Part 6: NEWSWEEK's "Secrets of the 2008 Campaign"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167950

Part 6 covers the three presidential debates. It talks about how Obama studied for all three debates like he was studying for the bar exam. And McCain almost practiced too hard for them. It seemed like McCain would be told to make sure and say this and do this and then when the debate would come he would take that advice and do it TOO much.

After the first debate, McCain and his handlers reviewed the videotape. Why, one aide asked him, did you never look at Obama? Because you told me not to! McCain retorted. It was true. McCain's debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, had noted Obama's tendency to look directly at an opponent while attacking, and he had instructed McCain not to get sucked in by meeting his gaze. But McCain had taken the advice a little too literally. "We didn't tell you not to look at him at all," one aide chided him.

And there is a little bit on Palin going rouge...

There was grumbling that Palin had jumped the gun by bringing up Ayers at her rallies before the campaign could properly do the groundwork with a rollout strategy and ads. (At one rally, she had talked about Obama "palling around with terrorists.") Palin was mad at her handlers. Reportedly, she felt that Wallace and Schmidt had poorly coached and advised her. One adviser later speculated that she impulsively talked about Ayers because she felt thwarted—she had really wanted to bring up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.