There’s a great article over at Breitbart.com today HERE that makes some very good points about why John McCain lost the Presidential race in 2008. Namely, that Steve Schmidt, McCain’s race manager, was too self-absorbed and inexperienced to run such a campaign; NOT that Sarah Palin was any kind of liability to the ticket.
The article further implies that the trashing of Sarah Palin that continues today is primarily due to Steve Schmidt’s friends and minions trying to salvage his lifetime losing streak.
The 42 year-old New Jersey native’s campaign experience started with work for four failed state and national races during his mid to late twenties—ranging from the Kentucky Attorney General’s race in 1995 to working as Communication Director for Lamar Alexander’s 2000 presidential bid. He also managed failed Lt. Governor and Senatorial bids in California in 1998.
Also, Steve Schmidt was a MAJOR source for HBO’s hack piece “Game Change.” Hmmm . . .which didn;t mention ANY of this:
During the 2008 election, the McCain campaign touted Governor Palin’s reform credentials by noting her rejection of the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere,” selling the expensive governor’s jet, and signing bipartisan ethics reform into law. However, the McCain campaign never noted that Governor Palin signed legislation in April of 2008 reforming Alaska’s retirement pension system and addressing an $8 billion unfunded liability. So while Senator McCain was emphasizing how bipartisan record on other issues would mean that he would be able to reform federal entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, his running mate had already passed a state level equivalent of such a reform in a bipartisan manner.
An issue that is always at the forefront of voters’ minds is jobs. The McCain campaign did not note that in Palin’s first full year in office, 2007, Alaska saw the 6th biggest unemployment improvement in the country up from 28th the year before she took office. Senator McCain had the opportunity to augment his job creation credentials by highlighting his running mate’s record, but neither he nor his team, including the man in charge of campaign messaging, chose to do so.
Lots more over at Breitbart.com HERE. If you call yourself a Tea Partier (let alone a Conservative) of any caliber, you don’t have a hair on ya if you don’t read this.
~Johnny~
