Davis: Absolutely, and we’re getting them from all around, not just in Alaska, but you know, people in the know around here. It’s consistent with everything else they’ve done. It’s the most negative campaign I’ve ever seen waged. And look, we shocked them. I guarantee you, they didn’t have any opposition research on Governor Palin when they started, and I’m sure that’s thrown their campaign for a loop. So it doesn’t shock me.
Hewitt: Now I know you had to be high on the governor to be part of the team that advised Senator McCain to select her. However, did you anticipate the kind of reaction, the positive reaction across broad cross-sections of the United States, not limited by ideological lines whatsoever?
Davis: You know, the more we looked at Governor Palin, the more we thought that she had great potential on the national stage. She is one of these people who is straightforward, shoots straight at voters, no dancing around whatsoever. The whole culture of Alaska sort of suits that. And it was time to punch through the noise that exists in this election with somebody like that…. I have been really, really happy with the reaction that I’ve seen both in the Republican Party, but also with independents and disaffected Democrats. And let me tell you, the number of disaffected Democrats is going up every day.
Hewitt: Is part of that in response to the attacks on her as a mother and as a pro-life figure and as a religious person?
Davis: I think that the most heinous thing is the attacks on her family. She’s been in politics. She knows how tough it can be. And she’s absolutely committed to campaigning hard regardless of what people say about her. But the attacks on her family are a new thing that has sort of sprung up this year. Senator McCain has had to go through some of that. And it’s just uncalled for, and I wonder who is policing the media on this, because the old standards of putting the candidates through the tests, through the rigors, nobody’s complaining at all about that. It’s a tough business. But it’s an important job, and the American public needs that. But to attack the family is well beyond the pale, and that’s where we hope that we can draw some lines.