Some GOP insiders say McCain has botched campaign to win Florida

The e-mail was practically giddy.

It came from Florida Democrats and highlighted the lumps John McCain was taking from leading Republicans.

Bill Kristol said McCain was "flailing around." George Will said it was "too late" for McCain to "come up with a new persona." And former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, asked whether he was happy with McCain's campaign, replied, "No. I don't know who is."

Unlike much political propaganda, these comments weren't wrenched out of context. They accurately represented a growing discontent with the Republican's presidential campaign.

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McCain was telling audiences last week that "we've got 'em just where we want 'em" -- but some GOP strategists see it differently. One who has advised the McCain organization called it the "most poorly run presidential campaign of the last 25 years. It's truly Dukakis-like," referring to the hapless 1988 campaign of Democrat Michael Dukakis.

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