Free Republic

The question followed hard on the heels of the original Politico story and harder on the heels of Herman Cain’s dismissal of years-old allegations that he behaved inappropriately toward two women: Who leaked the information in the first place?Cain’s campaign manager says he has “no clue,” according to a report by The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas. “I have no idea,” chief of staff Mark Block told The Daily Caller. “No clue. I would find it hard to believe that anybody from another campaign would do that, but then again this is politics. Isn’t it?” Guy Benson explains why it’s really...

He is the man with the mustache who takes a rebellious drag on a cigarette in the Herman Cain Internet ad gone viral. "We've run a campaign like nobody's ever seen," he says before taking a puff. "But then America's never seen a candidate like Herman Cain." Meet Mark Block, Cain's unorthodox campaign manager. Perhaps no one is more responsible for the Georgia businessman's meteoric rise in the presidential polls than Block, a Republican strategist and tea party leader who's left a trail of questionable campaign work behind him. Block has been accused of voter suppression and was banned from...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama seriously considered picking former foe Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate last year but rejected her because he was worried about controlling Bill Clinton. In a new book, the US president's 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe reveals the behind-the-scenes calculations as Obama searched for a vice presidential nominee and finally settled on Joe Biden. "If his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list," Plouffe wrote in advance excerpts of the book "Audacity to Win" published in Time magazine. "She was competent, could help...

The master of "astroturfing" has a second firm that shapes public opinion for corporations. David Axelrod has long been known for his political magic. Through his AKP&D Message and Media consultancy, the campaign veteran has advised a succession of Democratic candidates since 1985, and he's now chief strategist for Senator Barack Obama's bid for President. But on the down low, Axelrod moonlights in the private sector.

IT'S A DAY when the Bush bounce has hit Kerry supporters upside the head. The morning papers are full of polling reports suggesting that the president is on a roll. The pundits are full of rumors about a Kerry campaign shake-up. The party that came out of the Boston convention in single-file unity has returned to its default position: a circular firing squad with the campaign strategists in the middle. The partisans in the street are frantic that the Bush campaign will "do it again" and take the low road to victory. At the center of this September anxiety attack,...

Greetings, Tired of seeing book after book with distortions and inaccuracies about our President? We have a must-read for you. On Thursday, August 5th, a new presidential biography by Independent journalist Ronald Kessler, hit bookstores across America. In this book, A Matter of Character, Kessler describes the real President George W. Bush http://www.georgewbush.com/ - a decent, humble and honest man who exhibits true character. Click here to buy A Matter of Character. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1595230009/ref=pd_ts_b_4/103-7151411-5975022?v=glance&s=books&n=53 Kessler, who voted for Al Gore in 2000 but had a change of heart after getting to know President Bush, went behind the scenes interviewing dozens of...

When a Massachusetts official attacked Sen. John Kerry in the media, Kerry's chief of staff called to rein him in. The conversation grew heated, and the official growled: "So I criticized your guy. What are you gonna do, spank me?" Perhaps. As chief of staff for the Massachusetts senator and presumed Democratic presidential nominee, David McKean handles assignments of all stripes. Observers describe McKean as Kerry's "alter ego" and his "confidence man." McKean is so in tune with Kerry's instincts, aides say, he will play a "significant role" in choosing a vice presidential running mate. His own name has been...

<p>U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has replaced his campaign manager in a shake-up aimed at quelling controversy over the surreptitious taping of a strategy session held by a political rival earlier this month.</p> <p>Harkin, a Democrat, said Friday he accepted campaign manager Jeff Link's offer to step down after Link took responsibility for not supervising campaign staffers close enough.</p>