Subject: AB Culvahouse on VP vetting
From: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
To: Veepstakes <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Dillon, Lauren" <[email-masked]>, "Roberts, Kelly" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 07:23:55 -0700

My bullets and highlights from his 2012 WSJ op-ed

A.B. Culvahouse: "I Stand By My Advice Regarding Sarah Palin: 'High Risk, High Reward.'" [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Potential Running Mates: "No Other Candidate, Not Even The Presidential Nominee Himself, Is Subjected To The Same Scrutiny."  "A short list of five to 15 leading Americans soon will be notified that the presumptive Republican nominee for president believes they are serious contenders to be his running mate. They will be asked for their agreement to join him on the GOP ticket if chosen, and in the meantime, to submit to a most intrusive and far-reaching vetting by lawyers and advisers working for the campaign. No other candidate, not even the presidential nominee himself, is subjected to the same scrutiny." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

In The Wall Street Journal, A.B. Culvahouse  Described "The Unfettered Power Of The Presidential Nominee To Select His Running Mate, Based On Whatever Unannounced Criteria He Deems." "For the 'vettees,' the process can appear ad hoc, opaque and at times capricious. Having enjoyed illustrious careers in government, they find the unfettered power of the presidential nominee to select his running mate, based on whatever unannounced criteria he deems relevant, as well as the ever more complex vetting process, to be without precedent in their political experience." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Potential Running Mates: "We Mined Public Databases, Media Archives, Political Blogs And Other Sources That Allowed Our Search To Remain Discreet." "In 2008, our team began by preparing vetting reports on a list of more than two dozen individuals who, unbeknownst to them, had been selected for consideration by Sen. McCain. We mined public databases, media archives, political blogs and other sources that allowed our search to remain discreet. Those who survived the winnowing from long list to short were rewarded with the most intimate examination known to politics." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Potential Running Mates: "Short-Listed Potential VP Nominees Are Required To Hand Over Tax Returns, Medical Histories, Financial Statements, Court Records, And Anything Else Labeled 'Private And Confidential.'" "Short-listed potential VP nominees are required to hand over tax returns, medical histories, financial statements, court records, and anything else labeled 'private and confidential,' while also answering the most probing questions about themselves, their spouses, their children and their extended family-questions I would not dream of posing in any other context." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Potential Running Mates: "In 1976, The Ford Campaign's Vetting Questionnaire Had 16 Questions; The One We Used In 2008 Had Almost 80, With Multiple Subparts." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Potential Running Mates In 2008: "We Asked About Infidelity, Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Plagiarism, Alcohol Or Drug Addiction, Delinquent Taxes, Credit History, And Use Of Government Positions Or Resources For Personal Benefit. Nothing Was Off-Limits." "Yet, as in all campaigns, if we had allowed good manners to intervene, anything we missed surely would have been dredged up by someone else. In 1976, the Ford campaign's vetting questionnaire had 16 questions; the one we used in 2008 had almost 80, with multiple subparts. We asked about infidelity, sexual harassment, discrimination, plagiarism, alcohol or drug addiction, delinquent taxes, credit history, and use of government positions or resources for personal benefit. Nothing was off-limits." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Sarah Palin: "Our Team Of Lawyers Churned Out The Expected Detailed Written Vetting Report-Only We Packed Eight Weeks Of Research Into Less Than One." "The vetting of Sarah Palin was no less rigorous, just compressed. She was a late addition to the short list, catapulted into contention by the campaign's calculus that a woman would broaden the ticket's appeal. Our team of lawyers churned out the expected detailed written vetting report-only we packed eight weeks of research into less than one. We pulled information from Alaska-centric websites, including her local critics' blogs and copies of Wasilla church sermons." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

Wall Street Journal: A.B. Culvahouse's "Standard Hypothetical Questions" To Sarah Palin In 2008 Were "Was She Prepared To Use Nuclear Weapons To Defend Our Country? Would She Authorize A Strike Against Osama Bin Laden If She Knew That Numerous Civilians Also Would Be Killed?" "Gov. Palin's responses to my standard hypothetical questions-Was she prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend our country? Would she authorize a strike against Osama bin Laden if she knew that numerous civilians also would be killed?-portrayed impressive resolve and sensitivity." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse On Vetting Sarah Palin: "Because Her Duties Had Never Encompassed Foreign Policy Or Defense Issues Gov. Palin Would Not Be Ready To Be Vice President On Jan. 20, 2009-But That I Believed She Had The Presence And Wherewithal To Grow Into The Position." "Nevertheless, I advised Sen. McCain that because her duties had never encompassed foreign policy or defense issues Gov. Palin would not be ready to be vice president on Jan. 20, 2009-but that I believed she had the presence and wherewithal to grow into the position. I summed up her selection as 'high risk, high reward.' I stand by that advice." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]

A.B. Culvahouse: "In My Experience, When Potential VP Nominees Are Asked To Submit Themselves To The Vetting Process, Their Thoughtful Reasons To Decline-And Perhaps Their Ambitious Motives To Accept-Are Overcome By Feelings That Are More Instinctively Noble." "In our current presidential election, despite the many political risks and personal indignities involved, I predict that few on Gov. Mitt Romney's short list will decline the opportunity to be considered. In my experience, when potential VP nominees are asked to submit themselves to the vetting process, their thoughtful reasons to decline-and perhaps their ambitious motives to accept-are overcome by feelings that are more instinctively noble." [A.B. Culvahouse op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 5/15/12<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304070304577395783718349916>]