US presidential election:BILL CLINTON and Barack Obama will make their first joint campaign appearance of the presidential race in Florida on Wednesday, less than a week before election day, writes Denis Staunton in Washington
The two men met in New York last month and the former president has campaigned on his own and with Hillary Clinton on behalf of Mr Obama but he has struggled to kill speculation that he remains resentful about his wife's defeat in the Democratic primaries.
Mr Obama enjoys a narrow lead in Florida amid signs that Hispanic voters are abandoning the Republican Party in the state, which George W Bush won in 2004. The display of Democratic unity comes as Mr McCain's campaign has shown signs of internal discord, with some insiders claiming that vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is rebelling against her handlers and striking off in her own direction.
Citing four sources close to Ms Palin, the Politico reported that the Alaska governor has "decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them".
Ms Palin's spokeswoman dismissed the report but Bill Kristol, a conservative columnist who is close to the governor, yesterday criticised campaign staff who allowed her to take the heat for her new $150,000 wardrobe, which was paid for by the Republican National Committee.
"Since when do the staffers go into hiding and let Governor Palin be the one who has to explain it? It's a total disgrace the staff has ducked responsibility for this mistake, which was not her mistake. Whatever people's criticisms of Governor Palin, no one thinks she lives high on the hog in Alaska," he told Fox News Sunday.
Mr Kristol said that the campaign had mishandled Ms Palin by trying to shield her from the press immediately after she was nominated, suggesting that she should now be unleashed for the final days of the campaign.
"It's McCain's staff which bottled her up for the first part of the campaign," he said. "The staff has not served her well by hiding her and not having confidence."
CNN quoted a Republican source who claimed that Ms Palin has been going "off message" because she believes Mr McCain will lose next week's election and that she is plotting her own bid for the presidency in 2012.
"She's a diva" the source said. "She takes no advice from anyone".
The New York Times yesterday cited other unnamed sources within the McCain campaign who blame the Republican's chief strategist Steve Schmidt for failing to choose and stick to a single narrative for the campaign.
Former Republican strategist Karl Rove said yesterday the finger-pointing within the campaign was a "sad sight to see", adding that he was "appalled" by the attacks on Mr Schmidt, a former protege.
"It's a sign of undisciplined people who do not have loyalty that they ought to have to the candidate," Mr Rove said.