Rick Davis

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Talking Heads Vow Restraint ... Sort of

Networks vow some restraint

(Newser) - Television news executives have vowed they won't jump the gun and project a president-elect until one man has 270 electoral votes. And they won't count electoral votes until polls are closed, reports the Los Angeles Times. But if key states in the East and Midwest back Obama, viewers will likely...

Aide: Mac 'Greatest Closer of All Time'
 Aide: 
 Mac 'Greatest 
 Closer of All Time' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Nov 2, 2008 1:41 PM CST

Aide: Mac 'Greatest Closer of All Time'

Davis predicts McCain surprise win

(Newser) - McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told Fox News Sunday that the Republicans will seize Pennsylvania and the Southwestern states for a come-from-behind finish on Tuesday, the Hill reports. “John McCain may be the greatest closer politician of all time,” he said. Other highlights from the talk shows:
  • An
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How Revolving Narratives Swamped Would-Be Narrator

McCain's move from tactic to tactic resulted in confused overall strategy

(Newser) - John McCain’s campaign has gone through a dizzying number of narratives, as Robert Draper outlines in the New York Times. Draper looks inside a dysfunctional operation driven by two quarreling old McCain friends (Rick Davis and speechwriter Mark Salter), and the Rovian outsider who reconciled them (Steve Schmidt). The...

Freddie Mac Paid Monthly $15K to McCain Aide's Firm

Payments just ended this month

(Newser) - A firm owned by John McCain's campaign manager received $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until the mortgage giant was taken over by the government this month, insiders tell the New York Times. McCain insisted just days ago that it's been years since aide Rick Davis had any contact...

McCain Camp Slams 'Biased' NY Times

Strategist cries foul after paper reports on lobbyist links

(Newser) - The McCain camp launched another attack on the media yesterday, this time blasting the New York Times as "biased" for its report linking the campaign to lobbyists for Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae. A spokesman called the Times a "pro-Obama advocacy organization" after the paper revealed that campaign...

Obama Blasts Mac Emphasis on 'Biography'

Democrat seizes on comment that 'election is not about issues'

(Newser) - After a day off in deference to Hurricane Gustav, Barack Obama today jumped on a comment by John McCain's campaign manager that the election "is not about issues" and would be decided on personalities, James Oliphant notes in the Swamp blog. "If you don't have any issues to...

Neither Side Has Played Race Card
Neither Side
Has Played
Race Card
OPINION
Aug 1, 2008 2:56 AM CDT

Neither Side Has Played Race Card

Accusations aside, Obama or McCain aren't guilty—yet

(Newser) - Accusations of "playing the race card" are flying back and forth between the John McCain and Barack Obama camps, but neither is truly guilty, Joan Walsh writes in Salon. McCain has run an "appalling low-road campaign" of late, but not a racist one, while Obama's comment about not...

Competing Ambitions Split Camp McCain

Once again, his campaign is riven by squabbling factions

(Newser) - John McCain inspires an uncommon degree of loyalty among the advisers and strategists who've served on his campaigns. But they are less charitable toward each other, writes Adam Nagourney in the New York Times. McCain's 2008 campaign is riven by longstanding feuds and conflicting spheres of influence—a problem compounded...

'Sergeant Schmidt' to Whip McCain Camp Into Shape

Tough-talking GOP veteran takes the helm at HQ

(Newser) - The man Karl Rove nicknamed "Bullet" and John McCain calls "Sergeant Schmidt" has taken over day-to-day control of McCain's campaign, and his no-nonsense style is expected to make an immediate impact, Politico reports. Steve Schmidt, a hardworking veteran of the Bush and Schwarzenegger campaigns, is famed for his...

Shuffle Atop McCain Team Yields Combative New Boss

Steve Schmidt takes day-to-day reins from Rick Davis, who'll focus on big picture

(Newser) - John McCain has ordered a shake-up at the helm of his campaign operation, Politico reports, with top aide Steve Schmidt taking day-to-day control from manager Rick Davis, whose focus will shift to the big picture. Schmidt, known for an aggressive style honed on President Bush's and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election...

Cutting Lobby Ties Is 'Messy Business'
Cutting Lobby Ties Is 'Messy Business'
ANALYSIS
May 20, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Cutting Lobby Ties Is 'Messy Business'

McCain plays reform card with new policy, but conflicts abound

(Newser) - John McCain is at war with his own staff to save his image as a crusader against special interests, the New York Times reports. Five aides have been sent packing, and new rules promulgated to rout out any further conflicts. But with many staffers who made their living as lobbyists,...

McCain Advisers Big on Loyalty, Dissension
 McCain Advisers Big on
 Loyalty, Dissension  
ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

McCain Advisers Big on Loyalty, Dissension

Infighting between current, former top advisers colors campaign

(Newser) - John McCain’s inner circle is a hotbed of animosity and infighting among his fiercely loyal advisers, Jason Zengerle writes in the New Republic. Years of Freudian feuding by John Weaver and Rick Davis created a team divided not only on personal lines, but also on philosophical ones, between a...

Turmoil Claims McCain's Media Team
Turmoil Claims McCain's
Media Team
Jul 26, 2007 11:11 AM CDT

Turmoil Claims McCain's Media Team

Exodus continues in wake of shakeup at top of campaign staff

(Newser) - In the latest defections from John McCain's faltering campaign, his two-man media team has resigned. The ad-making duo, who are veterans of President Bush's campaigns, told friends they hadn't been paid and had no idea when they would be, the Journal reports. McCain planned to begin running ads this fall,...

McCain Camp Fractures
McCain Camp Fractures
Jul 10, 2007 12:45 PM CDT

McCain Camp Fractures

Two major advisers resign—may signal the end of the campaign

(Newser) - Two major aides have decamped from John McCain's beleaguered presidential campaign, sparking rumors that they were fired and fueling suspicions that the Straight Talk Express is close to derailing. Terry Nelson, McCain's campaign manager, and John Weaver, his chief strategist, hopped off this morning, both with minimal statements assuring their...

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