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PICKING PALIN….My morning LA Times tells me something I didn’t know before. Steve Schmidt, the McCain campaign manager responsible for Paris and Britney, the anti-press jihad, the slurs against Obama’s patriotism, and all the rest of the McCain campaign’s kitchen sink, was also the brains behind McCain’s biggest bet-the-ranch stunt of all:

The effort peaked with the choice of Palin as McCain’s running mate. Convinced that McCain needed a dramatic gesture to make the race competitive, Schmidt pressed McCain to pluck the Alaska governor from obscurity.

Other than the candidates, no one in the operation has more riding on that decision than Schmidt. And no one has worked harder to turn the decision into a success.

He defended Palin against what he called sexist attacks, and traveled to Alaska to brief her before her first TV interviews. For three days, he was ensconced at McCain’s spread in Sedona, Ariz., helping Palin prepare for her performance on the biggest night of her career: the debate against Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

In the world of high-octane political campaigns, Schmidt used to have a reputation for both brains and brawn. After this November, I have a feeling brawn is all his reputation will be left with.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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