Finger-Pointing Begins for GOP

Honchos, candidate huddle at Ariz. ranch to prepare for Thurs. debate with Biden

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin will be coached by the best people John McCain’s campaign has to offer in preparation for her debate Thursday with Joe Biden, the Wall Street Journal reports. Campaign manager Rick Davis and strategist Steve Schmidt are headed with Palin today to McCain’s Arizona ranch as the campaign comes under fire for mishandling the Alaska governor. More»

McCain aides turned her down, script in hand, at final rally

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin arrived for John McCain’s final rally with her own speech in hand, the New York Times reports, to be told, firmly, by McCain’s top advisers that VP candidates do not get the microphone on election nights, win or lose. Her ambition to take the stage reinforced the McCain camp’s festering certainty that the Alaska governor has had her eye trained well beyond 2008, the sorest of many grievances that poisoned relations between the running mates. More»

Moderates have pushed party out of power, some argue

(NEWSER) - Social conservatives are wrangling with moderates for control of the GOP, plotting a January takeover of the Republican National Committee even if John McCain wins, the Los Angeles Times reports. Moderates like Colin Powell say the party has alienated voters—especially minorities—by narrowing its focus, but “moderating our party is what caused us to lose power,” a state GOP chairman argues. More»

Columnist's schadenfreude turns to dread over the new face of the party

(NEWSER) - It’s been a fun time for liberals, writes Rosa Brooks in the LA Times. Though initially worried about the boost Sarah Palin gave to John McCain’s polling numbers, Dems were then treated to the defections of some of the GOP’s brightest thinkers. Columnists David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, and former Bush speechwriter David Frum all backed away from McCain, charging that the Alaska governor was out of her league. More»

(NEWSER) - It's been hard to miss the spate of reports about ugly anti-Obama incidents at McCain/Palin events—a crowd member calling him a “terrorist,” for instance. The media is now playing a game of "find a freak" at GOP rallies and grossly distorting the notion of genuine harm coming Obama's way, writes Sean Collins in Spiked. That these fears have gained traction underscores just how alienated Democrats have become from white, working-class voters. More»