Inside McCain's Campaign: A Mess Of Festering Feuds

Senator John McCain's campaigns have long been defined by internal squabbling and power plays, zigzagging lines of command and a penchant by the candidate for consulting with former advisers without alerting current ones, always a recipe for disquiet.

After a period of relative calm on that score, it is becoming clear that his campaign is once again a swirl of competing spheres of influence, clusters of friends, consultants and media advisers who represent a matrix of clashing ambitions and festering feuds. The cast includes the surviving members of Mr. McCain's 2000 campaign, led by Rick Davis and Mark Salter; a new camp out of the world of Karl Rove, led by the recently ascendant Steve Schmidt; and on the periphery, the ever-present Mike Murphy, Mr. McCain's strategist in the 2000 presidential race who has been dispensing advice to the candidate to the annoyance of the other camps, and is the subject of intensifying rumors in Republican circles that he is about to re-enter the campaign.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Pat15]

Never under-estimate the Repugs.... We will only do so on our own peril .... Look at the Boosh elections ..Here is a guy who is so inept in almost everything he has done... Look at his admisstration accomplishments ...NONE... Instead he made the biggest blunder to invade Iraq .. The list is too long the things he has screwed up but still we find people supporting him ... Truly Amazing The sheeple are still in line, NRA is still in line ... If we think Obama is automatic we got a thing or two coming at us ... It will be very unpleasant for Democrats ...Just wait until Nov rolls in & the mud start flying ... Repugs have made an art of winning election & we the Democrtas of losing ... If a war hero such as John Kerry can lose against a AWOL National gaurd man whose record of duty cant be verified ...& who cant debate or speak proper english .. who has policized every Federal agency ..we can only ignore Repugs Success at winning elections at our own peril ...

Amen

[oscartucker]

Please read:http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html

[jupitor]

Every things going so poorly, they can't figure out who should be running what any more! When one lobbyist fails, pull in another one or go back to the good old days of 2000 and grab one of the old guys from the past! Ya, let me know how that works for ya Mccain! This poor old guy, don'lt know if he's comeing or going and really couldn't keep his thought on the track on Cnn today! That was the most confused answers I've heard so far out of him! He makes a fool of himself every time he's confronted with questions. But than he don't do so good ont hose dull speeches he gves either. I always want to go up there and give the speech for him, so it makes some sense. I almost feel sorry for the poor old guy. Some one should tell him, he don'lt make sense 90% of the time he talks.

[wm1066]

McCain is Pinochio with his strings attached to the Whitehouse.
He is not his own man, he hasn't a clear message, to many strings to Lobbyists. Everyone pulling him thier way.
Since he isn't calling the shots( remember HE didn't announce the shake up, they had him out of the country). His presidency would be a mess too.

[RatgurlSD]

Sounds like McCain took some pages out of the Hillary Clinton Playbook. (No offense to HC, but she DID run her campaign poorly.) Is it possible it's an age thing? I'm just looking for a pattern.

[dejtemper]

I hope every word of this is true.

[trollsbwild]

They will miraculously "unify" when the 527's start their attack ads. I could care less that there is some disagreement in the GOP ranks.
I'm hoping the Dems don't manage to screw up and repeat 2004. Seriously, how in the hell could you lose in 2004 after Bush's first term?

[IowaKid]

Because of the Al Queda scare plastered all over every tv network in the country. Worked like a charm didn't it.

[Totto]

By not responding forcefully to the RNC/Rove attack ads and being vulnerable to their lies.
The lack of Democratic unity didn't help either. Internal bickering and lack of focus,
Republicans/Authoritarians are single-minded if nothing else.

[blaqntelligence]

Naked, exaggerated, exploited, inflated, abused, misused, manipulated Fear.

From 9/11 until the 2004 joke of an election, how many times a week did we awaken to a color-coded alert? Complete with survival tips? Duct tape and plastic anyone?

From then til now, how many?

[RatgurlSD]

Don't forget enough water to last 10 days!

Oh, it was orange alert just a few days ago. But they didn't bother notifying anyone ('cause it was probably just practice).

[gladys46]

Didn't those "alerts" end just after Bu$h's 2004 selection!!? The wholesale of "fear" evaporated!

[ilikbshbtntgeo]

Despite the enormous weaknesses of McCain's campaign and McCain himself, it will be a close race. There are a lot of scared white people out there and they ain't voting for no "colored" even if, in reality, their best chance for a better life is with Obama. People in this country are purposely ignorant and literally will fight rather than to acknowledge a reality they don't like or which is not convenient.

[blaqntelligence]

Sad but true.
But I am encouraged that the oldsters who won't vote for that "colored" man are dying out. And the young racists taking up their mantle of ignorance are, or will be, so marginalized, their opinions and attitudes will go the way of 99cent/gallon gas.

[kay]

McCain would be the shortest President since Adams. He's 5' 6"

True. I wonder if the height advantage that plays out in hiring decisions will play out here.

[MsLiz]

How tall was McCain when he was 20?

[gladys46]

Don't know ... but, what I do know is that age shrinks more than height!!

[gladys46]

Little man syndrome? I think he's mean, napoleonic complexes! His secret service hires aren't difficult ... but, a VP how short are those potentials?

[kay]

Remember when Huckabee said Romney looks like the guy who laid you off?

Cindy McCain looks like the woman who snubbed you on your first foray to the country club.

She's why you didn't go back :)

[emmaspeaks]

Actually, she's the follower, a 'popular rich girl' want to be...she has the money, where's the rest?

[gladys46]

Kay, to your post re Mc not ascribing to his very own spending ... MSM turns the other way again just for Mc. While the Republican Governor's Association (RGA) pumps out misleading ads against O spending huge amounts of so-called "soft money" ... ah, all UNREGULATED ... MSM doesn't see it as news worthy!!?

This is precisely what O explained ... this is exactly why O decided not to accept tax-payer $$$!

As you, I'm so glad O's was on the case!

[Zoolie]

Operation Chaos backfired!!!

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Fatty's audience could not even affect the outcome of the republican primaries. What makes you think they can affect the dem primaries?

[WillNYC]

Imagine the White House under McCain. Scary!!!

[Grunty1]

Why imagine it? It will look virtually identical to the current B'ush White House!

[BassMent]

A campaign full of competing consultants with conflicting interests prevents the candidate from solidifying a message. This same scenario plagued Senator Clinton's campaign, and one of the major problems identified in the post mortem on her campaign was a lack of a consistent and clear message.

McCain is obviously in the same predicament. What has his message been so far?

"THAT'S not change you can believe in." (grin)
"I am experience you can believe in."
"I am not a scary black man who's soft on terrorists."
"Read my lips... no new taxes."
"You'll love my gas tax holiday!"
"Did I mention that I'm a maverick?"
"I am old."

Hardly inspiring stuff in any election year, but placed side by side with Obama's message of hope and change, it's hard to imagine how McCain is going to get people enthused about voting for him.

[blaqntelligence]

I have a weird feeling that as November gets closer, we are going to see raw racism come into play. Maybe not directly from his camp, but enough to get those "hardworking.....American's" to muttering around their plug of chaw....
"Ah won't do it....No way no colored guy is gonna be the boss of me."

[gladys46]

One of the more egregious ... that's torture ... ah, maybe not!!

[NotMcCain]

So, McSame's campaign doesn't even have the level of loyalty and discipline that GWB does?

This is exactly how he would run the White House.

Bush + Nixon.

How can anyone still be voting for this guy?

[DennyCrane]

While I would never vote against a candidate because of their wife (unless it was revealed she was going to head up health care reform), that picture of Cindy McCain shows a woman who projects no charisma whatsover. Can't she even fake some charm or friendliness?

[blaqntelligence]

When you're worth 100 million dollars you don't have to fake a thing......

[MsLiz]

Charm removed by liposuction.

[doctorwang]

....and Botox.

[wilburr0g]

Inside McSpongeBath's campaign plane: a mess of festering adult diapers.

[wilburr0g]

Reporter: "What is that godawful smell in here?"
McGrandpoop: "Depends..."