McCain aide cites 'failure of management'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/14/art.davis.gi.jpg caption="Davis managed McCain's campaign."](CNN) - Rick Davis, the campaign manager for former John McCain's White House bid, came to Sarah Palin's defense in an upcoming interview with the National Review, saying the now-infamous $150,000 clothing tab for the Alaska governor was caused by a "failure of management."
In the interview, set for publication next week, Davis notes Palin's appearance at the Republican convention came only days after she was named to the GOP ticket, and the Alaska governor had few clothes on hand that were appropriate for the event.
“We flew her out from Alaska to Arizona to Ohio to introduce her to the world and take control of her life. She didn’t think ‘dress for the convention’, because it might have just been a nice day trip to Arizona if she didn’t click with John. Very little prep had been done and if it had, we might have gotten picked off by the press. We were under incredible scrutiny."
"We were under incredible scrutiny," he added. "We got her a gal from New York and we thought, ‘Let’s get some clothes for her and the family.’ It was a failure of management not to get better control and track of that. "The right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing, what it was worth or where it was going. No one knew how much that stuff was worth. It was more our responsibility than hers.”
News of the pricey tab caused a media firestorm days before the presidential election, and McCain aides appeared to blame Palin for the mishap, while the Alaska governor said she was forced to buy the clothes.
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How on earth was McCain going to run a country and influence a world, if his right hand and left hand didn't know what each was doing in a campaign???
This is supposed to be exonerating??? No wonder he lost.
67 days till the end of the Bush administration.
Okay, everybody, enough about Sarah and those clothes. Giving the woman those clothes is the least they can do for her and her family. She went out and totally humiliated herself in the Republican name. She never stood a chance and they knew it. They never vetted her and now they are trying to blame her for their loss. Rick Davis' admission of "mismanagement' is an understatement. The whole Bush Administration has been extremely "mismanaged". They have left a nasty taste in everybody's mouth and big holes in everybody's pockets.
We don't need this dysfunctional group in White House and wasted our taxpayer's money. Tough luck, you losers.
This information further confirms the incompetencies of the Republican party and its machinery. A shoot from the hip decision by McCain to pick Palin (get the Hillary votes) who turns out to be a very light lightweight. Add to that the Repub posters on this board and their weak arguements and shots at Obama reveals a party in serious jeopardy of surviving. I am sooooooooo happy Obama won. No more idiocy in the White House!
I'm a liberal and I'm embarrased by the comments here. Give Sarah Palin a break! How many of you can say that you would have enough suitable clothes to campaign in if John McCain swooped in tomorrow and asked you to be VP? I know I wouldn't, personally. It's McCain's campaign managers fault if they did not keep track on how much these high end designer clothes were worth, especially when they demanded Sarah buy them. Get a life. You guys are making me sick.
He is only positioning himself to be her VP pick when she runs (and fails) in 2012.
That is the management that we chose NOT to elect to run our country. Very good decision.
Why is this news anymore? Who cares? We finally have an exciting administration to look forward to and we focus on these losers. Please let's move on...
I think this is a non-issue as she said she planned on returning the clothes. Mountains out of molehills! Palin appears to be a direct threat to Senator Clinton for years. At least her husband is obviously permanently attracted to her.
Sarah Palin should have known that she needed clothes for herself and family members.You don't go on a vacation with no clothes packed. I am not buying this bull that Rick Davis is selling. You could see this woman like to dress with the latest fashions and certainly Sarah palin was not selling herself as a hockey mom or the mouse killer.She has a mouth,she could have said return those clothes and buy some modest ones. Instead Sarah Palin wore the clothes which costed thousand of dollars and preached something else to the American people.Sarah Palin has herself to blame and not say she returned the clothes to the RNC. If you play with fire you will get burn.
Oh come on. She went to Arizona to possibly turn McCain down? Just a day trip she was planning? Her family couldn't bring clothes for Palin from Alaska when they went to the convention and dragged along the schmuck who made it on national tv only because he impregnated an underage girl? Nobody believes all this, do they?
Next to her lack of knowledge about any issues, the clothes issues Palin comparison!
So why are they stating that just now? Kinda weird. Seems like there were management issues all through the campaign.
This is indicative on the McCain campaign. That campaign was a complete mess.
The stupid clothes are nothing more than a symbol of the much bigger problem here. McCain's choice of Sarah Palin was done in a spur of the moment way with little review, investigation or careful thought. It is not surprising that she showed up with not enough clothes – the whole process was so shoddily handled that she was lucky to have anything to wear at all. John's McCain seat of the pants decision to put Sarah Palin one rather old heartbeat away from the presidency will go down as one of the most selfish and careless political decisions of all time. While she is clearly a self-serving, two faced political novice with no future on a national level, he has gone from a well-respected politician to a pandering old man. It is sad.
I agree with HELEN.......TOO LATE!!!!!!!!!!! IDIOTS!
Linda B.... Get the facts, are you seriously comparing McCains fortune to the Obamas? LOL
And justifying Palin's wardrobe handout? I thought conservatives were more serious about people not getting any support if they could not earn for themselves? LOL. It's the RNC contributors money, I hope you really happy your money were to lavish the Palins and not some homeless veteran 🙂
To Jay along with any other readers:
BOTTOM LINE:
Unites States should not treat (a) Presidental Election like a JOB FAIR. as the (RNC) did. (not sure why John McCain put up with it)...still has me boggled.....
No one had even heard of that Alaskan Gov.
The Presidential Election choose Barack Obama. not the other way around (must see Barack Obama Revealed).. it tells his story/path.
***What and how the RNC treated the American People with this seriouse matter of "Presidential Election" was just shamful on-so-many levels, and should always be remembered.
***We need leaders that have compasion, emathy, by WORKS, not be duty and words alone.
God Bless this country the President Elect and America.
The tab could have been cheaper had Sarah not draged her entire family along for the ride. Here kids should have remained in school except for Trigg who needed her breast milk and perhaps her husband who could have helped campaigned but did little of that. Otherwise the entire gang could have stayed back in Alaska until it was absolutely necessary, like at the Convention, or a victory speach (which was never going to happen). At anyrate, the McCain camp wanted to sell the country a bag of goods that wasnt, and they paid the price for it. Now they should just shut up and keep moving. Sarah said she returned their clothes, so I dont understand why this is still being talked about. Anyway, out of curisoity, who the hell is going to wear Sarahs cloths after she done pranced around the country in them?
Anyone who wants to can try and take the blame for Palin's spending, but it is perfectly obvious from the way that she has conducted her affairs prior to her being drafted, and certainly after, that she often takes advantage of situations involving money and travel for herself and her family. We should all be honest and admit that she seems to be constantly guilty of including them in everything that she does, thereby causing others to foot the bills for their enjoyment and pleasures. I, for one, don't believe that she is being honest when she tells Americans that she never wanted or asked for anything, but never said no to all those items she bought for herself and her family. Furthermore, she has told more than several lies about a lot of things that have occured in the past and recently. I would not believe one word out of her mouth if I was one of her supporters, but to each his own.
I didn't care about her clothes. I cared that she seemed to have the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old.
Obama has never been properly vetted. No of the liberal media ever asked him a tough question. He has ZERO foreign policy experience
and would not qualify for high security clearance, so why do you guys pick on a VP candidate.
You will all get exactly what you have coming to you, but I don't think the change you get will be the change you like!!!!
it is amazing to me how scared these liberals still are of Gov. Palin.
now she wants to give interviews? michael jackson is looking for his red leather jacket.wonder if that will turn up at Goodwill.
come on 1/20/09!! obama!!!!
The race is over and you are still lying! Get over yourselves! and it wasnt a top secret! all the exspensive clothes in the world couldnt make me vote for her and i am sure there are millions of people like me who feel the same! so it was a loss that you had to take!
P.S
Does her husband Todd say anything! i have never heard him speak!!!!