGUEZ: Since there are only 50 days left until the election, every day we're going to look at how the race is playing out in one of the 50 states. This morning, we begin with Minnesota, where the Republicans held their convention two weeks ago. There are ten electoral votes up for grabs there and they went to Democrat John Kerry back in 2004. The latest statewide poll of likely voters shows that it's a dead heat in Minnesota, where Obama and McCain are tied at 45% each with 10% undecided. Now, of note, McCain has picked up 13 points since the last poll was conducted back in May.