I don't remember: did Lloyd Bentsen issue a statement after the Dukakis-Bentsen

Palin Wasn't Just Being a Diva

When aides went to load McCain’s concession speech into the teleprompter, they found a concession speech for Palin—written by Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully, who had also been the principal drafter of her convention speech—already on the system. Schmidt and Salter told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she wouldn’t be giving one. Palin was insistent. “Are those John’s wishes?” she asked. They were, she was told. But Palin took the issue to McCain himself, raising it on the walk from his suite to the outdoor rally. Again the answer was no.

A defense of Sarah Palin—sort of—is in order here. McCain’s refusal to allow her to make her own concession speech was widely discussed after last November’s election, and the prevailing view was that Palin had behaved like a diva. After all, who ever heard of a running mate giving an Election Night speech?

Well … actually, concession (or victory) speeches from running mates are pretty standard. Here’s the history since 1988

Losing VP candidate: Lloyd Bentsen

Election Night speech: Delivered from the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, where he told supporters that he and Michael Dukakis “waged a campaign that's worthy of the American people. He made me proud to be his partner. He made me proud to be his running mate and he made me proud to be an American.” Bentsen didn’t appear in Boston with Dukakis because he was also a candidate for reelection to the Senate in Texas (a race he won over Republican Beau Boulter).

Losing VP candidate: Quayle

Election Night speech: Appeared with Bush and told a crowd in Houston that if Clinton ran the country nearly as well as he ran his campaign, “the country will be fine.”

Losing VP candidate: Jack Kemp

Election Night speech: At the Costa Mesa Hotel in Malibu (far from his running mate, Bob Dole), Kemp told a packed ballroom that “the ideas of this campaign will live on and I pledge to continue to advance these ideas upon which the future of this nation depends.”

Losing VP candidate: John Edwards

Election Night speech: Again, it was actually the day after, but Edwards joined John Kerry onstage in Boston and delivered the first concession speech; in it, he tried to assure bitter Democrats that he and Kerry would make sure every vote was counted in Ohio, even though they were officially conceding the race.