Internal Battles Divided McCain and Palin Camps

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I also think these anonymous McCain aides are cowards.

They had been setting her up as a scapegoat for a month and she even apologized if she lost McCain any votes. That seems as poorly crafted as a lot of things that happened during McCain's campaign. It's ridiculous how much the McCain campaign began to bail out of this election and allow Palin to get the majority of the attention. It's like they just gave up. I believe it was all so they can say she was "going rogue" or that her perceived stupidity was unbeknownst to McCain and his aides.

This all actually may be true, but I'm not sure it deserves that much derision - after all, Obama had effectively "won" months ago, and the McCain camp knew that before the last debate. In that regard, I don't blame the campaign for having other interests in mind, even if those interests were selfish or silly. The Newsweek series of articles is fascinating on that point . . .

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I've heard Palin called "diamond in the rough" and that she just needs some grooming. If that's the case, McCain people should've known that the fancy clothes and tutoring sessions were a total waste.

. . . and on this one - it turns out, the McCain camp had the EXACT reaction we did on GC (that Palin undermined her own strongest attributes through her shopping excess, when she was told to go much lower). Of course, the "three sides to every story" corollary plays strongly here, and likely the truth is in the middle, but it certainly does appear that the backbiting and infighting came as soon as Obama started to really take over, around the end of summer, and that many were trying to get what they could for themselves out of it. Very interesting stuff.

[Tinia2]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I also think these anonymous McCain aides are cowards.

They had been setting her up as a scapegoat for a month and she even apologized if she lost McCain any votes. That seems as poorly crafted as a lot of things that happened during McCain's campaign. It's ridiculous how much the McCain campaign began to bail out of this election and allow Palin to get the majority of the attention. It's like they just gave up. I believe it was all so they can say she was "going rogue" or that her perceived stupidity was unbeknownst to McCain and his aides.

I've heard Palin called "diamond in the rough" and that she just needs some grooming. If that's the case, McCain people should've known that the fancy clothes and tutoring sessions were a total waste.

Seems as if at least in one case they are not only cowards they do not exist at all!!!
I was web surfing a few of my political news sites and came across the following story on the NY Times web site:
A Senior Fellow at the Institute of Nonexistence
It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.
Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.
Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.
And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.......................
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/ar...on/13hoax.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/13/arts/13hoax.php

[Scandia]

I hope this is not the case. We need to be united in order to accomplish our goals.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

It's one thing to be kind of dumb, but it would seem really almost impossible that one could be a college graduate and be that bad off.

That's one of the main reasons I'm calling shenanigans on this one.

Originally Posted by KSigkid

There's this belief in Presidential history that you can't accurately judge a President's administration for a number of years. I forget the exact number, but I think the point is to let history play out, then take an objective look (as much as possible) about that President's policies and how they shaped the future.

I tend to think the same of Presidential campaigns. The emotions are too raw right after the election, especially on the losing side. I would take anything that comes out with a grain of salt. In a few years, people will be better able to tell the story without most of the emotional baggage.

So very true. I've seen campaign people going at each other's throats months or years after a failed campaign. It's not very adult behavior. I keep going back to "Never get emotionally involved in an election you can't afford to lose."

Let me add my congratulations to those who worked for Barack Obama's win. And may both camps realize how seriously we need to unite this country.

[DrPhil]

Difference between book smarts and common sense.

The "potatoE" incident is a common mistake for educated and uneducated people to make. It was good for jokes but the media made it a huge deal.

He said other dumb stuff. I felt sorry for Quayle because he couldn't catch a break.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Difference between book smarts and common sense.

The "potatoE" incident is a common mistake for educated and uneducated people to make. It was good for jokes but the media made it a huge deal.

He said other dumb stuff. I felt sorry for Quayle because he couldn't catch a break.

And in the potato incident, he was apparently provided with an incorrectly spelled answer sheet or cue card. Weird that they would provide one, but if you were serving as a spelling judge and were provided with an answer sheet, it would be an awkward moment either way.

I don't really have any feelings about Quayle. I probably wouldn't describe him as book smart. I just don't consider him to be proof that Palin is really dumb, unless the real point is that having your stupid mistaken comments repeated over and over make people assume you're an idiot even if you aren't.

[Tinia2]

Some of Gov. Palin's comments on/about stories:
Back at work, Palin vents a bit over campaign criticism

OUT OF CONTEXT: Governor says some in national media were unprofessional.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/582697.html

Palin denounces critics as cowardly; GOP lawyers try to sort out her RNC-paid for clothing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/p...,4245268.story

And this story, which I found while reading some of the above, sent a chill down my spin. At first I thought it was about/from a direct report or press release from US Secret Serevice. However it seems to be just a few more details from the Newsweek story. Which would not seem to change all too much.
Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ack-Obama.html

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Tinia2

Some of Gov. Palin's comments on/about stories:
Back at work, Palin vents a bit over campaign criticism

OUT OF CONTEXT: Governor says some in national media were unprofessional.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/582697.html

Palin denounces critics as cowardly; GOP lawyers try to sort out her RNC-paid for clothing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/p...,4245268.story

And this story, which I found while reading some of the above, sent a chill down my spin. At first I thought it was about/from a direct report or press release from US Secret Serevice. However it seems to be just a few more details from the Newsweek story. Which would not seem to change all too much.
Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ack-Obama.html

To hold Palin responsible for the reaction of some crazy people is a little unfair, considering what her comments actually were. If an accusation of "palling around with a terrorist" is supposed to actually equal inciting violence, I can only imagine what the far left is guilty of in their anti-Bush rhetoric.

ETA: As near as I can tell the Secret Service doesn't "blame" Palin. They, more logically, note the correlation of the rallies with the spike. I'd be interested in knowing how many threats there were, how many were regarded as credible, and how the numbers compare to other elections and other rallies. Palin's rhetoric just seems so relatively tame to have "incited" anything.

[Benzgirl]

I tend to believe Palin on many of her claims that much of the information leaked to the media was either false or taken out of context.

[Tinia2]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

I tend to believe Palin on many of her claims that much of the information leaked to the media was either false or taken out of context.

Benzgirl;
Seems as if some agree with you:
Duprey, Schmidt deny Newsweek report


Two top McCain aides are denying parts of Newsweek’s reconstruction of the 2008 race, a 50,000-word behind-the-scenes view of both campaigns that includes reporting done under the precondition that it wouldn’t be published until after Tuesday.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/michae...ek_report.html

[AnchorAlumna]

Looks like they're stoking the publicity fires before they publish their book. It's ALL about the money, folks.

[AnchorAlum]

And considering the brilliant campaign McCain's people ran, they won't get jobs in Washington.

While this is a plus for campaigns everywhere, let's be real. They need to write those books cause unemployment is a bitch.

I'm actually looking forward to Palin's interview tomorrow night with Greta van Susteren on Fox. It will be her first real sit down since the election and these little amateurs will be shredded, or so I hope.

It's just ridiculous, regardless of which side of the aisle you're inhabiting.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

I'm actually looking forward to Palin's interview tomorrow night with Greta van Susteren on Fox. It will be her first real sit down since the election and these little amateurs will be shredded, or so I hope.

It's just ridiculous, regardless of which side of the aisle you're inhabiting.

Wow, what time is the interview? TIVO