Campaign Staff and Policy Team
On July 2, 2008, Steve Schmidt was given "full operational control" of McCain's campaign. Schmidt had managed Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election and was a top Dick Cheney aide. Rick Davis was the previous campaign manager. He was previously the campaign's chief executive and changed position when John Weaver, McCain's chief aide, and Terry Nelson, his campaign manager, resigned on July 11, 2007. Davis was campaign manager during McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, when Weaver had been McCain's chief campaign strategist.
Other top staffers included McCain's former chief of staff Mark Salter and long-time political strategist Charlie Black who worked for Reagan, both Bushes and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Former Bush advisor Mark McKinnon also worked for the campaign before leaving in May 2008 to avoid working against Barack Obama. Jill Hazelbaker was the campaign's chief spokeswoman. McCain's press secretary was Melissa Shuffield.
Neoconservative pundit Bill Kristol served as a foreign policy advisor. Randy Scheunemann, a board member of the Project for the New American Century, was hired in January 2007 as McCain's foreign-policy aide. He was the top advisor for security and international issues. Douglas Holtz-Eakin was a senior policy adviser and Nicolle Wallace was senior adviser on message.
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Famous quotes containing the words campaign, staff, policy and/or team:
“Dianne’s not one of the boys, but she’s not one of the girls, either.”
—Marcia Smolens, U.S. political campaign aide. As quoted in Dianne Feinstein, ch. 15, by Jerry Roberts (1994)
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The ancient proverb will be well effected:
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“Maybe it’s understandable what a history of failures America’s foreign policy has been. We are, after all, a country full of people who came to America to get away from foreigners. Any prolonged examination of the U.S. government reveals foreign policy to be America’s miniature schnauzer—a noisy but small and useless part of the national household.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)
“giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
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But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.””
—Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863)