If I had to choose a moment it would be with his nomination. The lack of organization and planning that I saw out of the McCain campaign here in Ohio was astonishing. None of us could believe how out of step and disorganized they were. Bear in mind I’m owner of a couple of newspapers here in this most swinging of states and I was in touch with both state level campaigns each week.
McCain’s people couldn’t take action or responsibility for anything and when they did it was poorly executed. It’s like they couldn’t avoid stepping on their own dicks every damn day.
Examples:
One weekend it was let out to the media that Palin would come to town. She’d be stopping to shake some hands. Word gets around from the campaign that she’ll stop at a local farm market, it also gets out that it’ll be a brief stop at an interstate. Hundreds of people gather at each place. She stops at neither and instead stops for 15 minutes, unannounced, at another farm market, buys some cider and runs off. Later we’re told she didn’t stop at the first two places because of ‘the crowds’. Get that again: the campaign didn’t want to stop because there were too many people waiting to see the candidate.
The following week Biden came to the same town and appeared on the lawn of the town Armory. Announced several days in advance it was organized well, drew between 1500 and 2000 people and Biden was on message and on time.
Another example:
I offered both candidates up to 1200 words to run in my papers. State their piece and make their case and we wouldn’t edit it at all. Obama’s people responded immediately and positively. I got copy, pictures, and friendly calls to make sure I had everything.
The state director for communications for McCain and his assistant took FIVE weeks to get me copy. I had to start calling McCain’s Senate Press office to get them to respond. I was at the point where I had to threaten to run ‘Senator McCain didn’t want to make his case to the voters of Ohio’ and a blank column to get their attention. Once I got it they then had trouble deciding which picture should run.
Yet another example:
House contacts. This is a strong Republican county with a Strong Democratic college town in the middle of it. Classic swing county, really. Obama set up a county-level office here early in the game and sent a guy to run all of his efforts here. Nice fella, from Tennessee or something. McCain never set up an office in the county at all and the local Republican party, those with experience getting out their vote, couldn’t get much in the way of yard signs or other campaign paraphenalia. The resorted to making their own for McCain/Palin and hoping for the best.
Also, on this level, McCain for Ohio didn’t do any calling in this county. The local Republican campaign manager, an experienced office holder here, developed a calling list of likely voters two months ago and had a bank working that list for local candidates in the last two weeks. It was ELECTION DAY when the McCain people contacted him and asked him to have his bank call ALL voters in the county. He refused and offered his list (vetted out for only likely republican voters) and the McCain for Ohio people’s response was to not call anyone.
Forgive me, but I think the campaign likely represents the man. McCain strikes me, from his image an actions, as an impulsive manager who believes that he, personally, can solve problems. That’s fine for him but it leaves those under him with no underlying direction or plan and the campaign, at least here in Ohio, reflected that.