McCain Faces Internal "Palin Insurgency"

Politico's Ben Smith reports on the internal tensions that are roiling the McCain campaign, with many Palin allies voicing their unhappiness at how the campaign has been run. According to Smith, there are now "stirrings of a Palin insurgency." Some of the highlights:

Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them. Those Palin supporters, inside the campaign and out, said Palin blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image -- even as others in McCain's camp blame the pick of the relatively inexperienced Alaska governor, and her public performance, for McCain's decline.

"She's lost confidence in most of the people on the plane," said a senior Republican who speaks to Palin, referring to her campaign jet. He said Palin had begun to "go rogue" in some of her public pronouncements and decisions.[...]

Anger among Republicans who see Palin as a star and as a potential future leader has boiled over because, they say, they see other senior McCain aides preparing to blame her in the event he is defeated.

"These people are going to try and shred her after the campaign to divert blame from themselves," said a McCain insider, referring to McCain's chief strategist, Steve Schmidt, and to Nicolle Wallace, a former Bush aide who has taken a lead role in Palin's campaign.
[...]

"A number of Governor Palin's staff have not had her best interests at heart and they have not had the campaign's best interests at heart," fumed the McCain insider, noting that Wallace left an executive job at CBS to join the campaign."

Read the full article.

Palin's favorability ratings have taken a hit recently, and the Washington Post reported Saturday that its latest poll shows the majority of Americans now have a negative impression of Palin.

Comments

[bettyboop30]

Palin has proved her inability to fill the second highest office of our land - it seems Alaska is about as 'corrupt' as a state can be (to wit: Senator Stevens found guilty on all 7 counts; Palin questioned about Trooper Gate; Todd Palin filling in the office and chair of the governor "we always help out each other with our jobs"). If Woody Allen isn't working on his next movie - he should be. It will give
everyone great comic relief. Betty Boop

[geedafotus]

How could anyone support Obama since he is going to be asked in his oath of office for President to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet in a September 2001 radio interview in Chicago what he discussed was that the Constitution is essentially a flawed document that it’s framers had “blind spots” when creating it.
Now isn't that nice, the man who's going to be asked to defend the Constitution thinks it is a "flawed document".
NOW WHAT?

[Barry661]

Of course the Constitution is a flawed document. It was created by people, but it's survived the test of time as it established the longest-standing single form of government on the face of the planet (that's right, ours is the oldest continuously operating governement on Earth). The framers did a remarkable job, but it's not perfect. That's why we have a court system to interpret it. As a people, we've even amended it a few times. Imagine, under the Constitution as originally written, slavery was permitted to survive, but was later abolished, women couldn't vote, but now can.

[PoliticalOutlaw]

Hey, if George & Company's total, complete and absolute disregard for this document as useful for anything but toilet paper in the White House out-house, why on earth are you fearful now that further obliteration of its intent might take place? Kind of like closing that barn door, yatta, yatta.

Oh, and in case you've forgotten, initially the Constitution was a document written by a bunch of White guys so they could keep Black slaves - so I'd say it was then and always has been a work in progress - as should be any dynamic document that has the power to control men's lives.

[oregonobamagal]

wait a minute, isn't it conservatives who believe the constitution should ban abortion and same-sex marriage? so, is it perfect unless you say it's not?

maybe the constitution framers were taking a tip from the navajos who always intentionally leave a flaw in their weavings (which, of course, begs the question, if it's intentional, is it a flaw). they believe that "this flaw allows the spirit of the blanket to have the freedom to roam, and for the blanket to never truly end. maybe our constitution is meant to be free to roam. "

certainly george bush thought it's free to be trampled upon.

[AuntieJen]

At least Obama CAN READ the constitution. The current regime has proclaimed the consitution "quaint" and outdated. The republicans have systematically been shredding the constitution. You remember habeas corpus, don't you? I'd prefer to have a consitutional scholar in the white house than someone who doesn't even understand that it is the basis for all our laws. McCain/Palin don't even realize that the constitution clearly spells out the responsibilites of the VP, for crying out loud.

[sus2222]

Really like watching the " MAVERICKS" working together ( together???).
HA.
They ARE MAVERICKS, not team players, so get ready to see some more maverickin'
I will be James Garner cringes every time...

[Bondwan]

Palin is like nails on a chalkboard. She is absolutely horrible. And what is worse is that like George Bush, she is as good as she is going to get. The reason why she is so bad is that she has no intellectual curiousity. She is stupido. She is also hateful. Yes she hides behind that whole Christian thing but in the end she is an ignorant, arrogant, stupid, mean spirited waste of space. And now McCaine is getting exactly what he deserves for making such an irresposible choice for VP

[rukiddingmerightnow]

Amen. Send her packing. She can keep the clothes. In fact, I'll chip in for a new suitcase if she needs one

[imdragon]

Let's see...everybody involved in a Republican campaign pointing fingers at everybody else as any problem is obviously someone else's fault. The question is how are they going to blame the Democrats for this? Think people, there must be a way!!!

[ellaquince]

I'm sure this is somehow Barack Obama's fault, just as it was his fault that McCain had to go negative in his advertising because Barack wouldn't agree to a series of hundreds of joint appearances in Town Hall forums. (How'd that one Town Hall debate work out for McCain? He stunk up the joint! But I'm sure it wasn't his fault! By then, he was just so mad at Obama!)

The members of the party of personal responsibility never personally bear any responsibility.

[peacegurl48]

A McCain source said it was probably the "hardest" to get Palin "up to speed than any candidate in history." This is because Palin is intellectually challenged with a very superficial knowledge of the issues we face but fully versed in gimmicks, buzzwords and hate speech.

I don't feel sorry for her in the least, she has blind ambition and is looking out for Sarah. It is too bad that McCain traded his reputation to sell out to the Radical Christian Right. You reap what you sow.

[ellaquince]

You don't feel sorry for her, but I don't feel sorry for McCain. Too bad he traded his reputation? No, it's a good thing -- because it's going to bring about a Democratic landslide. He created the monster Sarah Palin, and now he's lost control of her.

[Allablaze]

There is no doubt the Palin's are now looking to 2012 and a run at the top spot. Her current popularity in some of the red states will fuel this ambition. A major problem for the Palin's could be that they live in Alaska. Maybe Palin will take a shot at a Senate seat now that Ted Stevens has been convicted. A Senate seat would give Palin the exposure she would need for her next move, the White House

[tcwillis27]

Am I reading about Palin or Britney? When are we going to hear that she was seen leaving the Beverly Hills hotel with John Maher...seriously, wah, wah, wah...she tarnished her own image by letting her inflated sense of self righteousness cloud her judgement when she was asked to run. She should have said "no" I'm not ready. Of course it was a McCain mistake to consider her in the first place but she's got free will - no one twisted her arm. The only thing her handlers did was to try to cover up her ignorance and save her from herself. She lost me many times during this past month, from her whacked out interviews to her predictable, insincere statements: "I have a dear friend who happens to be gay..." Everything about this woman is everything I loathe in people. I can't even stand to be on PTA committees with women like this, let alone have to listen to them every time I turn on the news.

[MARTinNJ]

It is high time that Senator Obama apologize for that pig reference that he made over a month ago.
Yes, it is high time he apologize to pigs everywhere for comparing them to Governor Palen. She is the 2008 candidate who most resembles a train wreck.

[dcinotown]

I don't know what I am more dissillusioned about, the stupidity of choosing Sarah Palin as a VP nomination or the amount of people that are still supporting the McCain ticket. All of these complaints about unfair media bias and the absolute stubborness and stupidity it would take to continue to support, let alone vote for them. Have you people no eyes? Have you not bothered to study the difference in issues and over all knowledge? John McCain is a great patriot, no doubt, but he is similar to Bush in that he is a reactionary. He will be another "decider". Lord help us, we do not need another decider in the White House. Palin is worse than Cheney, at least Mr. Cheney has intellegence.
I am incomplete awe of the lack of involvement of the voters in this country or perhaps in their ability to see a pig with lipstick. In any case, I pray to God that Obama wins in convincing fashion so that these cheating Republicans can not steal this election! GET OUT AND VOTE!!! OBAMA-BIDEN 2008!!!!

[FedUp60]

Sorry Palin but it won't work. I live in California and have many friends who have since moved to Virginia and were strong Republicans. Due to Palin being on the McCain ticket, their vote is going to Obama. They feel she has played so many games with the media and hung herself. Pretending you are someone when you aren't didn't work. Hockey Mom?? Too many people who know her have stated that she will stab you in the back. She is a woman who wants power at any expense. Very dangerous!!

[formerprosecutor]

Palin sunk her own ship, these people that she think she is a "star" are as delusional as she is. True she defines the radical religious right and we must MAKE SURE she never has a hand in government; the separation of church and state are on her agenda to eradicate:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/sarah-palin-linked-to-sec_b_137532.html

[Audrey704]

I agree about never letting her on the national stage ever again.

[AnAverageAmerican]

When McCain loses he will have no one to blame but himself.

[Will3020]

I agree. Mc Cain is going down b/c of Palin's unqualifications. The blame goes right directly to McCain and Palin's poor judgment. McCain for endorsing her and for Palin accepting the endorsement. Enough said !

[redsongia]

What bugs me most about Palin is that she embraces all this social-darwin, free market, competition brings out the best in us lip service, but then, she's very careful to isolate herself from competition her whole life, up there in sparcely populated Wasila. Everytime she speaks, she illustrates how little she knows about the world, and it's because she's been in a non-competative intellectual environment her whole life. Sure, she probably reads books, and she may even be pretty clever, but she's had no exposure to the conflict and competition that she claims is the foundation of American exceptionalism.

Instead of competing, when any of these "so called" experts come up, she just tries to put them down because they are from a big city, or went to a fancy school. Here's a newsflash though, many big city, fancy school kids were born in small towns, and moved to the city to become the best at what they do.

[zuffaloo]

Read books? Maybe Dr. Seuss...

[formerprosecutor]

Glamour, American Rifleman, Outdoor life, Woman's day, but BOOKS, come on..

[ronnierayjenkins]

You would have to be a poor judge not to immediately see that Palin is into herself more than anything. She thinks she is still in a beauty pageant.

http://ugv.abcnews.go.com/player.aspx?id=6305372