Free Republic

Ten days before the 2008 presidential election, as blame was beginning to be laid out for John McCain’s “likely defeat,” a top communications adviser to the campaign wrote a detailed strategy memo focused on how to preserve the reputation of another key adviser, Steve Schmidt, POLITICO has learned. *** The protective maneuver sheds more light on the final days of the 2008 campaign, a period of low morale marked by tensions between the Palin and McCain camps and the expectation of defeat. *** “Thankfully, and rightfully so, some members of the political punditry are already coming his defense (Rove, McKinnon,...

Some Republicans seeking to "rebrand" the party are looking to Meghan McCain -- daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- as a figure who can attract younger voters, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A prolific blogger and Twitter contributor, McCain in a recent blog post described herself as a "pro-sex, 'pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican,'" and some experts believe she could "be at the forefront of a new GOP breed: the 'Meghan McCain Republican,'" the Chronicle reports. However, some Republicans have criticized McCain's positions as departing too far from the party's core principals, while other critics have attacked her as a political...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is installing a Republican campaign and public relations strategist as his new communications director, part of a broader staff shake-up. Adam Mendelsohn will succeed Rob Stutzman, an influential advisor who will leave government to open a private political consulting business and to work on Schwarzenegger's reelection. (snip) Mendelsohn comes from the DCI Group, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying and public affairs firm. He was press secretary to Bruce McPherson, then a Republican state senator, in McPherson's losing bid for the lieutenant governor's seat in 2002. McPherson is now secretary of state. Mendelsohn also worked for Republican...