Sarah Palin not invited to McCain funeral reports

Sarah Palin, who was on John McCain's 2008 presidential ticket as the vice presidential nominee, is not invited to McCain's funeral, according to news reports. According to one source, the decision not to invite Palin was made by McCain's widow. “My guess is, it came from Cindy,” a source close to the McCain family told People magazine. “She is very protective of John’s memory and legacy. She’s also a grieving widow. I think she wants to get through this as best she can.” Sources told the magazine that Palin was relayed the message through intermediaries. Kelly O'Donnell of NBC also reported that Palin, the former governor of Alaska, was "not expected to attend memorial." She noted that the McCain family has not commented on the invited guest list. Palin declined to comment but said in a statement after McCain's death was announced that she had remained friends with him since they ran for office together. "Today we lost an American original. Sen. John McCain was a maverick and a fighter, never afraid to stand for his beliefs. John never took the easy path in life - and through sacrifice and suffering he inspired others to serve something greater than self," she wrote. "John McCain was my friend. I will remember the good times. My family and I send prayers for Cindy and the McCain family." Regret McCain wrote in "The Restless Wave," published this year, that he regretted running with Palin and wished he had gone with his gut and named Sen. Joe Lieberman as his vice presidential nominee. He blamed his advisors. "They were giving me their best counsel. It was sound advice that I could reason for myself," McCain wrote, according to ABC. "But my gut told me to ignore it, and I wished I had." However, it would have been difficult to put together a McCain-Lieberman ticket because Lieberman was an independent at the time, having previously been a Democrat. "Five states have sore loser statutes ... [making] it very difficult for someone who's not a member of the Republican Party to become the vice presidential nominee if they only switch parties to become a Republican shortly before the convention," Washington lawyer A.B. Culvahouse, who was part of the team that was vetting McCain's vice presidential nominee possibilities, said in public remarks in 2009, according to Politico. "You were looking at going to the Supreme Court, which is not particularly appetizing," he added, noting the particular difficulty in West Virginia.