OOPS--Top GOP pundits accidentally say on open mic that Palin pick is "bullshit" and the race "is over"

Well, this is not what the GOP needs during their convention. I found this YouTube video on both Americablog and Shakesville, and I'm just amazed at it. Two top Republican pundits, Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, were talking with MSNBC's Chuck Todd about the McCain vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin. However, when the segment was over, their mics were still on, and both Noonan and Murphy told Todd what they really thought about Palin. And it was not pretty. From YouTube:



Talking Points Memo has the transcript here:

Chuck Todd: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.

(cut away)

Peggy Noonan: Yeah.

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PN: It's over.

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MM: I totally agree.

PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.

MM: Yeah.

So what is happening here? I think we are seeing a split here within the Republican Party over the Sarah Palin pick. The evangelicals love Palin because she is such a hard-liner and extreme pro-life candidate. McCain chose Palin to both court the women vote (after Hillary Clinton ran her incredible campaign), and to pacify the evangelical base, who feared that McCain may select a pro-choice candidate. But now it appears that the core Republicans like Peggy Noonan (who was Ronald Reagan's speechwriter) and Mike Murphy are worried about Palin--worried about Palin's hard-lined views, her inexperience, and the scandals coming out due to the McCain campaign's failure to properly vet Palin. The core Republicans may fear that John McCain made an awful choice in selecting Palin, and that McCain may end up losing the race because of Palin. The core Republicans are demoralized by the Palin choice. It is a split that we may not be able to see during this Republican National Convention, since all the GOP pundits are gushing over Palin, but the GOP pundits are not telling us what they really think about Palin. They are just regurgitating the GOP talking points, even though, as Peggy Noonan admits on her open mic, that it is bullshit.