This line in the Times' coverage of Palin's various disclosures jumped out at me:
“We are going to flush the toilet,” said Tucker Eskew, who is a senior adviser to Ms. Palin, describing the campaign’s plans for Labor Day, when much of the nation was busy with family and social activities.
What Eskew is saying is that the McCain campaign is getting all their bad news out of the way when no one is watching TV, but keep in mind the he is referring to the public announcement of Palin's daughter's pregnancy when he says "flush the toilet." For Sarah Palin, this week is going to be hard, and not just because of the unrelenting media attention or the rigorous duties of campaigning. Keep in mind she is now surrounded by folks like Eskew, staffers whose only loyalty is to McCain.
When a politician joins the ticket, he or she will normally bring some trusted advisers along with them. But with her limited time on the national scene, Palin likely doesn't have anyone she could credibly bring along to the campaign to act as her advocate in staff decisions. So folks like Eskew -- who, for all we know, met her as many times as John McCain did before the announcement (one) -- will be telling her what to do for as long as she is on the ticket. That sounds empowering ...
But it's not just Palin. McCain himself couldn't even make his own decision about who to pick as VP, according to a "Republican close to the campaign":
“This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn't get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.”
Poor John McCain. He can't even pick his own VP. What a maverick!
--Tim Fernholz
THIS POST EDITED FOR CLARITY
