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.
