Signs of infighting between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R) allies and John McCain’s aides have prompted liberal bloggers to declare a conservative crack-up. Palin’s Democratic counterpart, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), gives conservative bloggers fodder by getting testy during a local television news interview.
Ben Smith reported Saturday that the Republican veep nominee is disregarding the McCain aides tasked to handle her. One unnamed McCain adviser told CNN that Palin is “going rogue,” while another adviser called Palin a “diva.”
With a McCain aide saying that Palin doesn’t have trust with McCain, Andrew Sullivan wonders whether anyone should trust her. Josh Marshall, noting that McCain chose her to be his running mate, feels some sympathy for the advisers’s frustration over Palin. Since the conservative base loves Palin, any future attempts she makes for higher office could set off a war between her backers and the “conservative intelligentsia” skeptical of her, writes Taylor Marsh. It’s about time that Palin goes “rogue,” writes Robert Stacy McCain, who suggests that the McCain campaign erred by initially keeping her away from the media.
Barbara West of WFTV in Central Florida did the “best interview of Joe Biden ever” by pressing him on voter fraud, ACORN and Barack Obama’s “spread the wealth” remark, according to Michelle Malkin. While the Obama campaign called the interview “combative” and cancelled a WFTV interview with Biden’s wife, Malkin writes that West was “completely professional and gracious.” RedState’s Moe Lane wonders whether Biden would have asked a male interviewer to say who wrote his questions, which is a tactic he used with West.
FROM THE BLOGS:
OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama and McCain Roll Through Western Swing States – AP
McCain Aide: Palin Going ‘Rogue’ – CNN
Ballot Measure Unlikely To Change This Year’s Tides – The Hill