Observers (depending on their politics) have noted with either satisfaction or fear that the McCain campaign is running "a typical Republican campaign." Now the campaign has shifted adviser Steve Schmidt from bus duty to "day-to-day campaign management," so we should expect some changes. Schmidt's been involved in Republican politics basically since he was old enough to vote, but he's not a typical Republican. Sure, ran the 2004 Bush-Cheney war room, but he also got Arnold re-elected. He and Mark McKinnon were the only two "outsiders" who became part of the tight-knit group that counseled McCain after his near-death experience last summer; at 36, he's one of the youngest of all the top staffers and formed an unlikely but close relationship with the candidate almost out of the gate. Despite his youth, he's also left a big imprint on the party -- his proteges include former Mitt Romney spokesdude Kevin Madden and current RNC flack Danny Diaz. Strategy-wise, Schmidt's been an advocate for some of the boldest moves made by the McCain campaign, including the coyly misrepresentative accusation that Romney was "for surrender " -- McCain's term -- based on wanting a "timetable" in Iraq. The charge twisted Romney's words, but many feel that it helped seal Florida -- and thus the nomination -- for McCain. He also hates the press, at least as an organism if not individually; McCain sitting around for hours in bad lighting, with everyone reco ...
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