Posted on 04/23/2009 6:43:40 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
(CNN) John McCains general election campaign began as the strategic equivalent of throwing a football through a tire at 50 yards and was doomed weeks before Election Day, his former chief strategist said Thursday.
We were running a campaign under extra difficult circumstances the state of the Republican Party, the presidents unpopularity, the economy a lot of issues that were not John McCains fault, but were John McCains problem in this race, Schmidt told an audience at the University of Delaware, according to Politico. When Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall I knew pretty much right away that
from an electoral strategy perspective, the campaign was finished.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
Chris Simcox is running.
With aides like that, McCain didn’t need any enemies. Cheez.
I propose we temporarily suspend all rules relating to profanity, personal attacks and threats of violence for this one thread...
mccain’s an ass.
he should retire and let new blood into the senate.
“Senior McCain aide: The GOP is a ‘shrinking entity’...”
Well, according to the McCain definition of GOP... I suppose it is.
but GOP /= Conservative and we are just beginning to fight.
So was Reagan, for that matter.
How about a name? I wanna know who each of my enemies are.
Schmidt. Gotta remember to read the article before posting.
RINOs and neo-cons....They’ve sacrificed conservative values on the alter of “Go Team!”....and ruined the party.
Reagan supported a limited amnesty without lots of weasel words.
When Obama went around the battleground states, especially in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and even in California, proposing to tax and spend our way out of our problems, while blaming it all on Bush, McCain had no come-backs, on the economy - or to put it correctly, McCain offered no comebacks to Obama on the economy; when he could have said: “My opponent is offering for the government to tax and spend us out of the current problems. So, ask your self, here in xxxxxxxxxx (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and yes even California), hows that been working for you recently??”
Instead McCain's only economic ploy was his same “bash the greedy” populist sentiments, which impressed no one.
McCain lost, because he was never expected or entitled to win - he was a nice guy, a war hero, a “maverick” populist, without a plan, an agenda or an idea of his own, beyond the insipid celebration of who he is. He insulted the GOP base, for years, tried to play nice with conservatives in the short period leading to the primaries, went to the largest conservative PAC gathering and told them, in the politest of terms, he respectfully was not one of them; built no major grass-roots get out the vote organization (from what), picked Palin to account for his own conservative weakness, and then, and now blames her for not making up for all his deficits. Ego.; Ego; Ego.
Let's fix that title:
Senior McCain aide: The GOP Is A 'Shrinking Entity' Thanks To RINOs Like John McCain
Reagan trusted the democrats to hold up their end of the deal - put teeth in border enforcement and no more amnesties.
Trusting democrats to be as good as their word turned out to be a major mistake.
I meant to put that term in quotes, for the media impression it represents; missed them when my fingers went faster than my brain.
Geez with friends like these who needs enemies. Nicole Wallace and Schmidt are both bastards. Let’s face facts, John McCain NEVER wanted to become President. If he did he would have tried just a wee bit harder actually FIGHTING to win. No, instead he bends over and kissed Obama’s ass whenever he had the chance. From saying “Don’t be afraid of Obama, he would make a great President” comment, to going to Washington to vote for a bailout that NO ONE wanted, to those boring as hell debates that he had with Obama that I could have literally kicked Obama’s ass on without any preparation time. He chose Sarah so that he would have someone to blame for the loss. He never expected to win and he never really wanted to win. He became jealous after seeing Sarah get all of the spotlight and all of the support. I watched the majority of the rallies that McCain and Palin had and I would see after Sarah would be finished talking people would actually leave when John came to the podium to talk. They didn’t give a damn about him, they came to see HER and that ate him alive. I am sick of these Beltway Republicans talking trash about a human being who busted her ass to get Yosemite Sam into the White House. They don’t appreciate the time and effort she gave on getting his stupid ass elected. They are worse then scum
No harm no foul.
I am waiting for someone to say:
“We don’t need any advice from the losers!”
And McCain hung her out to dry when he got a better deal from the empty suit.
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