Matt S. David

Matt David, who served as John McCain's "rapid response guru until he and others in the press shop resigned en masse in July [2007] amid the campaign's shake-up," later served as communications director for the White House pro-war in Iraq front group Freedom's Watch, "a well-financed group stocked with Bush donors and loyalists."

David was a "Bush-Cheney-campaign" operative in 2004, Mike Allen wrote January 4, 2007, in TIME Magazine. David, "a behind-the-scenes document wizard who knew every word Kerry had said and remixed those words for effect", was among those who "monitored constant live feeds of candidate John Kerry and then mercilessly tormented him about his weakness for shrimp vindaloo, kite surfing and Sun Valley," Allen wrote.

David worked in the Bush-Cheney war room under Steve Schmidt and "on the White House staff before coming West to learn all about" Arnold Schwarzenegger's "opponents", Bill Bradley wrote December 21, 2006, for Pajamas Media. Schmidt, a partner in the Mercury Group public affairs firm, is Schwarzenegger's "highly regarded campaign manager" and was a senior advisor to McCain, Bradley wrote.

"Schmidt taught the cadre--some of whom are now in charge of large staffs at the '08 campaigns--that the news cycle ends with the 11:35 p.m. comedy shows and starts when the Associated Press sends out fresh stories shortly after midnight. Everyone in the Bush-Cheney diaspora has been schooled in relentlessness and in the power of Matt Drudge's website," Allen wrote.

David joined McCain's campaign in December 2006. Previously, David, ran Schwarzenegger's "take-no-prisoners, non-stop 'war room' rapid response effort" and was to "plunge into a new and similar effort -- also for the Arizona U.S. Senator." David also continued as an advisor to Schwarzenegger, "working closely with both communications director Adam Mendelsohn and chief of staff Susan Kennedy to help Schwarzenegger shape his mission -- and his message -- in the upcoming crucial year as he aims to tackle health care, infrastructure and budget issues," Carla Marinucci wrote December 20, 2006, in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * U.S. presidential election, 2008

External articles

 * David D. Kirkpatrick and Michael Cooper, "McCain Call Raises an Ethics Question," New York Times, July 12, 2007.
 * Matt Lewis, "Staff Changes Show Different McCain Campaign," Townhall.com, August 9, 2007.