The pressure seems to be getting to McCain foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann. In response to a Marc Ambinder post suggesting that a faction in McCain's campaign thinks Palin is going off script to appeal to the base, Randy sent Ambinder this email ...

Just read your post. This is on the record. This is cleared by HQ. It is a fact that Barack Obama was palling around with terrorists. It was a fact before Governor Palin said it in a fully vetted speech and it is fact today. It is bullshit to claim or write anything else.

An old pal and handler of Chalabi, a big slime purveyor for McCain through the whole cycle, reputations are hard to repair. These must not be good times for Scheunemann.