"The real Sarah Palin is not the caricature put out by these dishonest leakers," Scheunemann said. "The reality is she is a tough, capable, knowledgeable and focused politician. . . . Whoever these people are and whatever position they had in the campaign, they certainly never had John McCain's best interests at heart."
Scheunemann, whom Palin reportedly came to trust more than other McCain aides, also denied reports that he had been fired from the campaign. The reports said he had been fired before the end of the campaign for talking to reporters about what he viewed as the mishandling of the Alaska governor.
Palin's aides also responded Friday to accounts by McCain aides that she sought to give a speech on election night and was overruled shortly before she went onstage at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.
Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said that someone in the McCain campaign had in fact flown in a speechwriter to craft a laudatory introduction for Palin to deliver. Palin was disappointed when the speech was canceled at the last minute, Stapleton said.
The speech focused on McCain's history and "what an incredible president he would have been," Stapleton said.
"She still has [the speech] because she feels the words are just beautiful and capture why she has been on the trail, dedicated and devoted 70 days next to Sen. McCain," Stapleton said.
As for the clothing, Stapleton said, the campaign brought in a New York stylist and gave her a "blank check" to outfit Palin during the convention -- a characterization disputed by McCain aides, who say the stylist was authorized to purchase just six outfits.
Palin "had no idea" about the amounts being spent on her clothing, Stapleton said. "She was sequestered in the hotel, and the only time she was allowed to leave was to watch Sen. McCain speak and to give her own speech."
When the stylist appeared with bags of garments, Stapleton said, Palin showed displeasure -- and was stunned by the $3,500 price tag for one jacket.
"She said, 'No, no, no, no, no. I would never wear this at home, I would never wear this outside of home. This is too much, this isn't me,' " Stapleton said.
Campaign officials told Palin she should wear the jacket, Stapleton said, and eventually the governor relented. Palin never saw a price tag after that, Stapleton said.
Several Palin aides said that the governor may have requested certain clothing items be purchased after the convention, but that she never told staffers to put them on their personal credit cards.
