Game Change Page #3

missed something.

Yeah, I got it.

What do you think, a.B.?

I like many of her answers

in the questionnaire.

And in the interview, she hit some

of my questions out of the park.

Now...

There are more potential

land mines with Palin

than with

the other choices.

She told us she has

a teen daughter who's pregnant.

That should not prevent this

from moving forward,

but we don't know

what else could pop up.

But are you impressed

with her personally?

I am.

She has a great

life story

and she's extremely

poised and confident

for someone

in her situation.

But you have a candidate

who's only been governor

for 18 months.

Before that, she was the

mayor of a small town

with 10,000 people.

She undercuts your

best attack on Obama

that he's too inexperienced.

Well, that's played out.

We lose by five if we stick

with experience.

You think she's ready

to be president?

I don't think she's gonna

be ready on January 20th,

but I think she has the smarts

to get there eventually.

Give me

the bottom line, a.B.

High risk...

High reward.

You shouldn't have

told me that.

Why not?

I've been a risk-taker

all my life.

- Hi.

- Hi. How are ya?

Great.

Thanks so much for coming.

Thank you for having me

at your beautiful house.

Well, come on in.

Please.

( Indistinct chatter )

John:
One of the things

I'm most proud of, Sarah,

is my independence.

And I'm very impressed

with how you've bucked

the republican

establishment in Alaska.

Well, I am wired to be kind

of independent there also.

And I thought if I'm gonna

truly run the state

on behalf of the people,

I'm gonna have to do it

without that

good ole boy network.

I love the way you squashed

Stevens' bridge to nowhere.

Yeah. I am pro-growth

and pro-infrastructure

for Alaska,

but not at the expense

of the American taxpayer.

I told congress

if we wanted a bridge,

we'd build it ourselves.

You remind me of myself.

We're both reformers

who are not afraid

to thumb our nose

at our own party.

Senator, you're

an American hero.

I'm just Sarah

from Alaska.

What do you guys think?

I know a guy

like Tim pawlenty

isn't exactly

the game-changing pick

you all seem

to think we need,

but he's young,

he's energetic.

He has solid

conservative credentials.

With pawlenty,

we make the base happy.

And we know what the hell

we're getting.

Pawlenty's ready

to be president.

Steve?

Well, there are

unknowns with Palin,

and certainly

it could go bad.

But if it were me, I'd

rather lose by 10 points

going for the win

than lose by one point

and look back

and say, "God damn,"

we should have gone

for the win."

Salter:
Our slogan's

"country first."

Lieberman and pawlenty

are country-first choices.

Sarah Palin

will be perceived

as a self-serving

political maneuver.

You may not only lose

the election, John.

You just might lose your

reputation right along with it.

I'm not running

for my reputation.

I'm running

to be president.

Yes, sir.

( Bell dings )

It is absolutely crucial

that not a single person

know you're the pick.

Surprise of your announcement

will stop any momentum

Obama might get from

his convention speech.

That's smart.

You seem totally unfazed

by all this.

It's God's plan.

This election has

never been about me.

It's about you.

( Crowd cheering )

You understand

that in this election

the greatest risk

we can take

is to try

the same old politics

with the same old players

and expect a different result.

Barack:

Change happens.

Change happens because the

American people demand it...

Because they rise up and insist

on new ideas and new leadership

and new politics

for a new time.

You're about

to meet our nominee.

You are the seventh and eighth

person to know about this.

- ( Knocks )

- It's Steve.

- Come in.

- ( Door opens )

Barack:

Because I've seen it...

Hi. Come on in.

I'm just watching Obama's

big, fancy speech again.

Governor, this is

Matthew Scully.

- He'll be your main speechwriter.

- Nice to meet you.

Steve:
And this is

nicolle Wallace,

- former white house communications director.

- Hi. How are you?

Steve:
And this is

Governor Sarah Palin

from Alaska.

Yes, of course.

Congratulations, Governor.

It's a real honor

to meet you.

Great to have you

on board.

Hey, come here.

Lookit. Look at this.

- ( Crowd cheering on TV )

- I didn't know we were running against a Greek God.

Sarah:

They sure do love him.

- They're gonna love you more.

- Barack:
America, we cannot turn back.

( Distant crowd cheering )

Governor,

you are the nominee

for the vice president

of the United States.

You will no longer

be carrying your own bags.

Yes, sir.

And never

call me "sir."

You can call me

Steve, schmidty,

Kojak, potsie, shithead--

anything you want.

I will call you

governor or ma'am.

Well, I don't curse, so I'm

gonna have to call you potsie.

Very good, ma'am.

These gentlemen are

secret service agents.

They will take you

into the arena.

And if everything goes

according to plan,

they will be with you

the rest of your life.

Everything's gonna change

the moment you

walk out that door.

Are you ready, Governor?

I'm ready.

Breathe.

Welcome, Governor.

( Distant crowd cheering )

( Crowd cheering )

Thank you.

Thank you for

that wonderful welcome.

I'm very happy today to

spend my birthday with you

and to make a historic

announcement in Dayton...

( Crowd cheering )

...a city built on hard,

honest work of good people.

( Crowd cheering )

The person I'm about

to introduce to you

was a stand-out

High School point guard,

a concerned citizen who became

a member of the p.T.A.,

then a city

council member...

- Say a prayer.

- John:
...Then a mayor,

- and now a governor.

- Say a prayer.

- Say a prayer.

- Say a prayer.

John:
...To celebrate the anniversary

of women's suffrage,

a devoted wife

and a mother of five.

John:
My friends

and fellow Americans,

I am very pleased

to introduce to you

the next vice president

of the United States,

Governor Sarah Palin

of the great state of Alaska!

( Music playing )

Just have fun.

This is a fantastic

rollout, Steve.

I can't believe you were

able to keep it a secret.

I had to confiscate

her kids' cell phones.

No hurry.

- Sarah:
Thank you.

- Woman:
All the way, Sarah!

And I thank you,

Senator McCain,

for the confidence

you have placed in me.

Senator, I am honored to be

chosen as your running mate.

It was rightly noted

in Denver this week

that Hillary left

in the highest, hardest

glass ceiling in America.

( Crowd cheers )

But it turns out

the women of America

aren't finished yet

and we can shatter that glass

ceiling once and for all.

We gotta get her ready

for her convention speech.

She'll need a vocal coach,

a foreign policy expert,

hair and make-up consultants

and a stylist.

No doubt.

( Music playing )

And if I was

a movie star

I'd sip honey

from a pickle jar

in the back

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