Bloomberg, Jan. 18: “Something about South Carolina brings out the beast in U.S. presidential campaigns. In the last week before its Jan. 19 primary, the Palmetto State is awash in stealth e-mail attacks, fake polling calls and other dirty tricks reminiscent of the scurrilous rumors that scuttled John McCain’s candidacy in 2000.”
Politico, Jan. 18: “The national media thinks John McCain is under siege again, and his campaign is only too happy to help reporters file their stories … The truth is, not that many nasty things are going on in 2008, certainly not compared to the bare-knuckled 2000 GOP presidential primary here, and probably not much more so than in your garden-variety campaign for elected office.”
