Will Giuliani's Top Staff Lose Two Presidential Campaigns In One Year?

Back in June, many of us laughed and laughed at the idea that John McCain (R) and the RNC was putting the top staff to Rudy Giuliani's (R) disastrous presidential campaign to run the general election ground game.

Recall that Giuliani's campaign manager -- Mike DuHaime -- is McCain's political director and field general, and it was top Giuliani field staff (who worked for DuHaime) who were put in charge of the field effort in places like Ohio, Colorado, and Nevada -- red states where McCain now trails.

Back in June, The Atlantic's Mark Ambinder wondered "why DuHaime and the RNC did not recruit more field operatives who worked on Gov. Mitt Romney's more successful presidential campaign." Indeed, it was a great question and likely a reflection of the sheer lack of a McCain/RNC game plan at the time which allowed DuHaime to hire his buddies, rather than the best staff available.

I raise this because there's a great nugget in a Washington Post story today that relates to DuHaime's tactical decision-making that is making me laugh, and conservatives cry:

Mike DuHaime, McCain's political director, said internal campaign polling does not make the electoral map look as bad as some public polls suggest. For example: Asked why, if he has given up on Michigan, McCain has not given up on Iowa, a state that looks strong for Obama in public polls, DuHaime said because the campaign's polling has Obama's lead in the low single digits.

Yes, please keep sending McCain to Iowa and keep believing those internal numbers in the face of every other poll contradicting it. Pretty please.

Even McCain's former top lieutenant from his 2000 race, Mike Murphy, is losing his mind over these decisions. Here's what Murphy said more than a week ago:

So, 35 days left and McCain is in Iowa? Why put McCain in the wrong state, at the wrong place? No surprise the result is the wrong message and the wrong tone.

What's going to be fascinating is the post-mortem on McCain's loss. There will be so many things that will deserve a heap of blame for the tactical disasters of this race -- and I'm not referring to things that McCain can't control, like the financial crisis and President Bush's unpopularity -- I'm talking about things like:

• The influence of the Giuliani presidential trainwreck brought by DuHaime;
• The disastrous Rovian tactics brought by his disciple Steve Schmidt;
• The trainwreck of Sarah Palin (a pick Schmidt urged);
• The weekly collision of McCain's message of reform with the lobbyists who run his campaign -- like Rick Davis and Charlie Black;
• The disastrous comments by surrogates like Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina;
• McCain's own temper, gaffes, and willingness to regularly lie.

I could go on, but that's enough for now. We'll have much more fun dissecting this pig on November 5th.

But the Giuliani influence was a disaster waiting to happen and that was apparent from the outset, at least for many of us.

Mark Nickolas is the Managing Editor of Political Base, and this story was from his original post, "Will Giuliani's Top Staff Lose Two Presidential Campaigns In One Year?"

Follow Mark Nickolas on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mnickolas

Comments

[DASChicago]

Interestingly, McCain and thugs has kept him and Palin spewing... having all the answers i.e., catching Bin Laden, Medicare, Veterans assistance,energy, fixing the ecomony...­and anyone with even limited thinking can tell the zig zagging that he's displayed which is cerebrally clear does not confirm his competence. Then turns around and blames Obama for everything that has gone wrong, which has been very laughable.

Not talking about the economic crisis is what Barack says the American People might find him guilty of ...leaving the scene of the crime.

[RegLib]

It's not written anywhere, but what everyone knows is that the president has two essential responsibilities: Providing steady, reassuring leadership the the country and assembling a team of experts to actually run the country.

On the first, Obama has been rock-steady while McCain has been erratic and unfocused. I laughed heartily the other night when McCain said in the debate that we need a steady hand on the tiller.

On the second, the campaign team Obama put together has been almost pitch-perfect and way ahead of all the pundits who have tried to advise Obama to change directions over the past two years. They first ran circles around Senator Clinton's team, and now are doing the same to McCain's team. While in both cases the losing team was squawking endlessly about how their candidate was more experienced.

President Obama will put together an administration that is competent, moral, and focused. Something we havn't seen in America for a very long time.

[knowBuddhaU]

"Indeed, it was a great question and likely a reflection of the sheer lack of a McCain/RNC game plan at the time which allowed DuHaime to hire his buddies, rather than the best staff available.­"

Why on earth do you assume RNC's actions are rational? It's political, man! That means it's infused with religion, too.

So they stuck with their man, the insider, one of the good ol' boys, instead of going with the rational choice. Duh! The RNC, as opposed to rank and file Republicans (some of whom are my close friends and family), is run like a feudal fiefdom, for the benefit of the overlords at the expense of We, the Peasants, who are forced to do our work and that of our overlords.

Just look at their gated communities, country clubs, private castles, and ability to avoid actually doing any dirty work etc. and tell me you don't see a throwback to the Middle Ages. "Every man's home is his castle." Yeah right.

They rule by putting the "fear of god" into "subjects," which is what I suspect the APA is experimenting on in Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, the other "black" sites, and at least one US Navy base right here at home.

Jose Padilla is their role model for McCain's "fellow prisoners.­" I call it 'cellf-imp­risonment,­' based on its resemblance to the implosion that creates a black hole.

[Slice]

Look, I lived half my life in Australia, half in Manchester (England): Can I vote? Please? I mean, this is the leader of the 'free world' right? You guys own us. Please let me vote Obama.

[Academic]

If the political shenanigans of the Republican Party, American voters and media pundits were confined to the United States I honestly think most non-Americans wouldn't care less what you got up to. Our enforced problem is, they aren't and, therefore, impact on most countries worldwide, especially those the US thinks it has an omnipotent right to lecture and tell them how they should run their affairs. This is hypocrisy; particularly when your legislators, media and voters display the worst excesses of racism , disadvantage and intolerance at home. If what's going on in the McCain campaign and condoned by your media were happening in countries the US doesn't like or that had the temerity to criticize you for your double standards we wouldn't hear the last of it from CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC et al. That US voters can chant for the murder of an American citizen running for president simply because he's black and the media gives this a pass is beyond me. That John McCain can call Barack Obama "That One" - a remark he'd never use to another white and get a pass from the media says it all. My suggestion to American voters, legislators and media is to stay permanently at home, do what ever you want with your country but leave world affairs to the adults; since, quite simply, Americans aren't grown up, and have a long way to go if they ever manage to reach that stage.

Professor Dr. Stanley Collymore
London, England.

[Colmore]

Well said. Seems to me that the average British citizen is more informed than the American citizen about US politics. This is a dirty, slimy business. You are correct, the media does not do their job. Last night Katie Couric aired part of a McCain townhall meeting. A big, rough man stood and ranted racist remarks. McCain turned away, but was smirking. It was so obvious this was a plant. The main stream media in this country has fallen, along with the GOP. People say McCain has changed. No, he has not. We are finally seeing the real McCain.

[Itchybiscuit]

I'm going to get a little geeky here so please bear with me.

During WWII, the allied Bomber Command came up with a spiffing wheeze. They developed a device called 'Window'. This consisted of tens of thousands' strips of aluminium foil which were dropped from bombers over Germany to confuse German radar operators. The foil strips gave false radar readings so that German night fighters went after the foil strips rather than the bombers themselves.

Translate this to Republican attacks... They throw out lots of accusations which deflect the MSM from the real issues at stake in this election. Lots of shiny foil strips to delight and distract the 'talking heads'.

Hope I didn't bore you all.

[acv]

I’m still not comfortable with the assumption Obama will win. I agree that McCain’s conflicting messages, complete confusion and everything Palin is causing the campaign to come apart at the seams, but I’m still worried. Until recently I always agreed that Obama would lose votes because of his race but I never thought, like I do now, that he could lose the election because of his race. It’s as if this underlying anger is about to bubble over and became absolute hate focused on Obama and the “radical left.” This also worries me because the world is watching and waiting. The American people have always had the support of the world and will be forgiven for the sins of Bush and Cheney. We will not be so forgiven if we elect McCain and Palin.

[Decipherer]

We should worry and take nothing for granted until we learn about 9:00pm EST or so on Nov. 4 that Barack Obama has secured ~320 electoral votes as a result of the presidential election.

What concerns me is that the GOP, Rove, and McCain have a nasty October surprise up their sleeves, something far nastier even than the present financial meltdown which as negative and scary as it is, seems to be breaking in Obama's favor from a political standpoint.

No, I mean something along the lines of a Reichstag fire scenario, which would play to our lizard brains, which is Bush-McCain territory. They've sacrificed our country on the altar of September 11, 2001, so why stop there?

We cannot let anything deter us from throwing the entire bunch out and soundly repudiate McCain - Palin.

Meanwhile, as you note, the "whole world's watching," to revive a slogan from 1968, most of which will heave a huge sigh of relief if Obama is elected. If not, God help us all -- worldwide.

[archimede]

dead on.....Pal­in threw McCain under the bus during the VP debate....­she was supposed to bolster the case for McCain, and also redeem herself after the horrific Couric interview.­...she "saved" herself to make the case for 2012...but you know what, her blind ambition for the highest office in the land is disgusting­....if they win, and anything happens to McCain, she'll have the easiest path to the presidency­.....she doesnt have to go through a year of campaigning in 2012....ta­lk about avoiding questions/­interviews­.....not that she cant answer, she doesnt understand the questions!­.....5 1/2 weeks in the public eye and you've been "vetted" and now its time to get booted out.

Lets Paint It Blue my friends :P,
Undecided no more

[longislandlol]

They claim to be the ones that work across the aisle and blah blah -but neo-cons only hire neo-cons- and losing campaigns remain bitterally partisan-- the winners are people like Barack and Mike Bloomberg who has slews of democrats working on his staffs-- good and winning pols need democrats- they are more intelligent to run things because they are a different breed from the repubs---

[vijay79]

don't gloat yet, we've seen democrats losing it at the end. Just hold your breath until the 4th (or the 5th) if thats what it takes.

[LHoney]

I believe that Al Gore was 10 points ahead in the polls at this point in his race... I smell something AWFUL coming!

[billbee]

I concur, it's not over, and it's no time for moral victories. Get ready to vote.

That said, must confide my enduring hope that Guliani goes into the hereafter with much shame and regret for his mocking moment at the RNC convention. If McCain loses, I might personally retrieve a video of that knuckle-dragging moment and send it to you Rudy...

[Openeyes]

Was this the same brilliant team that thought the first few states were too inconsequential to bother with, so they put all their chips on Florida, and by the time the Florida primaries rolled around, everyone else was so far ahead of Gulliani, he never recovered?

[Superb1]

It was interesting to see that MINI-b would reach out and tap rudy's people. Rudy never really stood a shot and he knew it but he had fun raising all that campaign cash.

[Cowboylove]

People should look carefully at how these two men have run their campaigns and whom they have surrounded themselves with. Obama has the most brilliant minds in the country. McCain has chosen people under investigation, people who created scandals and devastation in their companies or in the law, people who engineered the current financial crisis. One thing that cannot be disputed. McCain is simply awful at choosing people of character, integrity, competence or intelligence. One has to wonder why.

[Colmore]

He is just like them. He is a small man, with little honor or integrity. The image he made for himself as a hero and a maverick was just smoke and mirrors. He is a fake, and it is all coming around to bite him. Look at the way he treats Obama, as though he is beneath him. A man with a superiour education, who was not born to a wealthy, connected family. A self-made man of integrity, and McCain will not even look him in the face. Obama is twice the man McCain could only ever hope to be.

[JD2774]

Right now we would be in a very different position if Sarah Palin had not given the Katie Couric interview. If they had been able to delay her meltdown and eventual transformation into the nasty ignorant campaigner for just 3 or 4 weeks, the country might not have realized what a horrendous choice McCain made. Thank you Katie we owe you a debt of gratitude.

[EvasDaddy]

I agree, but the Republican base doesn't care about Palin's ignorance. They really don't.

We have an uphill climb to November 4th. McCain is pulling out all the stops from his reservoir of hate, and in case no one has noticed, hate is his strong suit.

They're lying, and people are buying it. Remember, these are the same people that got us into Iraq.

Do not rest. Volunteer, talk, donate. We can't afford to lose this election.

[arthur2008]

It was the mythological John McCain who won the nomination; unfortunately for the nominee, however, the real John McCain showed up for the campaign.

[dloitz]

I am saddened today because McCain and Palin have given some Americans a place to direct their angry and frustration. I never believed that this shift would be easy, we are seeing the need for change in a lot of things on this planet. But we need to remember that there is still some underlining hatred and fear of this change out there, We need to stand up and say "change the subject back to the issues". To the future, not to fear mongering. I ask that if you are reading blogs or news articles or talking to friends etc. that you use your energy or voice for positive important issues. We are this change. Barack Obama might be the candidate we support but he is not the end all be all of this change. He has said many times that he is just one of the voices....­. and that we as a whole are the reason he is running. So change the subject, change the need to get angry and realize the best way to change the mind of those who use fear is not to be afraid.

I am sadden today, but know I can choice to not be. So I smiling now, thinking about the beginning of change to a more positive future.

Smile it is coming soon.

www.VoteForChange.com

[EvasDaddy]

It's not time to be sad. Yet.

It's time to work. It's time to volunteer, or donate.

We can win this. We should win this.

Don't stop now.