• For the second time in a year McCain has ordered a major shake-up of his campaign structure with the intent of shifting the overall direction and strategy of the campaign during a time of quasi-crisis for the GOP nominee. The current situation is obviously nowhere near as dire as it was exactly one year ago when McCain cleaned house and rotated in a completely new staff as his Republican primary run seemed on the verge of collapse. But yesterday’s decision to promote former Bush/Cheney ‘04 strategist and Rove disciple Steve Schmidt to day-to-day control while moving Rick Davis to handle “broad” operations (i.e; he got canned) does signal that JMac is aware of the dissatisfaction that many GOPers have expressed with the way the campaign has been run lately and that he sees certain aspects where he has rapidly fallen behind in the fight with Obama. It also is an indication that the McCain campaign has decided to fully embrace vestiges of the Bush administration and the current president into McCain’s run as a way of both pooling resources and having Pres. Bush be a background sniper to take on Obama with well-placed anonymous contrasts between the two candidates. It also helps boost confidence in the conservative ranks.
  • The campaign and McCain himself are doing their best to downplay the internal move as less of a “shake-up” and more of a “mild” shift that shouldn’t get any press. McCain bristled when asked today about how “big” he believes the changes to be. - “I don’t think the changes are big,” McCain said. “The changes are a better division of some of the responsibilities as our campaign has grown from a very small staff to a much larger one.” 
  • Obama’s shift to the center on a host of issues since securing the nomination has been aimed at aiding his electability and opening up some very red states to a more even contest with McCain in November. But has his flip-flops on gun control, wiretaps and his embrace of Bush’s faith-based governmental initiatives (a major thorn in the sides of liberals) turned the Left Wing base of the Democratic Party against Obama? Or, at the very least, is the enthusiasm for the Dem nominee toned down to the point that grass roots efforts and even voter turnout could be hampered? The instant animosity towards Obama is especially fierce in the liberal blogosphere, where fiery youngsters are starting web campaigns to bash Obama and force him back to the party’s base.So far, loyalty to liberal ideology is winning out over a desire to simply win back the White House among most liberals.
  • An interesting face has turned out to be a crucial member of Obama’s Veep search team: Caroline Kennedy. Kennedy is vetting the candidates and grilling the contenders in D.C. meetings, lining up names for the final few lists of running mate possibilities. This increased role could be one more effort to woo women voters still stung over Hillary’s loss and the very real fact that HRC won’t be on the ticket. Kennedy has strong support among Hillary’s crowd, even is she did reject Hillary from the start.
  • Speaking of that impressive Obama Veep list: John Edwards was on the trail and introducing Obama as he appeared via satellite feed at a steelworkers conference in Vegas yesterday. Edwards was given the task of warming up the union crowd with Obama talking points. The campaign realizes the popularity Edwards retains with labor, and appearances like this could be a common sight even if Edwards isn’t picked for the ticket. It’s all meant to keep the egos of the contenders soothed while the long VP process works itself out.
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