The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Blogger Shocked — Shocked! — to Learn That John McCain Would Employ Backstabbing GOP Campaign Operative

Posted on | March 12, 2012 | 26 Comments

Of course, John McCain is a man who has long cherished backstabbing as a fundamental principle of his political career, and yet R.D. Brewer at Ace of Spades HQ is nonetheless surprised by the perverse pride that the McCain campaign’s “chief strategist” Steve Schmidt takes in having helped destroy the GOP’s chances in 2008:

“For me and the experience I had on this campaign is that there are worse things than losing,” Schmidt said. When he was asked to spell that out, he said, “When a result happens that puts someone who’s not prepared to be president on the ticket, that’s a bad result. I think the notion of Sarah Palin being president of the United States is something that frightens me, frankly. And I played a part in that. And I played a part in that because we were fueled by ambition to win.”

Hey, Steve: You were paid to do a job. Who paid you? Republican donors, that’s who. Doesn’t it seem like maybe you had an obligation to the people paying the bills to, y’know, elect a Republican?

But as the old saying goes, never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence. Therefore, anyone who wishes to believe that Steve Schmidt wasn’t actively trying to help elect Barack Obama in 2008 should instead believe that Schmidt is an incompetent idiot who’s just trying to scapegoat Sarah Palin in order to exempt himself from responsibility for defeat.

It wouldn’t take a lot to be a better vice president than Joe Biden.

It would take a lot to be a more selfish a–hole than John McCain, but Steve Schmidt seems to be trying his best.

Category: John McCain, Sarah Palin, Vicious Backstabbing Crapweasels

Comments

26 Responses to “Blogger Shocked — Shocked! — to Learn That John McCain Would Employ Backstabbing GOP Campaign Operative”

  1. Quartermaster
    March 12th, 2012 @ 5:27 pm

    Things looked fishy from my neck of the woods. But, Juan McAmnesty bears the major responsibility for the loss. His desire to take the “high road,”  in my humble opinion, was meant to elect the Obamunist. Funny he didn’t take the high road in his senatorial re-election campaign. Had he fought the Obummer like je did his opponent in AZ, he probably would have won. McAmnesty betrayed us, and betrayed Palin in the process.

    Schmidt was just the operative of McAmnesty in that sham. But, I agree he was a rectal orifice as well.

  2. K-Bob
    March 12th, 2012 @ 5:34 pm

    Yeah, sure McCain fumbled.  But I suspect Schmidt untied his shoelaces first.

  3. TitzyFritzensimmons
    March 12th, 2012 @ 6:14 pm

    Personally, I’d vote on principle AGAINST anyone who hired either Steve Schmidt or Nicole Wallace as Republican campaign advisors- obviously, the candidate who would hire them is either stupid or suicidal.

  4. rosalie
    March 12th, 2012 @ 6:23 pm

    Or a Democrat.   I can’t see anyone on the right hiring him anyway.  I would assume he’s making money now by being used by the Left.

  5. A Guy From Lithia Springs
    March 12th, 2012 @ 6:26 pm

    I admire Schmidt for his honesty. His comments regarding Palin were spot-on.   His relief Palin was denied being a heart-beat away are unmistakable.   But its not lying necessarily if one keeps the truth to oneself.  This was one of those times he should have kept his powder dry.  I know if the shoe were on the foot I would be none too happy for a Dem operative to be dishing dirt on a defeated ticket (which has happened).      

  6. John Higgins1990
    March 12th, 2012 @ 6:32 pm

     “When a result happens that puts someone who’s not prepared to be president on the ticket, that’s a bad result.”
    .
    And Obama clearly was not prepared to be President.

  7. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 12th, 2012 @ 6:59 pm

    Schmidt and Wallace are scum.  And yeah, they are worse than John McCain.  By far.  

  8. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:01 pm

    I agree McCain should have fought, but he was probably going to lose anyway.  But the combination of pulling punches on Obama and then having Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt throw Sarah Palin under the bus was fatal.  I am sure both were the “unnamed” sources for Game Change.  

  9. Mortimer Snerd
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:01 pm

    Honesty?  If he really felt as strongly as he says about Palin, he should have said so and done the honorable thing: resigned from the campaign.  I do not find his “honesty” admirable.

  10. AnonymousDrivel
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:23 pm

    Thank goodness my dad had his heart surgery done by some guy with clubbed hands. Sure, we could have had the surgeon with functioning digits do the job, but did you see the senior resident by his side?

    Sure, my dad died on the operating table, but at least the senior resident never touched anything. We had that going for us.

  11. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:31 pm

    He is a dirt bag.  Just like Nicolle Wallace.  If this was an issue of principle, then resign.   They did not do that, they just back stopped so they would not be blamed for the failure.  

    I despise them.  

  12. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:33 pm

    Yeah.  Talk about a prostitute.  Fluke is contemptible but at least she is consistent.  Wallace and Schmidt are traitors and disloyal to boot.  

  13. Bob Belvedere
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:56 pm

    Don’t be too sure.  We’re talking about the bloody stupid GOP here.

    Whig ’em!

  14. Bob Belvedere
    March 12th, 2012 @ 7:56 pm

    All three are whores.

  15. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 12th, 2012 @ 8:04 pm

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/327429.php  Brilliant by Ace.  Only problem is while the look is spot on, Schmidt has all the charm and accountability of Charles Johnson.  

  16. Regt
    March 12th, 2012 @ 9:02 pm

    Seems like a lot of commenters assume that the admiral’s son _wanted_ to win. Personally, I believe he intentionally threw the campaign. After all, if you have paid any attention whatsoever to Johnnyboy’s agenda and the legislation he writes or supports, you’d realize his agenda really is no different from Obama’s. Do you have any idea how long he has been trying to pass legislation identical to the NDAA? He considers us ordinary citizens as ignorant rubes who need someone to tell them what to do and how to think. Putting a few of us into indefinite detention wouldn’t cause him to lose any sleep whatsoever.

    I often wonder if  Father Ho and his Chinese advisors didn’t spend a little quality time with Johnny when they had him as a guest in North VN. Or was that Manchuria?

  17. SDN
    March 12th, 2012 @ 9:29 pm

    And now the stupid party can intentionally throw the campaign again with Romney…

  18. Adjoran
    March 13th, 2012 @ 12:01 am

     He was doing just fine after the convention, staying within the margin of error up or down, but close up until he suspended his campaign to go back to DC for the financial crisis, leaving Obama to stand there and say, “Hey, what’s with the crazy old white dude?”  It was straight downhill from there.

  19. Adjoran
    March 13th, 2012 @ 12:02 am

     Exactly.

  20. Adjoran
    March 13th, 2012 @ 12:12 am

     Tore the padding off your wall again?

  21. Adjoran
    March 13th, 2012 @ 12:18 am

    Schmidt had enough juice with McCain to refuse the Palin assignment.  He didn’t.  He was in on the vetting, so he knew all about her going in.  His role, and Wallace’s, was to help her get to speed on national campaigning and keep her on the campaign message.

    They had to know they would be judged on how well Palin did, so I doubt it was sabotage.  But they are both trying to cover their asses after some huge blunders.  Mainly, throwing her to Katie Couric for a whole day and Charles Gibson for four hours with cameras running, leaving them to edit it down to the worst few minutes for Palin.  Dumb move on their part.

    Neither Schmidt nor Wallace has any chance of working for Republicans again – and I suspect John McCain would reply to a request for recommendation with a trademark string of obscenities.  They are trying to salvage their careers by trashing Palin to ingratiate themselves with the left and perhaps get media gigs or some lefty book buyers.

  22. Quartermaster
    March 13th, 2012 @ 7:40 am

    Let them go the way of the Whigs, indeed.

  23. Quartermaster
    March 13th, 2012 @ 7:42 am

    Yeah, like, Gaffe a minute Biden is qualified to be president.

  24. Quartermaster
    March 13th, 2012 @ 7:43 am

    Alas, Regt is right.

  25. Finrod Felagund
    March 13th, 2012 @ 10:24 am

    Precisely.  This is the kind of bullshit honesty that people use to justify being a complete jackass.   Plus I’m guessing that he’s lying through his teeth about the ‘honesty’ in the first place.

    Nicole Wallace and Steve Schmidt should be blacklisted from ever working on any GOP campaign at any level ever again.  Anyone who hires them should be abandoned as an nonviable candidate.

  26. Guest
    March 13th, 2012 @ 2:38 pm

    Don’t tell me, let me guess: You’re one of those guys who felt that John “Rielle? Who  dat?” Edwards was qualified to be President.
    AND is a member of the party that had Henry A. “Stalin RULES!” Wallace as an ACTUAL Veep, to a terminally sick President, literally one heartbeat away.