McCain Campaign Breaks Down, Shakes Up

Senator John McCain's campaign announced a reorganization yesterday that the pundits are calling a "shake-up," but which the campaign insists is business as usual. From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON - Senator John McCain's presidential campaign has gone through its second shake-up in a year. Responding to Republican concerns that his candidacy was faltering, Mr. McCain put a veteran of President Bush's 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations, and stepped away from a plan to have the campaign run by 11 regional managers, Mr. McCain's aides said Wednesday.

The elevation of Steve Schmidt - who worked closely with Karl Rove - at Mr. McCain's headquarters represented a sharp diminishment of the responsibilities of Rick Davis, who has been Mr. McCain's campaign manager since the last shake-up nearly a year ago.

The McCain campaign said, through a spokesman, that they are simply rearranging the deck chairs...sorry, no, they put a cigar in the campaign's mouth and said, "I love it when a plan comes together."

The Times, and everyone else, are being extremely generous to the McCain campaign. In order for something to be shaken up, it has to first be in a non-shaking state. McCain's campaign has been trembling like an extra-innings Jenga game since the Democrats ended their primary fight.

It wasn't that great before that, either, but no-one was looking. It reminds me of a cartoon that Jim Bouton described in Ball Four, where a forlorn kid, dragging his bat and glove, tells his dad, "I had a no-hitter going until the big kids got out of school."

From that first night of the general election, McCain was clearly outclassed, drawing ridicule for his poorly-staged, barf-colored victory speech.

As far as campaign staff, McCain has had consistent problems, jettisoning senior advisers because of their lobbying ties, having one resign because he didn't want to oppose Barack Obama, and keeping others that he probably shouldn't. Charlie Black, who posits a McCain catastrophe bounce from a terrorist attack, comes to mind.

Add to that the fact that McCain is taking a beating from Obama on most key issues, and it is no wonder that they have seized on Wesley Clark's comments as a way to shift the conversation to McCain's military service, his only remaining positive. Even there, forming a Truth Squad populated by a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has sapped much of the political advantage that could've been gained, and demanding that Barack Obama "cut loose" a guy who is not even connected to the campaign just reeks of desperation.

McCain and the GOP are right to be worried. Even with a perfect campaign, they faced an uphill fight against any Democrat this year. Against a formidable politician like Barack Obama, they could break several Richter scales shaking up McCain's beleaguered operation, and still not make a dent.