Campaign Shows Leadership: Chris McDaniel in a crisis shows little ability.

Allegations aside that someone, allegedly a supporter of Chris McDaniel, went into the room of the wife of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and shot her picture and posted it on a website to infer an extramarital affair (if all that can be set aside), the recent unpleasantness of that race showed McDaniel’s skills, or lack thereof.

McDaniel, challenging Cochran for the GOP spot on the general election ballot, two weeks ago saw the wheels fall off his campaign when a supporter was arrested for shooting Cochran’s wife’s picture in her bed in an extended care facility in Madison.

At the moment there’s no saying McDaniel or his campaign had anything to do with or prior knowledge of the decision to get the picture of post it on the internet.

What became abundantly clear is that when it comes to crisis management, neither McDaniel nor anyone on his staff has a clue how to behave once the pressure is on.

With the pressure on the staffers, separately and independently, issued a fuzzied array of stories on what they knew and when they knew it; he blasted Cochran for sitting on the allegations for two weeks, about the time needed for a reasonable investigation; he pulled out the tired old complaint of a media conspiracy; he clamed the confusion on his staff, and never once took responsibility for the public relations debacle.

McDaniel apparently has the social skills of a cannon with a short fuse; Cochran is known for statesmanship.

McDaniel has no experience; Cochran is the consummate pro. McDaniel has no connections, and few prospects of developing any. And now it’s amply demonstrated that a man looking for one of the most pressure-filled jobs in the country can’t handle pressure.

Decision time is days away.

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