If You Think McCain's Campaign Is a Mess ...

Just consider what his proposed presidency would look like:

All of this intrigue breeds discouragement among even those former McCain associates who do not dispute the notion that voters now might be getting an early glimpse of the messy, unstructured way in which a McCain White House might be managed. They are hard-pressed to explain why Mr. McCain tolerates this — or encourages this — or why he has trouble cutting ties with people who have not served him well over the years.

"I can’t answer the why," said John Weaver, who was one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers before being forced out in a shake-up last year. "It is just that way and for his own sake, he needs to finally, firmly decide where he wants to take this campaign."

No one, apparently, will be officially in charge (or officially responsible) for anything in a McCain administration, if the campaign is any indication:

It seems none of the competing advisers working on Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign can actually agree who is in charge.

This morning on Fox News, McCain denied that Steve Schmidt now runs his campaign -- despite his recent promotion -- saying "Rick Davis is still the guy in charge." He added that Schmidt has simply "taken on some more responsibilities."

Meanwhile, the New Republic reports the McCain campaign is "pushing back" on informed speculation that GOP consultant Mike Murphy would soon join the campaign -- even though McCain reportedly offered him the top strategist job last week.

(Semi-latest word from The Caucus is that Murphy's out, but who knows what the next hour will bring.)

Ah, yes. Cronyism, lobbyists moving in and out of the campaign, turf wars, mixed messages on every conceivable issue and/or strategy, muddled policy, no clear-cut responsibility or oversight ... what's not to love about the third Bush term?