The Making (and Remaking) of McCain (NY Times Magazine)

[GoesTo11]

10 page article full of descriptions of McCain's dishonorable and unfocused campaign. Coming out in print Sunday.

SNIP

"McCain might well be advised to go with a safe pick as his running mate.

Then for a half-hour or so, the group reviewed names that had been bandied about in the past: Gov. Tim Pawlenty (of Minnesota) and Gov. Charlie Christ (of Florida); the former governors Tom Ridge (Pennsylvania) and Mitt Romney (Massachusetts); Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut); and Mayor Michael Bloomberg (New York). From a branding standpoint, they wondered, what message would each of these candidates send about John McCain? McInturff’s polling data suggested that none of these candidates brought significantly more to the ticket than any other.

“What about Sarah Palin?” Schmidt asked.

After a moment of silence, Fred Davis, McCain’s creative director (and not related to Rick), said, “I did the ads for her gubernatorial campaign.” But Davis had never once spoken with Palin, the governor of Alaska. Since the Republican Governors Association had paid for his work, Davis was prohibited by campaign laws from having any contact with the candidate. All Davis knew was that the R.G.A. folks had viewed Palin as a talent to keep an eye on. “She’d certainly be a maverick pick,” he concluded."

SNIP

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26mccain-t.html?hp

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. McKarloff

[ErinBerin84]

2. you should post some of the article

steve schmidt sounds like an idiot...."they're treating him like a CELEBRITY over there" (the overseas trip)...the room gasps...what a great idea! LOL. And the part about the McCain aide up late at the bar before the VP announcement all excited about the change in narrative, and when asked if Palin actually knows anything, he says "I have no idea".

[GoesTo11]

4. Good suggestion. I added a choice bit.

[brooklynite]

3. I think this explains a lot about the McCain campaign...

(Steve) Schmidt in particular was a believer in these kinds of defining moments. The smartest bit of political wisdom he ever heard was dispensed by George W. Bush one spring day at the White House residence in 2004...