Rove: Palin 'carefully vetted'

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain's campaign "carefully vetted" Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin before asking her to join the ticket, former White House adviser Karl Rove said.

Rove, attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., said the McCain team was aware of her daughter's pregnancy and her husband's drunken driving charge in 1986 when offering her the vice presidential slot, The Hill, a Washington publication, reported.

Media reports in recent days have raised questions about the thoroughness of the vetting process.

"They knew all of it," Rove said during an interview on Fox News.

Attorney A.B. Culvahouse, tapped by McCain to lead the vice presidential candidate search, traveled to Alaska earlier this year and conducted a "three- to four-hour interview" with the Alaska governor, The Hill said.

McCain's campaign officials "weren't bothered" by research into Palin's background, Rove said.