You know things aren't going well when you get the always welcome "process story", chock full of both anonymous and on the record GOP stalwarts complaining that the McCain campaign is self-destructing.
Between John McCain's erratic behavior, Sarah Palin's crash course on running for national office -- you have to imagine that the last thing our friends Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt want is to start answering questions about a campaign that's lost it's way.
Politico just posted a piece by Mike Allen and Jonathon Martin charitably titled "Nervous GOP urges McCain to attack". The writer of the headline didn't seem to read the content all that closely.
Virtually all polls have Obama enjoying a comfortable double digit lead in 2004 Bush state, Iowa.
Yet, there's John McCain, in Iowa. John McCain: He's everywhere he shouldn't be - from Washington to Des Moines.
An unnamed GOPer concurs in Allen/Martin's piece:
Some Republicans say they are uncertain of McCain’s electoral strategy, wondering why, for example, he’s back in Iowa this week, a state few independent analysts see as being in play and where public polls this month show Obama enjoying a double-digit lead even before the economic meltdown. Asked why McCain was in Iowa, one veteran Republican there replied: "Because he’s running a senseless, non-strategic campaign. Why else would he come here?"
He didn't win the debate,
Jeff Frederick, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he was disappointed with McCain’s early performance in the debate when the focus was on the economy. "He really left a lot on the table while Barack Obama was really kind of hitting him."
The 'helpful' advice comes from the Indiana GOP state chair, who thinks the guy that's already been called "a troll" (OK, troll-like) by Chris Mathews, the guy that's already seen as more negative, the guy who now has to chaperon his Veep candidate on interviews -- should, you guess it, go more negative:
Murray Clark, the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said he is eager for Obama’s "troubling relationships" to be aired in his state. "I think those things will come up in Indiana again and they do have an impact on mainstream voters in Indiana. You call it going negative, [but] whoever ... is in a position to point out these relationships, I think it’s helpful."
Most excellent advice. With Wall Street crumbling, 10 billion a month going to Iraq, no gas anywhere in the south, Texas devastated, banks going under, unemployment rates rising, Russia resurgent, Pakistan firing on American troops -- I have no doubt Americans want nothing more than to rehash the same stories about the same people we've been hearing about for 6 months.
"For the first time in American history, at least since Valley Forge, the right track of the country will be in single digits tonight," predicted one longtime GOP strategist after Monday’s debacle.
Exactly.