John McCain shakes up presidential campaign staff

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 3, 2008

WASHINGTON - John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations yesterday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

Steve Schmidt, a veteran of President George W. Bush's re-election and a member of the Arizona senator's inner circle, will oversee daily political strategy, scheduling and communications efforts from McCain's northern Virginia headquarters.

The estimated 300-person staff will report to Schmidt, who will report to campaign manager Rick Davis.

Davis took the reins of the campaign almost exactly a year ago amid a major staff shake-up and has been the subject of Democratic criticism for his past lobbying work.

He told the staff of Schmidt's expanded role at a meeting yesterday at headquarters, saying Schmidt would have "full operational control" of the campaign's daily activities.

Charlie Black, a senior adviser, characterized Schmidt's larger role as a typical expansion for a growing campaign.

"The deeper you get into a presidential campaign, the more tasks there are to do and the more work there is to do," Black said. "Rick asked Steve to take on more responsibility, and he did and everybody's happy."

Other changes and additions are expected.

Republican officials with knowledge of the plans said Schmidt likely will shift the political operations into a more traditional structure, including the hiring of a single political director and a single field director. The campaign has been criticized for its nontraditional, decentralized structure that broke the country into 11 regions with a campaign manager for each.

Since McCain wrapped up the nomination in March, Republican insiders have expressed concerns privately that the stripped-down campaign of the primary season was not adequately transformed into a general election operation able to take on Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

McCain lags Obama in fundraising, organizational structure, and polls. Critics have panned his subpar speeches, said he lacks a cohesive message and questioned his travel itinerary. For instance, he is in Colombia and Mexico this week while Obama is spending the Independence Day week traveling to battleground states and traditional Republican strongholds.

Schmidt, 38, presided over California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful re-election bid two years ago. He was a top aide in Bush's re-election campaign in 2004, ran the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and played a leading role in the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts.