Last week, as the Democratic Party convened in Denver, it all seemed to be going well. The Republican National Committee had a tremendous rapid response operation to counter all Democratic Party propaganda spewing from the convention podium and outdoor temple. Pro-McCain surrogates like former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani led a cavalcade of surrogate speakers to refute all political charges leveled against Senator McCain by Obama partisans.

By most accounts, the RNC's rapid response program was on-message, efficient and exceeded expectations.

See the RNC's handiwork from Denver here.

Even the aftermath of Senator Obama's historic speech in which the Illinois senator accepted the nomination of his party did not dampen John McCain's spirits. Less than 24 hours after Obama addressed 85,000 people who waited hours to hear a political speech, McCain announced his selection as vice president.

...And America's most famous one-time small town mayor was thrust into national consciousness. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, former chief executive of the village of Wasilla (population estimates vary from 5,500 to 9,700), was tapped by John McCain to be his running mate of the Republican Party.

The initial reaction was one of shock - and joyous surprise. Conservative Republican bloggers on this site and other center-right blogs hailed McCain's VP selection. Republican elected officials were unanimous in their praise of the self-described "hockey mom" from Alaska now running on a national ticket. There was talk of her conservative convictions, success in rooting out political corruption, and her ostensible commitment to spending reform.

Then came the Labor Day Weekend and all appeared to be going well; except, of course, for the developing hurricane that threatened to derail John McCain's carefully-crafted Republican Party convention message.

Not Gustav. Hurricane Sarah.

The past 48 hours (Sunday and Monday) have spawned an avalanche of bad news about John McCain's running mate. The media has learned - and reported - that Governor Palin is under investigation by both the Alaska State Legislature and the Alaska Attorney General for alleged abuse of office. As part of that probe, we learned Monday that Sarah Palin has hired a criminal defense attorney to focus on Pailn's involvement in the matter.

The media is also in a frenzy regarding developments of Governor Palin's family life. In a move that can only be described as surreal, the Republican ticket's best defender of keeping Palin family matters private was none other than Senator Barack Obama.

Despite Senator Obama's plea to avoid scrutiny of Governor Palin's family, the media - in many cases egged on by pro-Obama liberal bloggers - nonetheless maintained a torrent of stunning Palin family disclosures.

The underlying theme is whether or not John McCain conducted a thorough background and vetting process of Governor Sarah Palin. Yesterday, McCain for President Campaign Manager Rick Davis told the Seattle Times "I'm not going to get into that" regarding Palin's vetting process.

It hasn't helped that neither McCain nor Palin addressed the media all day Monday.

Therefore, today is the most crucial day for John McCain. He has to reassure the American public that his team did, in fact, conduct a thorough vetting process of Governor Palin and she is ready to be vice president based on their research. If that is the case, then McCain needs to state clear that Governor Sarah Palin is his running mate and that she is unequivocally ready to serve as vice president.

If that is not the case... 

Many Red County readers and bloggers are conservative, no doubt about it, and many admire and cherish Sarah Palin's steadfast conservative beliefs and viewpoints. However, the media are asking questions that must be answered, and those answers must leave no shadow of doubt that Governor Palin is qualified to serve as vice president of the United States.

This week has posed significant challenges for John McCain: Delivering a convention speech as parallel in rhetorical importance to Obama's, the challenges from the Democrats' successful convention where they presented a stunning display of party unity, and the postponement of many convention activities due to Hurricane Gustav, were already difficult obstacles to overcome for any party convention and any candidate.

Now the challenge for John McCain is to act quickly in resolving this controversy surrounding his VP pick. I am confident that he can and will.