Top McCain Aide: Press, Obama Made Him Change

The morning after John McCain's defeat, Mark Salter, McCain's closest aide and biographer, sipped coffee in the courtyard of the Biltmore Resort and Spa while explaining why the national political press had assisted Barack Obama. "On top of everything, we had a thumb on the scale," he said, referring to the media's role in refereeing the campaign. "It wasn't right, but it was what it was."

...

Salter said that McCain would have preferred to campaign in the general election in the same way he campaigned in New Hampshire, but that the press and Obama made that impossible. "I think if we had gotten 10 town halls out of Obama," Salter said, "it would have come close to that. McCain's ideal as a general would have been flying around on an airplane with Barack Obama, debating in town halls and having dinner with him afterwards."

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Comments

[hortonhearsawho]

Weekend at bernies: the presidential campaign, starring john .

[MzTexas]

For pity's sake! Get OVER the 10 town hall meetings already! Sounds like my kids fighting when they were 6 and 8 years old. But, but, but . . . he SAID he would! I don't want to play anymore.

[gle helle]

Would we have wanted a president that's so easily manipulated?

Also, I can't believe they're still crying about not getting the ten town halls. Did they not see what happened to McCain in one?

[seatea1967]

"Mister Puddles? Has anyone seen my little dog? Mister Puddles! I have snausages!"

[LeRoyHolt]

Let's see.... the President -elect would not run the way Sen McCain wanted him too, so that justified the tar and feather campaign?

So typically republican.... blame your opponent for your actions......

[Rosy]

Yep. The press made him change, Obama made him change. Whatever. If he'd won, what would the actual presidency have done to change him? He'd be a different guy every month.

Bottom line is one of two things. Either McCain was really this piece of slime all along and hid it well, or else he is a relatively decent guy whose over-arching ambition and desire to be president, fueled by desperation, caused him to sink to the slimeball tactics he used in the campaign. Either way, he lost, time to get over it, Mark.

[SamEllison]

Mark, you lost because you lost.
Stop blaming others.
Get over it.
Try a new message.