Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says

[Amelia]

Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says

From Dana Bash, Peter Hamby and John King

CNN

October 26, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) -- 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.

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. Watch why the campaign is fighting »

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.

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

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."

[Dr. Shane]

Well maybe she is more qualified than what many have been saying. Good for her!

[Woody]

Way to go Sarah. BE YOURSELF.

[Neil D]

Way to go Sarah. BE YOURSELF.

[BobRyan]

Wow that should be an easy ad hominem attack to "fully document" in about a week. But if all there is left to this campaign season - is hollow sniping at the personalities when we get to the last week of voting - it must mean that all minds have been made up -- no more actual facts to surface!

[Neil D]

But if all there is left to this campaign season - is hollow sniping at the personalities when we get to the last week of voting !

Excuse me? This lady is looking to go presidential in 2012 and you are thinking that we are "snipping at personalities"?....

ONE OF YOUR OWN is saying that this lady is a "diva" and can't have relationships of trust with anyone...and you want her elected to president??????

If this lady appeals to you, you are worse than I thought Bob...

[Dr. Shane]

She appeals to me but I have been around political campaigns since I was 18 years old. In fact, I have been involved in a political campaign every Presidential election as either a campaign worker or consultant since that age. This is the first election I haven't, which is by choice because I have been working the media end of it.

I wouldn't take the "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," as gospel truth. The more likely truth is she didn't take his advice. And really,,, look at where McCain is in the polls. Look at some of the things he has done like not preparing for the first debate, focusing on Aires and not the economy. If she thinks there is something wrong with McCain's advisers I would say she is right.

[Neil D]

[avoiding the personal references of what Shane has been doing since his 18 birthday and politics]

I wouldn't take the "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," as gospel truth. The more likely truth is she didn't take his advice. And really,,, look at where McCain is in the polls. Look at some of the things he has done like not preparing for the first debate, focusing on Aires and not the economy. If she thinks there is something wrong with McCain's advisers I would say she is right.

But this is only CONFIRMING what I have been telling you guys since she came on...The letter from Wascilla [or however you spell her mayoral city] says basically the same thing. She backstabbs everyone. She has ambition. She courted the Republican elite to get her name in the VP...

I tell you again...she's scary.....

[Woody]

Neil. You need to go back to Medford and learn a few things from your many girls.

[Neil D]

Neil. You need to go back to Medford and learn a few things from your many girls.

Who do you think is telling me to vote for Obama or that they will get underneath MY skin for making a big mistake.....

[Woody]

You mean to tell me that all 450,000 of them are in agreement?

[fccool]

If she thinks there is something wrong with McCain's advisers I would say she is right.

McCain does not have much choice to run a "He will" campaign instead of "I will" campaign. He will and has hard time to convince the disgruntled public that he is not just another 4 years of the same.

He and his advisers know that he can't win based on "I will", because public has heard this 4 and 8 years ago and nothing changed... well, nothing changed for the better.

On top of this Republicans are getting much blame for the current crisis, and McCain has not shown very thorough understanding of even basic economic principles. So, demagogy is his last resort.

What is even more surprising is that Palin considered to be a better presidential candidate than he is. So far she has not demonstrated understanding and education base that takes to be a leader of a nation.

But then again, we are living in the age of Bushes and Yeltsins... so nothing would surprise me.

[Dr. Shane]

Candidates for President that are sitting governors have always been criticized as not knowing enough or not having enough experience. Yet history shows they are more successful at winning the White House than senators have been. I am convinced that for the most part it comes down to character. Whoever becomes President will be surrounded with experts that have plenty of experience and knowledge. What we really need in a President is character and good judgment. From what I have seen of Sarah Palin, she has both of those.

[Neil D]

You mean to tell me that all 450,000 of them are in agreement?

Of course. They love thier pure nectar, and when GWB when and relaxed pesticide rules and cause thier nectar to be ladened with subleathal levels of toxin, they went absolutely crazy...hence the new beekeepers disorder- "Sudden Colony Collapse Disorder"...or CCD

And Red, I am not kidding...CCD came under his watch, and co-incited with the relaxing of testing. When beekeepers ask for testing, big Agro-Chemical raised their ugly heads and said "What? Me the bad guy here..I don't think so!" and fought the requests for testing.....

Do you realize that your peppers and melons, and most of your fruits and nuts come from the pollination of bees....?

[Woody]

I would not bee a bee expert ... but why don't ya test yur own bees? Why depend upon the government? Don't you have a bee organization that can be responsible? Let's have less rules and less government. Government always messes things up from what I've observed. We need to bee careful in putting the government in charge of anything. Including bees. You guys know more about bees than GW ... so do it yourselves.

[Neil D]

Some of us have...and came to these conclusions...

We also understand the need for pesticides...some pesticides...Problem is that the insects grow tolerant of insecticides and then we have super pests. Farmers, if you want to do a good job of controling your pest, go biological....

But formal testing is also controlled by the government and there are other governments who have tested it and come to the same conclusions. In our government, big business controls the testing...or in our case, Agro-Chemical...It is not right...Government should be FOR the people, not for business....

And beekeepers tend to be a divers/indepentant lot, and don't like government and especially don't like to share information...and they tend to be religious too...a good example would be Tammy..she'd make a good beekeeper....[shudder]

[Woody]

Tammy may bee a bee keeper. But if she is ... I suspect she is a good bee keeper. She believes in beeing good. She would keep them bees on the narrow way. So, don't discount her.

[Neil D]

She believes in beeing good. She would keep them bees on the narrow way.

Oh, like the bees would do something 'wrong'...? Bees are into 3 things...nectar, pollen, flyin' around. And sometimes they don't do that very well because man keeps manipulating them excessively and poisoning their food sources.

And that is why they told me to make sure my vote counts and to not allow the same policys for the next 4 years to continue....

[Woody]

Quote:

And that is why they told me to make sure my vote counts

And now ... you are talkin to the bees?

[Woody]

You best get a hearin aid ... you ain't hearing them bees correctly.

[Woody]

Next ... you Demos will have the bees voting. Acorn ain't enough huh? Now you have to have bees voting.

Neil. You're nuts.

[Neil D]

I be a bee wisper-er.....

As for ACORN, you need to get your facts straight from the sources, and not those who are making it up as they go along...Like FAUXnews. You gotta read from JOURNALISTIC sources, not "Entertainment Tonight"....

[Woody]

Let me 'whisper' something to ya ...

Fox is a good news source.

[Neil D]

And let me calmly reply to you....

Those who make up stories as thing happen, are never a good source....IOWs, if they are constantly correcting themselves and "updating" the story, what makes you think that they got it right in the first place?

And FAUXnews does just that....

[Dr. Shane]

FOXNews is a very good news organization. I think they are as good as ABC News.