On 9/28/08 at 9:42 AM, McCain's top strategist Steve Schmidt who was on a MTP panel with David Axlerod, was asked to respond to McCain's intervention in the bailout negotiations. Schmidt responded:
What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans.
A mere 16 minutes later, McCain was on This Week with Stephanopolous. When George asked whether or not McCain deserved credit, he first responded with
I'll be glad to accept the judgement of history.
But later vacillated with
I won't claim a bit of credit.
Quickest flip-flop of all time?
Or more likely, a fundamental miscommunication in this tumultuous campaign, in which "white lies" and "false characterizations" create a fragile web of "dishonesty" in which any slight misstep by any surrogate will likely contradict the message of the candidate himself. An old adage comes to mind, having something to do with reaping and sowing ....