[longtermmemmory]

in 1996 McCain followed and campaigned with Dole.

McCain with a few changes copied dole. Other than picking a conservative, he did the whirlwind push the final days.

McCain thought he was “just picking a woman”, he was wrong and did not understand it was the candidate’s conservatism that made the case.

NOBODY here had any illusions about McCain.

Senator Palin would be the counter balance for Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

[newnhdad]

You know, I forgot about that. This mirrored the 96 campaign in so many ways. They were disorganized, egocentric, and appeared desperate at times. Neither McCain nor Dole posed a serious threat and all the dem had to do is shut up and coast to the finish with a lot of help from the willing media lapdogs.
I worked on the Clinton/Gore 96 campaign and they knew from the outset that victory was assured, all they wanted to do is to claim a mandate with an overwhelming victory, which they never got. I'll never forget the disrespect they showed Dole and nobody really called them out on it, except me.