Robert Draper's excellent cover story in next Sunday's New York Times Magazine is full of juicy anecdotes about the McCain campaign's efforts to reinvent its candidate. This bit was particularly interesting:
Belying a crisis situation, however, McCain didn’t leave New York immediately. He spent Thursday morning at an event for the Clinton Global Initiative, the nonprofit foundation run by former President Bill Clinton. As McCain headed for Washington later that morning, he was sufficiently concerned about the situation that Schmidt felt compelled to reassure him. “Remember what President Clinton told you,” Schmidt said, referring to advice Clinton had dispensed that morning: “If you do the right thing, it might be painful for a few days. But in the long run it will work out in your favor.”
It's good to see the former president giving McCain free advice. It shows a real generosity of spirit, considering Clinton's (enthusiastic!) support for Obama.
--Isaac Chotiner