Behind the Scenes of the Campaigns

[HuskyCaucasian]

Behind The Scenes: Newsweek On McCain In The Dark, Obama Threats, And More

 

-- McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

 

 

-- The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and very disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that the crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle Obama said to a top campaign aide.

 

-- On the Sunday night before the last debate, McCain's core group of advisers--Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, adman Fred Davis, strategist Greg Strimple, pollster Bill McInturff and strategy director Sarah Simmons -- met to decide whether or not to tell McCain that the race was effectively over, that he no longer had a chance to win. The consensus in the room was no, not yet, not while he still had "a pulse."

 

-- The Obama campaign's "New Media" experts created a computer program that would allow a "flusher"--the term for a volunteer who rounds up nonvoters on Election Day--to know exactly who had, and had not, voted in real time. They dubbed it Project Houdini, because of the way names disappear off the list instantly once people are identified as they wait in line at their local polling station.

 

-- Palin launched her attack on Obama's association with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground bomber, before the campaign had finalized a plan to raise the issue. McCain's advisers were working on a strategy that they hoped to unveil the following week, but McCain had not signed off on it, and top adviser Mark Salter was resisting.

 

-- McCain also was reluctant to use Obama's incendiary pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright as a campaign issue. He had set firm boundaries: no Jeremiah Wright; no attacking Michelle Obama; no attacking Obama for not serving in the military. McCain balked at an ad using images of children that suggested that Obama might not protect them from terrorism; Schmidt vetoed ads suggesting that Obama was soft on crime (no Willie Hortons); and before word even got to McCain, Schmidt and Salter scuttled a "celebrity" ad of Obama dancing with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres (the sight of a black man dancing with a lesbian was deemed too provocative).

 

-- Obama was never inclined to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate, not so much because she had been his sometime bitter rival on the campaign trail, but because of her husband. Still, as Hillary's name came up in veep discussions, and Obama's advisers gave all the reasons why she should be kept off the ticket, Obama would stop and ask, "Are we sure?" He needed to be convinced one more time that the Clintons would do more harm than good. McCain, on the other hand, was relieved to face Biden as the veep choice, and not Hillary Clinton, whom the McCain camp had truly feared.

 

-- McCain was dumbfounded when Congressman John Lewis, a civil-rights hero, issued a press release comparing McCain with former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a segregationist infamous for stirring racial fears. McCain had devoted a chapter to Lewis in one of his books, "Why Courage Matters" and had so admired Lewis that he had once taken his children to meet him.

 

-- The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for the Democratic primary debates, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me ... answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

[HuskyCaucasian]

Only a Towel:

At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. "I'll be just a minute," she said.

 

i... ummm... oh the mental image.

 

Ok, on a side note, i worked for a pizza restaurant in high school and college. One of the drives once had a door answered by a women in only a towel. But the future VP?

[BigSqwert]

Isn't that how the Palin porn video starts out?

Edited November 5, 2008 by BigSqwert

[bschmaranz]

Isn't that how the Palin porn video starts out?

 

"Oh yeah, work the nipples, don't-cha-know"

[HuskyCaucasian]

Isn't that how the Palin porn video starts out?

ohhh did they ever release that?

[bmags]

gentleman, I watched it last night. Her boobs are too big, makes it urealistic. Basically Russian troops ring the doorbell ask to use her phone. The rest "snowballs" from there

[HuskyCaucasian]

gentleman, I watched it last night. Her boobs are too big, makes it urealistic. Basically Russian troops ring the doorbell ask to use her phone. The rest "snowballs" from there

I had higher hopes when it was first announced, but the 1 minute preview I saw was pretty bad... even by porn standards.

[BigSqwert]

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

 

LINK

 

[Steff]

IMO, while entertaining to many, this stuff is so irrelevant.

[HuskyCaucasian]

IMO, while entertaining to many, this stuff is so irrelevant.

I just think it's interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff.

[Steff]

I just think it's interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff.

 

 

Interesting, entertaining.. I agree and I can see why. I just hope it isn't dwelled on.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Interesting, entertaining.. I agree and I can see why. I just hope it isn't dwelled on.

oh of course not.

We'd never dwell on stupid things on these boards.

[lostfan]

You know, I think McCain was genuinely hurt by what Lewis said. But Lewis didn't actually call him a racist, he more like gave a warning. Still, yeah, McCain clearly didn't like it.

[Disco72]

Now that the election is over, I'm so glad we're all coming together as Americans rather than continuing to focus on irrelevant information, especially on the losing side.

[whitesoxfan101]

Some of that info makes me think even more than I already was that McCain wasn't running his campaign at all. The campaign and the person just didn't match.

[Steve9347]

Some of that info makes me think even more than I already was that McCain wasn't running his campaign at all. The campaign and the person just didn't match.

ROVE

[Balta1701]

Some of that info makes me think even more than I already was that McCain wasn't running his campaign at all. The campaign and the person just didn't match.

He was giving his speeches on his own, he presumably picked his own VP, etc. Just because a consultant tells you something will work doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

 

I mean, if a classic consultant got its hands on Senator Obama's campaign, how different would it have been? "A large rally in Berlin? Are you nuts? And that middle name, can we do something about that?"

[lostfan]

He was giving his speeches on his own, he presumably picked his own VP, etc. Just because a consultant tells you something will work doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

 

I mean, if a classic consultant got its hands on Senator Obama's campaign, how different would it have been? "A large rally in Berlin? Are you nuts? And that middle name, can we do something about that?"

I thought it was hilarious when Obama said his october surprise was going to be that his middle name was actually Steve.

[Steve9347]

I thought it was hilarious when Obama said his october surprise was going to be that his middle name was actually Steve.

That made me laugh.

 

I wish it were true!

[lostfan]

That made me laugh.

 

I wish it were true!

I couldn't imagine why?

[whitesoxfan101]

He was giving his speeches on his own, he presumably picked his own VP, etc. Just because a consultant tells you something will work doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

 

I mean, if a classic consultant got its hands on Senator Obama's campaign, how different would it have been? "A large rally in Berlin? Are you nuts? And that middle name, can we do something about that?"

 

Oh you are absolutely right. It's clear to me McCain wasn't really running his own campaign, and the next question is understandably why would he allow that to happen? Whoever came up with the Palin idea shouldn't be taking credit for it, that's for sure.

[bmags]

You know, I think McCain was genuinely hurt by what Lewis said. But Lewis didn't actually call him a racist, he more like gave a warning. Still, yeah, McCain clearly didn't like it.

 

The problem was McCain chose to take the statement that Lewis was comparing him to Wallace as a man, with his policies and everything, when he was speaking to how McCain would sweep into these rallies using heated language and an us vs. them mentality and fueling hate, and then leaving feeling like his hands are clean. Of course this is a intricate analogy, so naturally the press could never get past the face value of McCain=Wallace!! OMG

[lostfan]

-- The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and very disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that the crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle Obama said to a top campaign aide.

I'm going to vouch for this as 100% true. I didn't want to bring it up while people were arguing about who was inciting whom because there is a fine line about stuff I can talk about and what I shouldn't or just plain can't.

[lostfan]

The problem was McCain chose to take the statement that Lewis was comparing him to Wallace as a man, with his policies and everything, when he was speaking to how McCain would sweep into these rallies using heated language and an us vs. them mentality and fueling hate, and then leaving feeling like his hands are clean. Of course this is a intricate analogy, so naturally the press could never get past the face value of McCain=Wallace!! OMG

Very very true. Don't ask anybody to actually interpret anything the way it was meant...

[Balta1701]

So is this our election staff postmortem thread? Have some more sniping here.

Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy adviser to John McCain, was fired from the Arizona senator's campaign last week for what one aide called "trashing" the campaign staff, three senior McCain advisers tell CNN.

 

One of the aides tells CNN that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading "disinformation" about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials.

 

"He was positioning himself with Palin at the expense of John McCain's campaign message," said one of the aides.

Link

And I think this blurb comes from the same Link Tex put up @ the top.

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.