Steve Schmidt

Steve Schmidt (b. 1970) is an American campaign strategist and public relations expert for the U.S. Republican Party. He specializes in political "message development and strategy".cite news | url = http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/12/mccain_hires_another_bushie.html | title = McCain Hires Another Bush Insider | publisher = Washington Post | date = December 20, 2006 | author=Chris Cillizza] A protege of Republican strategist Karl Rove, Schmidt is currently the senior campaign strategist and advisor to the 2008 Presidential campaign of Senator John McCain. [cite news|url=http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/08/01/republicans-press-celebrity-attack-on-obama.html|title=Republicans Press Celebrity Attack on Obama|last=Halloran|first=Liz|date=1 August 2008|publisher=US News and World Report|accessdate=2008-08-08]

Early life and education

Schmidt's father was a business executive with Verizon; his mother was a teacher. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and was an Eagle Scout, a tight end on the high school football team,cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/20/AR2008082003960_pf.html |title=The Silver Bullet: Steve Schmidt Makes Sure His Candidate Knows Exactly What He Is Shooting For |author=Lois Romano |work=Washington Post |date=August 21, 2008] a two-year member of the National Honor Society, and senior class vice president. In 1988, he was one of two graduating seniors voted "most likely to succeed" by his classmates at North Plainfield High School.cite news |url=http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080907/NEWS/809070313/1098/POLITICS |title=University of Delaware Delt plays pivotal role on McCain campaign staff |date=September 7, 2008 |publisher=Home News Tribune and the Courier News ] He first handed out campaign materials for Democrat Bill Bradley's 1978 Senate campaign. [cite news |title=Governor's team adds former Rove protege: Political 'artillery shell' joins re-election effort |author=Carla Marinucci |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=February 12, 2006 ]

Schmidt attended the University of Delaware from 1988 through the spring of 1993, majoring in political science. He left three credits short of graduating because he couldn't pass a math course; Schmidt has said that he has been diagnosed with a learning disability that makes higher math difficult for him. He joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, was a member of the campus Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, and did field work for Republican candidates in Delaware, sometimes wearing campaign buttons to class.cite news |title=Another kingmaker has links to Delaware: McCain strategist was a student at UD |author=Chris Barrish |work= The News Journal |date=September 15, 2008 |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080915/NEWS02/809150337 ]

Career

Early campaigns

In 1998, Schmidt ran Tim Leslie's unsuccessful race for lieutenant governor of California.cite news |title=Steve Schmidt: The driving force behind John McCain |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-schmidt6-2008oct06,0,7177006,full.story |date=October 6, 2008 |author=Dan Morain and Bob Drogin ] That year he was also the Communications Director for the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Matt Fong. [cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/sunday_reading_steve_schmidt_e.html |work=Washington Post |author=Chris Cillizza |date=September 7, 2008 |title=Sunday Reading: Steve Schmidt Examined ] In 1999, he was the communications director for Lamar Alexander's presidential run, leaving in June when the campaign reduced its senior staff. [cite news | title=Alexander Cuts Staff And Travel |author=David Firestone |date= June 4, 1999 |work=New York Times |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E3DD1639F937A35755C0A96F958260 ]

Washington D.C.

By late 2000, Schmidt was communications director of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.cite url |url=http://rncnyc2004.blogspot.com/2008/07/steve-schmidt-biography.html |accessdate=2008-10-08 |title=Steve Schmidt biography |date=July 4, 2008] [cite news |title=Republican congressional exec quits for private work |author=Steve Lilienthal |work=PR Week USA |date=November 27, 2000 |url= http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/113798/ ] In 2001, he was the spokesman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, [cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E5D9173FF93AA15750C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=New York Times |title=While Senate Debates, It's Fund-Raising as Usual |author=Philip Shenon |date=March 29, 2001] becoming the Communications Director by 2002. He left the NRCC in early 2003 to work for the lobbying firm Direct Impact Company. [cite news |title=National Republican Congressional Committee - People & Organizations: Party Lines |work=Campaigns & Elections magazine |date=May 2003 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2519/is_5_24/ai_102660514 ]

Schmidt joined the Bush administration as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2004, he was a member of the senior strategic planning group, led by White House adviser Karl Rove, that ran President Bush's re-election campaign; Schmidt oversaw the reelection "war room". In 2005 and 2006, he was the White House strategist in charge of the U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Samuel A. Alitocite news | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/12/BAGTNH78UU1.DTL | title = Governor's team adds former Rove protege | publisher = San Francisco Chronicle | date = February 12, 2006 | author=Carla Marinucci] and Chief Justice John Roberts.

California

In 2006, Schmidt left the White House to become the campaign manager in the re-election campaign for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. From there, he became a partner in Mercury Public Affairs, part of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, in charge of Mercury's operations in California. [cite news |work=The Politico | title=A dose of discipline for McCain's campaign |author=Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen |date=July 3, 2008 url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=E5FAF286-3048-5C12-0066483BBF8FB520 ]

2008 McCain Presidential campaign

On July 2, 2008, Schmidt was appointed to head up day to day operations of the McCain campaign in response to concerns that the McCain campaign lacked coordination and a clear message. Rick Davis retained the formal title of "campaign manager".cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203038.html | title = "McCain Puts New Strategist Atop Campaign" | author = Dan Balz and Michael D. Shear | work = The Washington Post | date=2008-07-02 | accessdate=2008-07-02] [cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Schmidt_takes_control_of_daytoday_operation.html|title=Schmidt takes control of day-to-day operation|last=Martin|first=Jonathan|date=2008-07-02|publisher=Politico.com|accessdate=2008-09-07]

Press commentary

The New York Times described Schmidt's management as having transformed the McCain campaign into an "an elbows-out, risk-taking, disciplined machine," crediting him with aggressive responses to press criticism and creative methods of manipulating the news cycle. [cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/us/politics/07schmidt.html|title=An Adviser Molds a Tighter, More Aggressive McCain Campaign |last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|coauthors=Adam Nagourney|date=2008-09-06|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2008-09-17]

Time's Michael Scherer, in an opinion piece from September 15, 2008 relating to Schmidt's involvement with John McCain's presidential campaign stated that Schmidt, the "lord of outrage, has a long and prosperous career ahead of him." [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1841131,00.html|title=McCain's Outraged and Outrageous Campaign|last=Scherer|first=Michael|date=Sep. 15, 2008|publisher=Time.com|accessdate=2008-09-16]

tance on homosexuality

Schmidt voiced his support for gay rights at meeting of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican group. Schmidt, when referring to the group, said "I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign's respect to your organization and to your group. Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party." cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60725.asp|title=McCain's Top Strategist Addresses Log Cabin Republicans|last=Eleveld|first=Kerry|date=Sep. 4, 2008|publisher=advocate.com|accessdate=2008-09-29]

Schmidt referred in positive terms to his lesbian sister and her life partner: "On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children's life. I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come," said Schmitdt.

References

External Links

* [http://www.mercurypublicaffairs.com/team-schmidt.htm Bio at Mercury Public Affairs]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/us/politics/03manage.html?ex=1372824000&en=e4df6854417b9483&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink McCain Orders Shake-Up of His Campaign] , "New York Times", July 3, 2008