Fmr. McCain aide on 'Game Change': Palin presidency 'frightens me'

A former senior strategist for Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) 2008 presidential campaign says that the depiction of Sarah Palin by actress Julianne Moore in HBO's film "Game Change" was "very accurate."

"I think for all of us that were in the campaign it really rang true," Steve Schmidt told MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski on Monday. "It gave you a little bit of [post traumatic stress disorder] PTSD at times."

In the movie, Schmidt's character -- played by Woody Harrelson -- deals with a mentally unstable Palin who knows little about foreign policy and often refuses to cooperate with the campaign.

"I think when you look back at that race, you see person who's just so phenomenally talented in so many levels, an ability to connect, but also someone who had a lot flaws and someone running to be in the national command authority who clearly wasn't prepared," the former McCain aide explained. "Someone was nominated to the vice presidency who was vastly unprepared to take the oath of office should it become necessary, and as it has become necessary many times in America."

Schmidt added that losing the election was not as bad as the idea of Palin someday becoming president.

"What's worse in that context for me is with regard to the country that I love, that I have family members in the uniformed services in the armed services," he said. "We have 100,000 people in Afghanistan. When a result happens that puts someone who is not prepared to be president on the ticket, that's a bad result."

"I think the notion of Sarah Palin being president of the United States is something that frightens me, frankly."

On Sunday, McCain continued to defend his vice presidential selection, saying that Palin was the "best qualified" person for the job.

“I thought she was the best qualified person,” he told Fox News host Chris Wallace. “I thought she had the ability to excite our party, and the kind of person that I wanted to see succeed in the political arena."

“What I don’t understand, even in the tough world of politics, why there continues to be such assaults on a good and decent person, Sarah Palin, a fine family person, a person whose nomination energized our campaign,” McCain remarked. “We were in the lead and they continue to attack and disparage her character and her person.”

Watch this video from MSNBC's Morning Joe, broadcast March. 12, 2012.

Watch this video from HBO's Game Change, broadcast March. 10, 2012.

(H/T: Mediaite)