Todd Purdum

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Forget the Maverick: Meet the 'Real McCain'

He's not a reformer so much as a 'ruthless and self-centered survivor'

(Newser) - After John McCain's multiple zigzags this year on everything from climate change to immigration in his once-desperate Senate race, people kept wondering what happened to McCain the maverick. A new Vanity Fair profile by Todd Purdum suggests a simple answer: "Nothing at all" happened, because that maverick never existed....

After Harsh Words, GOP Warms to Palin

Kind comments follow critical Vanity Fair piece

(Newser) - Following a particularly stinging piece about her in Vanity Fair, the pendulum has swung again, and Sarah Palin seems to be winning back GOP support after months of ridicule. The feeling within the party is that “enough is enough,” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. “Sarah...

Palin Story Sparks Catfight in McCain Crew

Senior campaign hands publicly bicker, with assist from Kristol

(Newser) - Senior McCain hands are wringing their dirty laundry in the public square thanks to Vanity Fair’s vicious piece on Sarah Palin, Politico reports. When William Kristol publicly accused chief strategist Steve Schmidt of being the story’s source, Schmidt fired back that it was “categorically untrue.” He...

Kristol: 'Hit Piece' on Palin Has No Credibility

(Newser) - Bill Kristol comes to the defense of Sarah Palin today in the wake of the “hit piece” about her in Vanity Fair. In a blog on the Weekly Standard, Kristol says the lengthy—and negative—article by “lefty journalist” Todd Purdum “is full of dubious claims, and...

McCain Aides Pan Palin as 'Little Shop of Horrors'

(Newser) - Very late in the presidential campaign, staffers for Sen. John McCain came to the painful realization that it would be impossible, ever, to get Sarah Palin up to speed, reports Vanity Fair. They discovered, too late, she was a truth-shifting, self-regarding "little shop of horrors" who knew little about...

Campaign Apologizes for Bill's 'Scumbag' Jab

Former president slams VF article as hit piece; wife's campaign apologizes

(Newser) - The Clinton campaign apologized last night for Bill’s description of a Vanity Fair reporter as “sleazy,” “slimy,” “a dishonest guy” and a “scumbag” in response to  a recent story about him in the magazine. "President Clinton was understandably upset about an outrageously...

Is Bill Losing His Grip?
 Is Bill Losing His Grip? 
Glossies
Jun 2, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Is Bill Losing His Grip?

Vanity Fair spots the stains on Teflon Bill’s retirement clothes

(Newser) - As Hillary’s campaign staggers to a close, a professional Clinton-watcher shines the flashlight back into a familiar face—her husband’s. Bill has had a checkered ex-presidency, Todd Purdum reports in Vanity Fair, as a phalanx of former aides spills about girlfriends (including, maybe, Walter Mondale’s daughter), cash,...

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