McCain shakes up presidential campaign team

2008-07-04 09:27:01 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

·McCain shook up his team Wednesday as Republican concern about its ability.
·Steve Schmidt will take over day-to-day operations of the campaign.
·The move is a direct response to the missteps in previous messaging and scheduling.

    WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential contender John McCain shook up his team Wednesday, in the wake of growing Republican concern about its ability to compete against Democratic rival Barack Obama. 

Republican presidential candidate U.S. Senator John McCain speaks to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 25th Annual conference and political convention in Washington, DC, June 28, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)
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    McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters that Steve Schmidt will take over day-to-day operations of the campaign.

    Schmidt, a veteran of the 2004 presidential campaign of President George W. Bush, will be in charge of everything from messaging and communications to the political structure, organization and scheduling.

    His top priority will be to stop "unforced errors in the campaign."

    Schmidt will be assisted by Mike McDonald, a fellow veteran of the Bush campaign.

    Mike DuHaime, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager and another longtime associate of Schmidt, will also take on more responsibility.

    McCain advisers reportedly said that the shakeup is a direct response to the missteps in previous messaging and scheduling that didn't give McCain a good platform, and a political structure that many thought was misguided.

Report: Romney tops list of McCain's potential running mates

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) holds a news conference with Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (not pictured) and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R) at the Million Air F.B.O. in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 27, 2008. Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for Senator John McCain. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)
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    WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the Politico website reported Tuesday.

    "Romney as favorite" is the hot buzz in Republican circles, and top party advisers said the case is compelling, it said.

Obama gives out clues on choice of running mate

    WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Wednesday gave out some clues about the qualities he would seek in his running mate for the upcoming elections.

    "I want somebody who can be a good president if anything happened to me," Obama told a news conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Poll: Obama leads McCain by 12 points

    LOS ANGELES, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Senator Barack Obama has captured a 12-point lead over Republican Senator John McCain at the opening of the general election campaign for president, according to a poll published on Tuesday.

    The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll attributed the lead to enthusiasm among Democrats and public concern over the economy.

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