steve schmidt

From Politico:

Bill Kristol reports that John McCain has directed his subordinates to let Palin be Palin:

McCain's campaign has turned dirty. I posted last week about the flood of half-truths that were being passed by the McCain campaign. I counted four big ones last week.

Why?

So, the headline story on Drudgereport is that Sarah Palin is not "being allowed" on Oprah Winfrey. Even though she hasn't asked, and Oprah hasn't offered, the very fact that its not scheduled yet indicates that Oprah is too biased...even though she hasn't had on Obama, McCain, or Biden since they announced their respective positions.

With stuff like this:

A flustered Couric demanded to know from McCain adviser Steve Schmidt how anyone could possibly “compare” Palin’s public service with the more experienced Obama: “How can you compare those two?”

And their spokesman gets right up in Howie Kurtz’s grill:

Let me start by saying I understand fully that there’s nothing I, or anyone else seriously interested in the following issues, will be able to do to avoid the attacks by the Bill Hobbses, the Robin Smiths, the Steve Schmidts, and the social conservative commentariat of the world, who will tear apart anyone who is not an evangelical for going anywhere near the issue of the recent revelatio

This is the new McCain ad. It's a real issues ad that addresses genuine points of contention in the upcoming race:

I've heard some goofy campaign ideas - but for the John McCain presidential campaign to promote this idea that his opponent is the "biggest celebrity in the world" puts McCain is on the sidelines, watching his opponent carry the day.