Steve Schmidt

McCain is up with a new ad that depicts Obama's oppo-researchers as hungry wolves in the hunt for Sarah Palin -- an effort to depict Palin as victim and Obama as predator:

The ad, as usual, is full of distortions and falsehoods. The narrator's claim of "completely false" attacks on Palin comes from a FactCheck.org examination of Internet rumors about Palin, having absolutely nothing to do with Obama. And the Wall St. Journal report of opposition researches headed to Alaska -- as if researching your opponent were wrong -- was a reference to Democratic operatives, not the Obama campaign specifically.

Separately, those with extremely long memories will recall that four years ago, the Bush-Cheney campaign -- including current McCain adviser Steve Schmidt -- also used images of wolves in an ad sliming John Kerry. In that case, the wolves represented terrorists.

“You saw one of the great speeches in the history of political conventions last night by an accomplished governor of a state who has just announced herself as a major force in the Republican Party in her own right, and I think the other side this morning, when you consider the backlash that is likely to occur after all the vile filth that’s been thrown at her, they ought to be sitting on the other side saying, Oh – My – God,” Schmidt said to the cheers of some 50 attendees. “I’ve been in some tough political fights in my career, and I will just tell you that over the last 48 hours, the smearing and the defamation of this family is unlike anything I have ever seen.”

This from remarks by Steve Schmidt, Senior Advisor to the McCain campaign, as he addressed the Logs in St. Paul this week.

First, let’s look at the “smears.” Sarah “Parade My Family” Palin invited this critique when she framed her own introduction to include detailed introductions of her kids. This was an intentional plotted maneuver by the McCain Campaign to garner the support of the “family values” crowd.

The question each American voter must ask: Could she step in and lead the nation in the event the 72-year-old McCain were incapacitated? More HERE

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has faced questions since she was named to the Republican ticket. Tonight is her chance to answer them and to help frame the campaign. (Post, Melina Mara) More HERE

AAPP: McCain's campaign staff say, "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee" for vice president."

Is it really possible that the McCain campaign is refusing to say whether McCain knew about Bristol's pregnancy before picking Sarah Palin as his running mate?

Apparently so:

Reporters at the Republican national convention hammered McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt about the Palin pregnancy during a press conference. All Schmidt would say is Palin and McCain had discussed the pregnancy and considered it to be a private matter.

He wouldn't say if they talked about it before McCain picked Palin as his vice presidential nominee.

Say what? So what did McCain know about this woman before putting her within reach of controlling the most powerful military in human history?

Amusingly, McCain adviser Schmidt is saying that McCain knew about the pregnancy "last week," which also includes Saturday and all day Friday after the announcement, of course.

Late Update: MSNBC's reporters on-scene with Schmidt add this: