Writing a post-mortem for John McCain’s presidential candidacy would be premature. But if and when that moment comes next week, toxic staff infection will be listed as a primary cause of death.
Rarely has any national campaign suffered from the combination of oafish incompetence and transparent malice displayed by the little coterie of operatives who Read More
In Adam Nagourney’s piece today on the McCain campaign’s how-we-can-still-win scenario, McCain strategist Steve Schmidt made the following assertion:
“The McCain campaign is roughly in the position where Vice President Gore was running against President Bush one week before the election of 2000.”
False.
Here are the results of the 10 most Read More
From John McCain’s perspective, the dispiriting outcome of the last presidential debate was determined long before he and Barack Obama arrived on the Hofstra campus. It had been decided months before, in fact, largely by the ineptitude of the Republican campaign’s strategists. Actually, as experienced figures in both parties now agree, “strategist” is probably too Read More
Observer Beijing correspondent Tom Scocca, via IM, on what this might have looked like if Sarah Palin had stuck with sports TV: tomscocca: COURIC: “Governor Palin, do the Jets have a chance in the AFC East?”
PALIN: “The Jets, well, in what respect? In respect to playing football? With the Read More
OXFORD, Miss.—It was hours before Friday night’s debate at the University of Mississippi on September 26 and rows of reporters in a hangar-size white press tent were typing the background and context graphs of their stories. Dozens of flat-screen televisions in front of them counted down the hours and seconds to the debate between Barack Read More
Since her selection as John McCain’s running-mate was announced last Friday, the media has been "on a mission to destroy" Sarah Palin. That’s the charge from McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, at least, and it’s just one of countless over-the-top characterizations from the McCain campaign and its surrogates of the scrutiny Palin has Read More
This morning, The Politico ran an innocuous-seeming story in which a series of unnamed Republican consultants and strategists – with the exception of Ed Rollins, who went on the record – took turn taking shots at various aspects of the McCain campaign’s strategy.
The story didn’t seem particularly surprising, given (a) Read More
After a disappointing first-quarter result, John McCain’s fund-raising operation is getting an overhaul.
According to an official with the McCain campaign, there will now be a concerted effort to get more out of the many former Bush rangers and pioneers that the campaign has assembled.
“We’ll have a more established bundling program,” said the official, Read More
Mercury Public Affairs, the company that helped bring you three terms of George Pataki and is now working on John McCain’s presidential campaign, just announced the hiring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign manager Steve Schmidt.
Interestingly, the formal announcement from Mercury’s managing partner Kieran Mahoney doesn’t mention McCain at all.
From the statement:
“[Schmidt's] experience in the Read MoreSheldon Silver gave the Atlantic Yards project the go-ahead.
Chris Owens, son of Major and a major foe of the Atlantic Yards, debuts his new blog, “Power from Truth.” Coincidence?
John McCain hired another old Bush hand, Steve Schmidt. Schmidt also managed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reelection bid.
Hillary Read More
