Report: McCain campaign shakeup promotes 'Bushworld veterans'

Apparently undeterred by accusations that he is running for George W. Bush's third term, Republican presidential candidate John McCain is shaking up his campaign staff to promote several "Bushworld veterans" to top positions, according to a new report.

Politico's Jonathan Martin reports that Steve Schmidt, a senior communications aide in the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, is now in charge of the "day-to-day operation" of McCain's White House run. The shakeup has created some confusion within McCain's team about who's really running the show.

Schmidt's ascension seems to foretell McCain's campaign shifting towards more personal attacks aimed at Barack Obama. In a campaign memo released last week, Schmidt accused Obama of "self-serving partisanship" and of putting his own needs before those of the country.

The move to promote Schmidt came after "a sluggish ramp-up to the general and number of unforced errors had left the candidate, senior staff and elected officials unhappy with the state of the campaign," Martin reports.

Sources tell Martin that Schmidt, who also ran California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election effort, will coordinate McCain's daily message and "have an increased role in shaping most every facet of the organization," leaving current campaign manager Rick Davis, a former lobbyist, to focus more on big-picture issues.


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