Posted on 01/13/2010 3:19:57 AM PST by militanttoby
Steve Schmidt spent ten weeks building Sarah Palin up and the two of them have spent a good part of the last 14 months tearing each other down.
A losing campaign always brings out the knives, but usually they are wielded in the shadows. The pure spectacle of a former campaign strategist going on national television to trash the candidate whose image he once stage-managed – as Schmidt did Sunday on “60 Minutes” - is virtually unprecedented.
Among Washington operatives the response to Schmidt ranges from quiet admiration for telling uncomfortable truths to mystification that he and Palin would belabor internal disputes that in an earlier era of politics would have stayed behind closed doors.
At least a half-dozen Republican operatives declined to discuss the matter, instead voicing the plaintive hope the dispute will simply go away. But one Democrat praised Schmidt’s willingness to take a stand, even at the risk of hurting his livelihood as a California political consultant.
“I don’t think he has anything to gain from it. It’s not going to get Schmidt a whole lot of clients in Republican Party and he’s not selling a book. So it just may be that he is telling the truth,” said Paul Begala, a former Clinton White House adviser.
Schmidt’s comments on “60 Minutes” with the authors of “Game Change,” were somewhat measured. He praised Palin for her convention speech and debate performance. But he also said there were “numerous instances” when Palin said things that weren’t correct and “that opened the door to criticism that she was being untruthful and inaccurate. And I think that that is something that continues to this day.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Obviously Steve Schmitt is a Democrat mole.
Just performing "other duties as assigned" in his capacity as a Romney operative.
Begala really thinks Americans are fools. Schmidt sold out to the Dems the moment the ticket crashed, if not before. He makes Playgirl Levi look like a model of integrity.
Schmidt is just reveling in the attention this garners for him. He was a mccain’t staff member...nothing to see here, move right along.
Another Politico-hack. Using Begala as credible for unbiased comment is just plain stupid. Then this from the article.
“For instance, she claims a prank phone call she took from an imposter posing to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy was somehow his fault.”
She didn’t take the call. As I recall Nicolle Wallace did and just handed the phone to Sarah. She was instructed the call was coming from Schmidt’s group so it had been cleared by the campaign. Sarah was not talkative with the rubes and openly asked the question about being punked to the people on the phone.
He was in the McCain campaign, what more need be said?
# 1. CBS paid him for his appearance.
# 2. He'll appear on other MSM TV shows because of his CBS interview. This clown is trying to cash in on his Sarah Palin acquaintance for every dollar he can get. He is just a bald headed version of Levi - a man whore.
# 3. He has a book coming this year.
” It’s not going to get Schmidt a whole lot of clients in Republican Party”
Mitt Romney, and Pawlenty say “Hello”
” and he’s not selling a book.”
His book is out later in the year as I understand it.
” So it just may be that he is telling the truth,”
The truth and Schmidt can't even be used in the same sentence, unless there is a “not” in the sentence.
” said Paul Begala, a former Clinton White House adviser”
When did Paul Begala ever tell the truth in his entire life?
The guy is a born liar.
What is incredibly bad about this article is it is attempting to absolve Schmidt and indirectly the campaign staff from the slurs levelled at Palin after the election.
“Schmidt and his allies have always vigorously denied ever having done that, and the reporting for “Game Change” backs their version of events.
According to the book, Schmidt launched an aggressive search of campaign e-mail records to try to identify, punish and silence anyone inside the campaign who was smearing Palin.
He never found the guilty parties because at least one of them wasn’t working for him.
As reported in “Game Change,” the charge that Palin was a “Diva” was made by Wayne Berman, a former Bush fundraiser and long-time Republican operative in Washington who wasn’t working for the McCain-Palin campaign.”
HOWEVER, at the time a number of reporters wrote they obtained the stories from several high level campign aides for their stories!
Schmidt is doing all he can to wriggle out of this .... with the conclusion of the book’s authors and the MSM. All lying scumbags.
I wrote a response to the reporter and asked her when did Begala ever become an objective source for anything other than the wax he uses for his forehead. I also challenged her on whether she read Sarah’s book and wagered that she hadn’t. This incident more than raised my eyebrows when reading it in her book.
Is this clown still working for lil dickie burr of NC?
Ok that's my input.....as shallow as it is...but there's not much there to work with really....
Or a Romney/Pawlenty stooge.
Everything about this article tells me that Schmidt has lied about almost everything, and the authors of “Game Change” have quoted a number of sources with axes to grind without considering motives or corroborating evidence. Heh. Typical MSM.
With potential Republican clients already aware that Schmidt is lousy at running campaigns, perhaps he hopes to change course and gain financially as a media whore like Paul Begala.
NEVER underestimate the power of the RINO to destroy the GOP.
Another example among MANY.
Steve Schmidt is stupid. That is obvious. Why?
If he was smart he’d be a lot more concerned with what creeps get drawn to his framing of his message. The long-term message being delivered is about Steve Schmidt, and that doesn’t look *good*.
He’s coming off like a Joe Wilson (husband of Valerie Plame). Where’s Joe Wilson these days?
Schmidt is a consistent loser in managing political campaigns. Why should anyone except liberals and GOP beltway wonks looking for political noise against Palin take stock in what he has to say? Schmidt is a punk.
I’m sure his Soros guaranteed pension is collecting interest somewhere in the Cayman’s.....
Stevie is nothing more than a self-loathing sodomite who is jealous that Sarah wears a dress better than he does.
Hey Stevie!! Yo Hoo!!! Why don’t you just be honest about yourself, elope with Charlie (Hugs) Crist, runaway to Vermont, and get gay married?
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