There's an old proverb that I'm sure you've heard before.

No man is a hero to his valet.

Steve Schmidt was not exactly John McCain's valet, but he was the political equivalent.

His closest advisor.

And John McCain was Steve's hero.

Everything about him that was big was big, everything that was heroic was heroic.

McCain, who died in 2018, was one of the most celebrated politicians in modern American

history.

And Steve was the man by his side through the epic 2008 presidential campaign.

He was not a man of moderation, at all.

There were no pastels in there.

It's a story of disillusionment and regret.

Steve played a role in elevating Sarah Palin to the national stage when John McCain

picked her as his running mate.

And over time, Steve came to see Palin and the followers she attracted as the precursor

to Donald Trump and his movement, which, if you know anything about Steve these days,

has been the political force he spent the last seven years fighting against.

As much as Steve has spoken out against Palinism and what he believes he represents, he

didn't challenge the legend of John McCain, the person who actually picked her.

But privately, over the course of the 2008 campaign, he had grown to believe that the gap

between the myth of John McCain and the reality of John McCain was so wide that he could

actually no longer support McCain for president.

...