Palin goes rogue
on McCain team

GOV. SARAH PALIN'S war with staffers in Sen. John McCain's campaign organization is showing a side of her that's familiar to many Alaskans but new to most voters in the national arena. After all, her Wasilla High nickname was Sarah Barracuda.

The simmering feud surfaced last week when a McCain staffer complained (anonymously) that Palin was behaving like a "diva" and was ignoring campaign staff advice to pursue her own political agenda — a future in national politics.

By diva, the man meant "prima donna." He suggested the Alaska governor was trying to position herself . . .

(cont'd from front page) for a White House run four years from now.

Though many might guffaw at the notion, others are beginning to take Palin seriously. Republican strategist Ed Rollins told a CNN anchor that she is very effective and will come out of the election as the most popular Republican in the nation.

"She'll basically spend the next three or four years running around doing Lincoln Day dinners and raising money for people," Rollins said. Then he added the caveat, "She's got to gain a lot of substance before she's a viable candidate for president."

A reporter for Reuters said on Monday that she was apparently trying to distance herself from McCain. "Palin over the last few weeks has publicly expressed her differences with McCain on issues such as a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the campaign's decision to no longer contest Democrats in Michigan and her distaste for automated calls that have drawn scrutiny."

Politico.com said she was unhappy with the way her national debut was handled — especially criticism about her poor performance in the first round of big-time media interviews — and was ignoring advice from former George W. Bush aides assigned to help her on the campaign trail.

Then on Sunday, Palin went "off script." Instead of discussing the issues as planned, she brought up criticism about her expensive new wardrobe, which she says she is just borrowing to look good on the campaign trail.

Other reporters said the governor had lost confidence in "most of the people on the plane" - referring to her campaign aircraft - and was beginning to "go rogue" in some of her pronouncements and decisions.

That would be consistent with the style she demonstrated in Alaska and with the maverick image she cultivated. But while it might help her own positioning, it could label her as something other than a team player.

With McCain fighting for his political life, and in dire danger of losing the election, this is not the time for Palin to be perceived as anything but a team player.