McCain Loses Temper, Reads Riot Act to Campaign Staff
Big surprise, huh? McCain has gotten a little more fired up on the campaign trail, especially in Colorado this weekend, which seems to be due in part to the loss of discipline among his own staff. There's a good article up in the UK press today, and the interesting part is below. From the UK's Telegraph: "John McCain loses temper with defeatist aides as he vows to fight to the last":
A friend told The Sunday Telegraph that the message of defiance was one he had already delivered in private to his senior staff. There have even been reports that more than one of his aides last week began making inquiries about private sector jobs after the election, a clear signal that they expect to lose and a dramatic breach of etiquette in the dying days of a campaign.
The friend, who often travels with Mr McCain, said the candidate lost his temper: "There were raised voices. John's whole life has been about the fight. He won't tolerate those who won't fight. He showed his irritation at some of the pessimism in typical John style."
It was a measure of Mr McCain's weakness that a week before the election he was campaigning in Colorado, what was once a Republican state but now shows Mr Obama with a firm lead. On Saturday he was heading to New Mexico, another Western state that is slipping away.
I already diaried the story about senior staff sending out resumes here:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/astral66/2008/10/senior-mccain-advisors-sending.php
Enjoy your steaming hot cup of Saturday morning schadenfreude!
Since 1975, there's only been one Republican Governor of Colorado; The state went for Clinton in '92 and Carter in '76; One of their two Senators is a Democrat, as are four of their seven Representatives and among their past leaders have been liberal stalwarts like Gary Hart and Pat Schroeder. How exactly does the British press define a "red state"? Is it however they went in the last couple of elections, or doesn't their entire field and the history of their vote count?
October 25, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
IOW: I only went back to '60, but other than the 1960 and the 1996 election, Colorado has always backed the winner.
October 25, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Is it however they went in the last couple of elections?"
By your own evidence, it's how they went in six out of the last eight, actually.
October 25, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
There are much deeper "red states", so I'd catagorize Colorado as more of a purple, especially when you consider all of the other offices. Right now, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the generalizations about voting patterns; As I often cite, New Mexico went for Gore in 2000 by 366 and for Bush in 2004 by less than 6000 and its other offices are relatively mixed, but it too is often lumped-in with the "Republican" states.
Quite frankly, if I had time (and if no one else volunteers, I might try and get to it later), but I'd be more interested in the correlation between states and the national winner. I mean, out of the last twelve elections, Colorado has voted ten times with the national winner and though you or I may not have chosen some of those guys, something probably could be said for "winner trumps party" or something along those lines.
October 25, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Outside of Denver, Boulder, and the ski towns, Colorado is a very conservative state. I lived in the western part for a long time and got to see it up close. But in answer to your question, its called a red state because of the way it's gone in the presidential elections for the past several elections.
October 25, 2008 5:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd probably be a little more liberal with my definition of "ski towns" (Salida? Montrose?) and I'd toss out that Pueblo is pretty multi-cultural, plus they're represented by Salazar. (Of course, he also represents Grand Junction and I'd lump them in toward the possibly impenetrable oil/gas belt, but still...)
Colorado is to a lesser extent than Arizona or New Mexico, pretty much wholly populated by mostly one metropolitan area. You seem to discount Boulder and the Denver metro, but almost all of Colorado lives along the I-25 corridor. I don't know the politics of Colo Springs offhand, but from the street, they look like they could be kind of center-left, so that really leaves only Fort Collins as a place that I'd consider "pure McCain Country", without actually looking at any statistics.
And, again, I just seem to have a hard time labeling someplace "red", when they have a history of voting for Democrats statewide and to Congress, plus they've gone Democrat twice, since Johnson.
October 25, 2008 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the point was how red McCain got.
October 25, 2008 8:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
CoSpgs is sort of an oddity. It's the home of Dobson and is thus loaded up with religious nutball types, but it also has a big left-leaning population. The Air Force base is traditional military and skews the overall average to the right.
October 25, 2008 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
McLame's whole life has been about McLame -- and getting everyone else to admit that it the whole of life should be about McLame.
Petulant blue-faced tempter tantrum with wet Depends[tm].
October 25, 2008 8:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Red = Republican name for "Commie"
Red = Republican-dominated state.
Republican = Red
October 25, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, red was the Communists' own term, for example the song "The Red Flag." Red has historically been the color of the Left; I'm not sure who started flipping that around in the U.S.
October 26, 2008 2:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
McCain will lose it before its all over. He's getting closer and closer to the edge.
October 25, 2008 9:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know -- he seems pretty medicated to me. Did you catch him today on MTP? Smiling whenever he was faced with his obvious contradictions and every time he lied about Obama raising taxes on EVERYONE! He was so placid I thought he might slide out of his chair.
He's still using "air quotes" though for things that he wants to ridicule Obama for.
October 26, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Some of most flaming fascist Repugs I ever met came from Colorado. Thank God they are becoming a minority.
October 25, 2008 11:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grain of salt. It's the Telegraph.
October 26, 2008 2:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
"McCain Loses Temper, Reads Riot Act to Campaign Staff"
This headline has appeared every other day in McCain congressional staff notes since 1983. It alternates with "McCain Recounts How 5.5 Years As POW Made Him Patient, Calm, Trustworthy, Ready to Lead"
October 26, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like a pretty miserable place to work. "Fellow prisoners" indeed.
October 26, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink