Embracing a Free-Form Style, McCain Leads a Camp Divided

[WhiteTara]

Finally some real looking at the McLame
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/us/politics/10mccain.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain is so quick to pick up his gold-colored cellphone to solicit advice — from senators, campaign consultants, even the stray former deputy press secretary — that aides, concerned about his tendency to adopt the last opinion he has heard, have tried to cut back on the time he has to make calls.

Mr. McCain is known to sign off on big campaign decisions and then to march off his own reservation. Two weeks ago, he publicly disagreed with his own spokeswoman, Jill Hazelbaker, after she used a line of attack against Senator Barack Obama that he had approved after careful strategizing within his campaign. Ms. Hazelbaker raced out of the Virginia campaign headquarters and refused to take Mr. McCain’s calls of apology, aides said, and a plan to have Republican members of Congress use the same critical line about Mr. Obama’s foreign trip fell apart.

Out of his hearing, Mr. McCain is called the White Tornado by some people who have worked for him over the years. Throughout his presidential campaign, he has been the overseer of a kingdom of dissenting camps, unclear lines of command and an unsettled atmosphere that keeps aides constantly on edge.

Even now, after a shake-up that aides said had brought an unusual degree of order to Mr. McCain’s disorderly world in the last month, two of his pollsters are at odds over parts of the campaign’s message, while past and current aides have been trading snippy exchanges debating the wisdom of attack advertisements he has aimed at Mr. Obama.

In an interview, Mr. McCain said he believed an organization consisting of sometimes colliding centers of power made sure that a candidate, or a president, reached fully informed decisions. “You’ve got to have competing opinions,” he said.

not considered opinions mind you...just competing ones. AFter all, competition has really made our world great!

[MrModerate]

1. Slow-motion train wreck . . .

Should be completely off the track in a few weeks. Don't want it to happen too fast, because damage control by non-crazies (not sure who that might be in the upper reaches of the 'Lican establishment) might help get them on course.

[seasat]

2. One thing in this article sounds like BS about McCain.

There is one passage that states:

Mr. McCain hungers for information. He can regularly be seen reading newspapers from cover to cover, and aides say he embraces the briefing books given to him each night. His aides say he is especially studious when it comes to economic issues, an area in which he has admitted weakness.

Then you have this passage that states:

In his campaign, Mr. McCain weighs in on all major decisions, but does not get involved in too many details. He has explicitly signed off on every major new line of attack and new advertisement, watching the advertisements on a laptop, aides said.

But unlike Mr. Bush or Mr. Clinton, Mr. McCain has displayed no particular interest in or knowledge of the minutiae of politics. He rarely gets involved with discussions about what states he should visit, other than to insist that he spend a day or two at home in Arizona most weekends. One of his pollsters, Bill McInturff, said that Mr. McCain was not the kind of candidate who asked to look at the detailed cross-tabs of every poll.

In my experience, the same kind of person that actually "hungers for information" is also the same type of person that does follow the details. Based on his inept responses getting such facts as countries, borders, and Shiite vs Sunni wrong shows more of the second type of person who doesn't care about learning. I don't believe, based on what I've seen, that he actually spends that much time reading newspapers or briefing books.

[Motown_Johnny]

3. Didn't Andrea Mitchell have a diatribe on MSNBC about how he is in a bubble?

[Me.]

4. "Get Back To Work" John

"He rarely gets involved with discussions about what states he should visit, other than to insist that he spend a day or two at home in Arizona most weekends"