McCain and Palin are having a falling out over attacking Obama

[Seen the light]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4926283.ece

With his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaign.

McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.

Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.
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Palin, 44, has led the character attacks on Obama in the belief that McCain may be throwing away the election and her chance of becoming vice-president. Her supporters think that if the Republican ticket loses on November 4, she should run for president in 2012.

A leading Republican consultant said: “A lot of conservatives are grumbling about what a poor job McCain is doing. They are rolling their eyes and saying, ‘Yes, a miracle could happen, but at this rate it is all over’.

More at link. They know it's over and Palin is already looking to 2012.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. That says a lot about McCain's judgment.

The irony is amazing.

[MindMatter]

47. It also says loads about his executive leadership

I mean, how can this possibly even be a point of discussion. The Presidential candidate is the one who calls the shots on teh campaign. Is this saying that she is out of his control? WTF?

Can anybody imagine ANY scenario where Biden would do the opposite of what Obama decided to do with the campaign? I can certainly see Biden voicing his opinion, but if Obama said, "We're going to do X and we're going to stop doing Y", there is absolutely no question that Biden would do that. There's no way he would be making up his own strategy.

How could McCain not have this under control? If she insists on being insubordinate, take her plane away from her and park her on the sidelines, or keep her within strangling distance at every even so she cannot get out of control.

[fishwax]

2. I sure hope she runs in 2012

:rofl:

[speedoo]

5. Before she runs in 2012, she will have to remain AK Governator.

At this point, that's highly questionable.

[TornadoTN]

14. That's a great point - I doubt she lasts her term the way this race is going

They have grounds for a recall as it stands now. Her approval ratings are falling faster each and every day. The dirt is pouring out of her background and she's not exactly endearing herself to anyone aside from the rabid neocons and fundamentalists.

Alaskans have a chance to throw her out after she's shown her true colors. I think they will do it.

[speedoo]

20. And, IF she survives, she would have to be re-elected.

Certainly the Dems are eyeing that governor's seat now. She would be extremely vulnerable.

[WindRiverMan]

35. Alaskans got a $3,200 PFD this year, she ain't going anywhere

But next years PFD is going to suck, suck, and suck some more. Crashing stock market AND falling oil prices. Then watch her approval ratings go into the Frank the Bank Murkowski range.

[mamalone]

16. Yeah... and she'll actually have to speak to the press!

I wonder how she thinks she'd be able to manage any kind of campaign with the contact limitations she has insisted on lately:eyes:

[Realityhack]

26. Worse than that...

she would have to run against other Republicans in the primary.

[mamalone]

34. Too true...

And she wouldn't be able to demonize them as she has so gleefully done with Obama. I just hope she slithers back to Alaska and spends her remaining years doing advertisements for used car dealerships on local teevee. She's qualified for that... probably:eyes:

[Oak2004]

42. If her house was built by the "friends" some suspect

she has another "career" in front of her, which admittedly comes with free housing benefits.

[fishwax]

28. that's not necessarily true -- i mean, she's already got tons of foreign policy experience and all

so what good would a few more years of governor do for her? :rofl:

But you do make a good point, and I think it's likely she won't even be governor in 2012. Perhaps Wasilla would still let her be mayor :rofl:

[trueblue2007]

65. I wonder if she will be impeached. She is an embarrassment

[quakerboy]

40. I don't

The Right is just stupid enough to choose her to be their nominee. And it would be a Fucking Shame for Sarah Palin to be the first Female Nominee of a major party.

[qwlauren35]

55. No. It won't happen.

A large number of Republicans, who aren't fundamentalists, don't like Palin. She would get knocked out in the primary by any serious contenders who were conservative... like Huckabee.

It's already clear that she doesn't have a mandate for the presidency if she can't muster one from her party. The Republicans aren't so stupid that they would let her take the lead in any election they had a shot of winning.

[quakerboy]

57. The way things are going

a large number of republicans who aren't fundamentalists will be Libertarians next time.

I rarely underestimate the potential for stupidity.

[muntrv]

3. Except what Carribou Barbie doesn't know is that by running this hate campaign,

she drives away the independents. You play to the base during primary season and to the broader electorate after the convention.

[Starlight]

9. Just one more example of how totally out of touch this woman really is.

:silly:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

21. Not necessarily. She's just practicing Alaska politics...

Give the right-wing slant of the electorate up there, you can probably do this shit in a general election.

[eridani]

67. But don't they trend more libertarian than fundie? n/t

[EmeraldCityGrl]

31. Before this is over, she'll be lucky to get a Reality Show on FOX...n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. The only ones who will support her will be racists

and hate mongers, though. I can't see the GOP taking her on as a serious candidate four years from now--the taint of failure will be upon her. Besides, I think she will be hard pressed to remain governor of Alaska after all the revelations of how she has governed.

[geckosfeet]

8. Even if she get enough signatures to run for the nomination, her campaign

would be a joke.

She would likely be running against roMney and some other RW characters - all of whom will have greater credibility.

[Seen the light]

13. Let me break out the "I'm a former freeper card" and say....

She'll be the nominee in 2012 if she wants to be. She would steamroll Romney in Iowa and South Carolina and use the momentum to carry her through Super Tuesday.

[dgibby]

38. Agreed!

She is the second coming as far as the base is concerned. There's a lot of money out there in Dominion land, and it's hers for the taking. Never underestimate religious zealots, the most dangerous and cunning people on earth, imo.

[OmahaBlueDog]

66. Nope

Bobby Jindal looks a lot more Presidential, and the connection to India will not hurt his fundraising. My guess is that he's the next nominee, and he'll give Barack a hard fight.

Jeb has the family name, the Florida connections, and the reputation as the "smarter brother"

Romney, Rudy, and the other also-rans from this round won't even be serious contenders next time out.

History suggests that veeps on failed tickets don't fare well in Presidential runs (Lieberman, Quayle, Edwards)

My guess is that Palin decides not to run for term 2, and goes to FAUX as a talking head.

[tpi10d]

6. Frankly I believe Palin has been on-script

And any "falling out" is just bullshit attempt to snag a few middle of the road voters.

Whatcha expect from a team of mavericks?!

[Seen the light]

7. I humbly disagree

This article is pretty devastating to the campaign and their chances on November 4th.

If the McCain camp was going to leak a bullshit rumor, they wouldn't do it to someone that would write an article like this.

[tpi10d]

10. lets watch you may be right..

Time will tell :)

[Quixote1818]

48. I would agree accept she made the joke about Biden's age

That shows she has some freedom because McCain wouldn't have allowed a joke about age.

[creeksneakers2]

56. That's my suspicion too

McCain is trying to have it both ways. Look at his ads. They don't match his latest "I respect Obama" pitch.

McCain said he suspended his campaign for the hurricane in Louisiana and then he didn't do it. Then McCain said he suspended his campaign to help with the bailout but didn't suspend anything. Whatever McCain says he's doing is not what he's doing. His proclamations are just part of the show, designed to make him look like something he's not.

[progressivebydesign]

64. I completely agree TPi10d! Palin does not deviate from her McCain-crafted scripts.

the falling out is BS.

[BuyingThyme]

11. Victory before honor.

Just like Iraq.

[mw]

12. You watch. Theyll turn her from a pit bull into a goat--a scapegoat.

They'll hang all the McCain campaign negativity around her neck, and send her away (off the ticket) with the blame for everything McCain has done wrong. Effectively giving McCain a fresh start. Again.

Just you watch.

[EffieBlack]

19. Exactly! I have no doubt that McCain and his team are calling the shots

and Palin is only doing what they told her to do. She's not a freelancer out on the stump just doing as she pleases over the objection of the people who brung her. She's following orders like a good soldier and, now that they're tactic is backfiring, they are blaming her for the fiasco.

Couldn't happen to a nicer person.

[Cass]

15. Palin can't even give an interview and she wants to run for President?

Oh my, she is so very full of herself.

:rofl:

[Raster]

18. Stranger things have happened. Look who's been in the Oval Office for the last 8 years.

[and-justice-for-all]

17. They would have to turn on their base of bigots and racist

I am waiting for Palin to just come right out and say it...'it' being the 'N' word.

Leave it to McFascist/Mooseilni to legalize lynching and too bring back the gas chamber for the rest of us.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

22. BREAKING: Palin Fires McCain For Insubordination...

:rofl:

[Fleshdancer]

23. Note to self: watch the 2012 GOP primary debates

The Obama campaign has been very easy on her. Republicans in 2012 won't be.

[Jacobin]

24. Ha. She's thrown McCain under the bus

[Rosa Luxemburg]

25. Old man McCain let Godzilla out and can't get her back in her cage!

[BlooInBloo]

27. Read that as: Palin followed instructions, and is now the fall-guy.

[DefenseLawyer]

30. I concur.

The idea that Sarah Palin has been out there winging it is highly doubtful. She gives the exact same speech for days at a time. She is obviously the Ron Burgundy candidate, she will read anything they put on that teleprompter.

[BlooInBloo]

32. When in Rome, when in Rome...

:rofl:

[DefenseLawyer]

33. I'm Sarah Palin?

Damn it! Who put a question mark on the teleprompter?

[political_Dem]

29. OMG. Sarah's gone Ronin!!!!

[grantcart]

36. Interesting article - also this tidbit I did not know - look at McCain's co chair name lol

Frank Keating, McCain’s campaign co-chairman, last week called the Democrat a “guy off the street” and said he should admit that he had “used cocaine

[quakerboy]

41. It would be interesting

if there were a connection to charles keating, as well.

[Honeycombe8]

37. Doesn't make sense to me, since she's new on the nat'l scene. I'm guessing she just spits out...

whatever his campaign tells her to say. I would seriously doubt that, brand new to national politics, she is already trying to run the campaign and thinks she knows anything about national politics.

I'm guessing this is a planted story, meant to make her look like she has an original thought in her head. I've already heard on TV from women Republican politicians that she is being treated like a secretary by McCain's campaign, and they send her out on the stump to say the awful things they don't want McCain to say.

She just does what she's told. We've all seen that. No, she's not the one whose idea it is to say this or that. That is TOTALLY being directed by McCain's campaign.

[stillcool]

39. what absolute horseshit...

as if Palin goes out there without her marching orders. They will first blame it on their 'base', then they will blame it on Palin. Typical Republican. Accuse everyone else of the very thing you are doing.

[beachmom]

43. Had McCain vetted Palin, he would have known she was a classic backstabber.

Everyone in Alaska who has helped her advance her career, have found themselves burned and destroyed by her. She cannot be trusted. From the beginning I have warned McCain: WATCH. YOUR. BACK.

Sounds like I was right.

Oh, and by 2012, Palin will be a Guiliani type candidate: lots of splash, sound and fury, but by the time the actual voting happens, she will find herself well behind the pack. She is not presidential material.

[Cosmocat]

70. GOOD CALL ...

Guiliani is a very apt comparison, she will get A LOT of love from the media and the 30% hard core Rs will adore he, but she will believe in her own cult of personality, not run a good campaign and get smoked.

[TXDemGal]

44. I call bullshit

This definitely reeks of a good cop/bad cop vibe.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

45. Puff piece for McCain

They're trying to build up his "character and decency" and make Palin the fall guy or "woman" as the case may be

[BrklynLiberal]

46. She has tasted the glory, and now she cannot live without it.

McSame is not the Golem. It is the barracuda.

[Swamp Rat]

49. Nope. Not buying it at all.

McCain went negative right along with Palin.

[BrklynLiberal]

51. I love your work...and haven't the faintest idea how to do anything like that.

I wanted to put the barrcuda's features on the golem in the post just above yours.
Would you be interested in giving it a try???

[Swamp Rat]

54. Way'at dawlin'!

:hi::hug:

I think I'm done with photoshop for the day. :D

[BrklynLiberal]

60. Sleep tight...

[Eric J in MN]

50. If McCain doesn't want Obama portrayed as working with a terrorist...

...then why hasn't he pulled that TV ad?

[AlCzervik]

52. i'm calling bullshit.

[4lbs]

53. Let's get Obama elected first, then we can all dissect the McCain-Palin ticket and look for flaws.

n/t

[Dr.Phool]

58. In about 3 weeks, she'll be a footnote in history, and

Negotiating for a photo shoot with Larry Flynt.

[barack the house]

59. At the very least we know one of them is trying to do what is right.

[progressivebydesign]

63. I don't know.. Palin does not speak for herself. McCain's own people script her attacks.

So I have hard time believing that McCain is unhappy with her attacks... his people write those speeches. So, how could he be having this supposed disagreement with her? She's not an opponent -- she works for him and his campaign. This is all a tactic.. designed by his advisors, to make him seem likable again.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

61. Huckabee would kill her in Iowa

because he has fundie cred and actual experience. He also does not come across as batshit crazy, has a sense of humor, even about himself, and a populist streak that I'd bet Grampy wishes he had on his ticket now. Mittens would probably finish her off in NH. Mittens is a complete asshole, but is vastly smarter than Mooselini.

[progressivebydesign]

62. Hmm. Palin does NOT say a word that is NOT scripted for her by McCain's people.

Is this a faux disagreement made in order to salvage McCain's reputation?

[retread]

68. How is McNasty's conduct of this campaign "out of character?" n/t

[jcla]

69. Thanks retread!

Its not out of character. The fact he is "protesting" is just plausible deny-ability when the the racists come home to roost. Just think of Pat Robertson's "joke" about "Osama, Obama, your mama" They started the tie with terrorism. That and the tie in with xenophobia and domestic terrorism that the Obama's were unpatriotic and other hate junk. This has been going on in this campaign for over a year and a half.. It is not out of character for the Rethuglicans or McShame.

[1corona4u]

71. God help us all if she runs for president....

we just have to shut her the fuck out. Forever.