http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday. Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue." A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out. McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan. A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign. "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. "Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom." A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions. But this Palin source acknowledged that Palin is trying to take more control of her message, pointing to last week's impromptu news conference on a Colorado tarmac. Tracey Schmitt, Palin's press secretary, was urgently called over after Palin wandered over to the press and started talking. Schmitt tried several times to end the unscheduled session. "We acknowledge that perhaps she should have been out there doing more," a different Palin adviser recently said, arguing that "it's not fair to judge her off one or two sound bites" from the network interviews. The Politico reported Saturday on Palin's frustration, specifically with McCain advisers Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. They helped decide to limit Palin's initial press contact to high-profile interviews with Charlie Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, which all McCain sources admit were highly damaging. In response, Wallace e-mailed CNN the same quote she gave the Politico: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there." But two sources, one Palin associate and one McCain adviser, defended the decision to keep her press interaction limited after she was picked, both saying flatly that she was not ready and that the missteps could have been a lot worse. They insisted that she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain's record. Schmitt came to the back of the plane Saturday to deliver a statement to traveling reporters: "Unnamed sources with their own agenda will say what they want, but from Gov. Palin down, we have one agenda, and that's to win on Election Day." Yet another senior McCain adviser lamented the public recriminations. "This is what happens with a campaign that's behind; it brings out the worst in people, finger-pointing and scapegoating," this senior adviser said. This adviser also decried the double standard, noting that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, has gone off the reservation as well, most recently by telling donors at a fundraiser that America's enemies will try to "test" Obama. Tensions like those within the McCain-Palin campaign are not unusual; vice presidential candidates also have a history of butting heads with the top of the ticket. John Edwards and his inner circle repeatedly questioned Sen. John Kerry's strategy in 2004, and Kerry loyalists repeatedly aired in public their view that Edwards would not play the traditional attack dog role with relish because he wanted to protect his future political interests. Even in a winning campaign like Bill Clinton's, some of Al Gore's aides in 1992 and again in 1996 questioned how Gore was being scheduled for campaign events. Jack Kemp's aides distrusted the Bob Dole camp and vice versa, and Dan Quayle loyalists had a list of gripes remarkably similar to those now being aired by Gov. Palin's aides. With the presidential race in its final days and polls suggesting that McCain's chances of pulling out a win are growing slim, Palin may be looking after her own future. "She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," Democratic pollster Peter Hart said. "And the difficulty is, when she went on 'Saturday Night Live,' she became a reinforcement of her caricature. She never allowed herself to be vetted, and at the end of the day, voters turned against her both in terms of qualifications and personally."
Is that like a guy going commando? Seriously, none of this could be surprising. She is furiously headstrong and non-self-reflective. "You cannot blink." Apparently this means you can never question your first thought or reaction to a situation. You cannot do your homework. You cannot show modesty. You cannot show the ability to see yourself or reflect. "You cannot blink." Without an ounce of self doubt, she is the hyperbolic peak of arrogance colliding with willfully nurtured ignorance. I'm sure McCain would go back to Ridge if he had the chance now. I do feel sorry for him. But I feel sorry for America is Palin's career in politics can continue for very long, whether their ticket wins or loses.
I have zero sympathy for McCain. It's his own poor judgment that got him to where he is and he deserves everything happening now. When someone who wants my vote for president makes such an incredibly idiotic decision in choosing a running mate, he/she has to live with the consequences. rimrocker, well said.
The media's unabashed assault on McCain/Palin continues... All of this is in an effort to create an 'aura of invincibility for their candidate who can't do it on his own... I guess they are having to pick up the slack since Snobama is in Hawaii...
God help us if Palin is the front-runner for the Republicans next election. She's such a ****ing joke. There are so many more qualified Republicans.
QFT. Frankly all of this shouldn't be surprising, given all the stories we heard about her rise to power in Alaska which were readily dismissed by those on the right as mere smears. It only serves to reinforce what anyone who is honest with themselves knows: this woman is ambitious, power-hungry, and does not hesitate to show ruthlessness and vindictiveness in her quest to get to the top. It's rather obvious now that from the moment she got the call from John McCain all she had on her mind was her personal presidential ambition. And now she thinks she can get there by her rabble-rousing politics and employing the same ruthless and narcissistic methods that took her to the governor's mansion in Juneau. God forbid this woman should ever lead America. God forbid.
On one hand, I'd welcome a Palin presidential nomination because that should be an easy win for the Democrats. The old saying goes "you never get a second chance to make a first impression". Well, she's made her first impression and nobody but the hardcore right likes the woman. The fact that Republicans who are voting for Obama are citing the Palin choice as their primary reason for switching sides is very telling. The fact that polls suggest that Palin is the biggest drag on McCain's campaign is very telling as well. Even if she educates herself and really develops over the next 8 years, I don't know if she can change the image most of America has of her right now. On the other hand. I don't want even the slightest chance of her becoming president. Honestly, I think the best situation is if Barack becomes a great president and it forces the Republican Party to reinvent itself. They need to reevaluate everything about the party and make necessary changes. Maybe then they'll be able to provide a legitimate alternative instead of being the poo flinging crap factory they are now. The core of the conservative philosophy isn't bad but it's been horribly corrupted. It's like they've let the inmates run the asylum. They need a period of upheaval where they restore order to the party and put the fringe wackos back in their cages.
I personally feel like the republicans are trying to lose this election. I believe Palin has a future in politics, but she has much to learn. If she continues on her current path, then she won't be around for long. As for McCain, he has done very little to explain what he would do for this country. Im split between a guy who has given little insight for what he plans to do vs a party puppet. Every other day, I get mailers from the republican party with Obama's name in bold print and his mug spread across it, using scare tactics why I shouldn't vote for him. Everyone is tired of this tactic, and quite frankly, it doesn't take much wisdom to realize it won't work. Hopefully after this election, the republicans will wise up and clean house.
I hope the McCain advisers are going to throw her under the bus. She's inadequate, but it was McCain who chose her. She's a spendaholic anyways her and her bridges to nowhere and pipelines that won't get built. Can we get a fiscal conservative back on the republican ticket? These neo-con imposters ruined the party.
That sounds way too familiar. I don't have a link on this but I heard something on the news yesterday that Ridge is criticizing the McCain campaign for their choice of Palin and that if he had been chosen they might have PA.
I don't know that the media has to do that. He IS in the lead. Furthermore I think "unabashed" better applies to the conservative talk show hosts. They will LITERALLY say anything.
Ditto for Charlie Crist about Florida, though he didn't come out and criticize McCain. His words were tart enough that everyone understood how he felt Forget "pit bull with lipstiick". Palin is Bush with lipstick.
I was actually a bit concerned that Ridge might be the guy. A classic Moderate Republican, he would have appealed to independents and conservative Democrats. And he might have helped McCain take Pennsylvania. Picking Palin turned out to be one of the best moves McCain made... for my party.
