We are all to blame to some degree.
Here’s Steve Schmidt, “the driving force behind John McCain” – the Los Angeles Times.
Schmidt is McCain’s day-to-day operations boss.
“The Republican presidential candidate’s chief strategist has shaken up his campaign with an approach that has left many heads spinning,” write Dan Morain and Bob Drogin.
Steve Schmidt ran Bush’s 2004 ‘war room’.
Schmidt selected Sarah Palin.
Steve Schmidt was a counselor and spokesman for Vice President Dick Cheney and an accolyte of Karl Rove. “Steve, I meant what I said Thursday. Victory would have been impossible without you. Best, Karl.” Karl Rove’s nickname for Schmidt is ‘Bullet’.
…aggressively attacking
…biting ridicule
…dominate daily news
…political jujitsu
…hard-nosed control
…more terrifying than screaming
He defended Palin against what he called sexist attacks, and traveled to Alaska to brief her before her first TV interviews. For three days, he was ensconced at McCain’s spread in Sedona, Ariz., helping Palin prepare for her performance on the biggest night of her career: the debate against Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Schmidt managed Roberts as chief justice and Alito as associate justice.
A map of the United States on the wall over Schmidt’s shoulder served as a low-tech tracking system. A photo of McCain was pinned to Ohio, showing the candidate was in the state that could decide the election. Schmidt saw McCain’s appearance at a German restaurant as far more valuable than the international acclaim showered on Obama’s turn on a German stage.
Schmidt was campaign manager for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
With these credentials, we should have learned about this fellow earlier.
Our media is hobbled, but sometimes we see the players.