Internal battles divided McCain, Palin camps

Republican's running mate appeared to have been catalyst for infighting

“I think it was a difficult relationship,�?said one top McCain campaign official, who, like almost all others interviewed, asked to remain anonymous. “McCain talked to her occasionally.�?/P>

The tensions and their increasingly public airing provide a revealing coda to the ill-fated McCain-Palin ticket, hinting at the mounting turmoil of a campaign that was described even by many Republicans as incoherent, negative and badly run.

For her part, Ms. Palin told reporters in Arizona on Wednesday morning that “there is absolutely no diva in me.�?/P>

The disputes between the campaigns centered in large part on the Republican National Committee’s $150,000 wardrobe for Ms. Palin and her family, but also on what McCain advisers considered Ms. Palin’s lack of preparation for her disastrous interview with Katie Couric of CBS News and her refusal to take advice from Mr. McCain’s campaign.

As late as Tuesday night, a McCain adviser said, Ms. Palin was pushing to deliver her own speech just before Mr. McCain’s concession speech, even though vice-presidential nominees do not traditionally speak on election night. But Ms. Palin met up with Mr. McCain with text in hand. She was told no by Mark Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers, and Steve Schmidt, Mr. McCain’s top strategist.

On Wednesday, two top McCain campaign advisers said that the clothing purchases for Ms. Palin and her family were a particular source of outrage for them. As they portrayed it, Ms. Palin had been advised by Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain aide, that she should buy three new suits for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September and three additional suits for the fall campaign. The budget for the clothes was anticipated to be from $20,000 to $25,000, the officials said.

Instead, in a public relations debacle undermining Ms. Palin’s image as an everywoman “hockey mom,�?bills came in to the Republican National Committee for about $150,000, including charges of $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue. The bills included clothing for Ms. Palin’s family and purchases of shoes, luggage and jewelry, the advisers said.

The advisers described the McCain campaign as incredulous about the shopping spree and said Republican National Committee lawyers were likely to go to Alaska to conduct an inventory and try to account for all that was spent.

The McCain camp was further upset about Ms. Palin’s interview with Ms. Couric, which was broadcast at a time when Ms. Palin was meeting with foreign leaders at the United Nations and trying to establish some foreign policy credentials. Ms. Palin’s wobbly and tongue-tied performance was mocked in an iconic impersonation on “Saturday Night Live�?by Tina Fey.

One of the last straws for the McCain advisers came just days before the election when news broke that Ms. Palin had taken a call made by Marc-Antoine Audette. Mr. Audette and his fellow comedian Sebastien Trudel are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.

Ms. Palin appeared to believe that she was talking to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, even though the prankster had a flamboyant French accent and spoke to her in a more personal way than would be protocol in such a call. At one point, he told Ms. Palin that she would make a good president some day. “Maybe in eight years,�?she replied.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27568012/

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{ In my opinion John McCain's campaign was doomed from the start. First he was the wrong man at the wrong time. He was far too strongly associated with George W Bush in the publics mind and the voters had had enough of that. He was too old and none to well and up against a vibrant candidate who radiated health and youth everytime he walked on stage. The GOP itself and most conservatives had little use for McCain as they considered him a loose cannon and far too liberal and his "Maverick" reputation had came about at their expense. Then there was.....

Sarah Palin.

The extreme conservative base went nuts when McCain picked her as they saw in her the embodiment of everything McCain wasn't. The radical arm of the GOP wanted somebody who thought as they did and Palin produced the goods......and then some! Unfortunately for them the qualities they so admired in Palin were exactly the things most Americas were sick to death of. Palin was the "kiss of death" for the hopes and dreams of McCain and his campaign. I think they realized pretty quick that they had unleashed a moose in a china shop but by then it was too late.

The McCain campaign never had a strong focus on any particular issue that would have been beneficial to them. They kept swinging wildly looking for the knockout punch while Obama was dancing around like a young Mohammad Ali delivering sharp jabs to McCain's already swollen face. At times it was painful to watch. Finally with no energy left McCain turned to attempting to kick Obama in the balls in spite of the rules. Not a pretty sight.

John McCain lost both his campaigns to become President of the United States because he could not remain true to himself and his ideals. When push came to shove he turned out to be just another politician instead of the "maverick" he liked to brag about. Like him or not Obama kept a laser like beam on who and what he was during the campaign. He never changed who he was and is the same man now as he was at the beginning of his campaign. Like it or not with Obama.....what you see is what you get.

I think history will show that this campaign will be one of the most studied by students of politics for generations to come. A "how to" book on how to win and lose an election. Perhaps for the GOP it could be called  "Political campaigning for dummies"?}