Quote of the day

From "McCain embraces the staged rally," a post by Mosheh Oinounou that's up at Fox News' Embeds campaign blog today:

For a candidate who once railed against "stale soundbites, staged rallies and over-managed messages," John McCain seems to have turned over a new leaf.

Today marks the four-week anniversary since McCain held his last press conference (8/13 in Birmingham, MI) and three weeks since his last public town hall meeting (8/20 in Las Cruces, NM).

McCain's new campaign strategy: staged rallies with thousands of supporters. Since announcing Sarah Palin as his VP choice on August 29, McCain's has [sic] appeared at 11 rallies with his new running mate where both members of the ticket delivered a 10-15 minute stump speech.

Does this mean we get to call him -- and, of course, Sarah Palin -- a celebrity now?

Also worth noting is another post on the same blog, this one reporting that "According to a McCain senior adviser the campaign is 'seriously considering keeping' John McCain and Sarah Palin together 'on the trail more often than is typical.'" Before the Palin pick, McCain was having real trouble drawing crowds. Now, he's attracting his largest audiences ever. If the two split up, he runs the risk that his crowds will dwindle away even as she continues to draw thousands.