How McCain Wins (McCain unhappy with how staff has handled Palin)

NYT ^ | WILLIAM KRISTOL

[Chet 99]

-snip-

With respect to his campaign, McCain needs to liberate his running mate from the former Bush aides brought in to handle her — aides who seem to have succeeded in importing to the Palin campaign the trademark defensive crouch of the Bush White House. McCain picked Sarah Palin in part because she’s a talented politician and communicator. He needs to free her to use her political talents and to communicate in her own voice.

I’m told McCain recently expressed unhappiness with his staff’s handling of Palin. On Sunday he dispatched his top aides Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis to join Palin in Philadelphia. They’re supposed to liberate Palin to go on the offensive as a combative conservative in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday.

That debate is important. McCain took a risk in choosing Palin. If she does poorly, it will reflect badly on his judgment. If she does well, it will be a shot in the arm for his campaign.

In the debate, Palin has to dispatch quickly any queries about herself, and confidently assert that of course she’s qualified to be vice president. She should spend her time making the case for McCain and, more important, the case against Obama. As one shrewd McCain supporter told me, “Every minute she spends not telling the American people something that makes them less well disposed to Obama is a minute wasted.”

[dbacks]

[Just to head you off at the pass, John, it is too late for a campaign staff shakeup.]

But not too late for a’ come to Jesus’ confab, John <-> Staff!

[cookcounty]

She should not have done the interview with PickleFace Katy....

, she should only do live interviews (to cut out the hatchet people) with local TV in states markets where we need a boost.

[ncalburt]

No this will be a big event.
She generates alot of female interest .
The media is lurking around again like the Convention hoping for a crash .

[MCH]

...aides who seem to have succeeded in importing to the Palin campaign the trademark defensive crouch of the Bush White House.

Boy is this right. Bush aides imported to wussify even more Repubs - wonderful. They should be fired immediately. We need fighters not whipping boys. That's all Bush has become lately, being led around by the nose, push a flaming liberal, socialist bailout agenda, and all the while bending over & taking all the vile liberal lies & attacks without ever saying a thing. How pathetic & embarrassing he's become.

[Neu Pragmatist]

Damn good question ! I didn’t know this either ....

I must add that this is one of the few times I agree with Kristol, he’s right ....

[unspun]

If McCain thinks he can win by letting Sarah Palin do his hard work for him, he's lost.

McCain himself needs to accurately define Barack Obama to the American voter as the unAmerican, radical plant that he is.

He must hit hard and relentlessly with facts, facts, and more facts -- then put them in perspective. That is McCain's job not Sarah Palin's.

Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis

"Conspicuous in their absence are any connections at all with any other group, moderate, or even mildly leftist. They are all radicals, firmly bedded in the anti-American, communist, socialist, radical leftist mesh."

Whether by Fabianist incrementalism, or by catastrophe and revolution, the Socialists win by their strategy -- unless we expose them.
It is our job, too. Please tell every one of your contacts -- and email them.

[Gene Eric]

>> liberate his running mate from the former Bush aides brought in to handle her

Well, there ya’ go. It all make sense now.

[brushcop]

You’d better “liberate” Sarah JohnnyMac and quick, or it’s all over for you bud...

She outshines all of you and you keep a lid on her like you’re ashamed except when you let her out for show and tell. Let her out and STAND ASIDE, the REAL show’s in town!

[ncalburt]

Its that lousy Davis, He is a moron.

[ClancyJ]

They are probably counting on her ability to reach people. She sure sent lightning through those meeting her for the first time. That same power can reach people that only watch CBS, NBC, ABC - she just needs the chance to let them see her.

Having her only on Fox cuts down her ability to reach liberals. They will not be watching BOR or Hannity.

[bubbrubb]

I think this all started when they did the lipstick on a pig and actually reacted. I would have just let it pass, let the media draw attention to it. Shes a tough cookie, unlike the victim Hillary.

[igoramus08]

They definitely have to take off the “Please sucker punch me” shirts.

[TASMANIANRED]

Turn Sarah lose on the corrupt Dem Pols...

She took on the Repubs in Alaska.. Let her bite a few more in the butt.

[latina4dubya]

Exactly , no edit jobs anymore !

didn't i hear she's going back for more from Katie Couric? how stupid can they be?

[LucyJo]

BUMP!

[cookcounty]

"The Bush Administration has been nothing short of a complete and total public relations nightmare. I don’t see how or why anyone running for president would look at the way Bush has let the media basically beat him into a pulp without so much as a whimper, and think that this is exactly the kind of approach that is needed"

My sentiments exactly.

W's media team is astonishly incompetent. I'd be embarrassed to sit at the same table with these wimps and milquetoasts.

[zwerni]

VP debates are unwatched by almost everyone. Certainly unwatched by anyone whose mind is not made up. We don’t need to concentrate time on events that don’t attract moderate women voters. They are the only ones left who aren’t committed, and they aren’t going to be watching a VP debate. -- I TOTALLY DISAGREE. THIS DEBATE WILL HAVE VERY HIGH RATINGS.

[Brimack34]

I was told VP’s do not matter. Now they could lose the election. Why is so much pressure put on the women? Never before has a VP been set to such a high standard. I call it sexism.

[Cicero]

This is exactly what I said earlier, in response to the news that Palin has agreed to another interview with the Perky One.

I said don’t blame Palin. She’s just doing what the McCain campaign asks her to.

I didn’t realize they had a bunch of Bush losers handling her. Maybe that’s why they just switched the location for her to prep for the VP debate? To get her away from the Bush idiots and give her some decent help and guidance.

McCain’s own campaign seemed to have turned around these past couple of months. Discouraging that it still evidently needs more shaking up. But thank God they finally realized that and now hopefully will do it.

[ncalburt]

Really , I think it was letting OBama drones like Gibson get away with all there camera and gotcha tricks.
These Bush PR idiots are raging morons that allowed Bush to get set up time after time.
Why the hell let Katy Koran and Charles Gibson interview at all . They are the old Obama media .