In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection.

Hat tip to LA buddy for this one.

Update: here’s the docket chronology.

Update: Drudge was right to pass: no smoke, no fire.

Having said that, as a small business owner, I’m appalled by reports that McCain only interviewed Palin once.

At our company, even interns — folks who will work for us maybe 10 or 20 hours a week and make $12 an hour — get interviewed at least eight separate times over the course of six to eight weeks. I interview each possible intern hire at least twice myself.

Why invest so much time even on junior staffers? Because staff are 99% of a business. We know that even the most junior person may one day take on a senior role. (I first worked with Miklos Gaspar, who co-founded Pressflex and today runs our Budapest office, in 1994 when he was an intern in a business I managed.)

In taking so much time and effort to vet potential junior hires, we’re not focusing on our immediate needs. We know that diligent up front vetting is the smartest investment we can make in the future. Not every person we hire works out, but we vastly increase our odds of success with scrupulous hiring.

Does the USA not deserve at least the same level of due diligence that we apply to interns for a possible future president?

One interview — if that’s what happened — wasn’t bold. It was reckless.

Memorable moments: “connections and food” in the big tent; hanging with Welch and Flynn at the Casa Reason; talking Pumas with Tribbett, markets with Goddard, baseball with Kos, newspapers with SusanG; watching Michelle Obama rivet “see” into key transitions in her speech, despite the teleprompter’s script; hearing a yahoo standing on the corner shouting “Obama’s too inexperienced to be President” … this from a dude who sounded like he struggled to get out of 8th grade; buying “Born 2 Win” t-shirts and seeing the 70ish woman beside me hold the hand of the the young woman selling the t-shirts and say, “honey, your generation can do so much.”

I regret not being in Denver tonight but hope to watch it on TV.

It’s a bizarrely junior-highish screed, first suggesting cattily that “some may even say it’s a love affair” and then, casting caution to the wind, stating in the final paragraph, “The media is in love with Barack Obama.”

Boohoo.

Update July 29, 2008: Here’s some context for McCain’s bitterness about the press turning its affections towards Obama.