McCain aides released a list of his veterans awards, as well as legislation he has backed dealing with Agent Orange and gulf war syndrome.

Some McCain aides saw the senator as naturally preferring the company of reporters to other politicians.

"That'd be hard to miss even in Bora-Bora," said a McCain aide.

And so to the fingerpointing, almost all by unnamed McCain aides.

McCain aides responded with a sneer.

That is high praise from a McCain aide, considering how aggrieved his boss felt by some of the commercials Mr. Bush ran in South Carolina.

As part of that effort, McCain aides also scheduled a flurry of fund-raising events over the next several weeks from California to New York.

In the months after the poll McCain aides poured anonymous scorn on Mrs Palin's refusal to toe the line and ignorance of policy.

"I think he probably wishes he had found a more respectful way to state that one," says Mark Salter, a senior McCain aide.

"I'm afraid it shows how paranoid some of these McCain aides have gotten - they should take a good rest after a tough campaign," he told Fox.