DAMAGING recriminations between aides to John McCain and Sarah Palin, who is being accused of "going rogue", are spilling out into public view.
Reflecting a bitterly divided campaign going into the final week of the presidential race, unnamed campaign insiders are starting to speak out in a traditional Washington game of "precriminations", where blame starts to be apportioned in the face of a likely defeat.
Ms Palin is making it obvious she is unhappy how she has been handled by her campaign staff - particularly that she has been shielded from any unscheduled interaction with journalists.
US media outlets yesterday were reporting open hostility from aides close to both candidates, some calling Ms Palin a "diva" in what will be an even more heated blame game after November 4 should Senator McCain lose.
"She's lost confidence in most of the people on the plane," said a senior Republican quoted by the website Politico yesterday, adding that Ms Palin had already begun to "go rogue" in some of her public pronouncements on the campaign trail. CNN reported similar comments.
Politico cited four Republicans close to Ms Palin as saying she had grown frustrated by advice given to her by campaign handlers, whom supporters blame for a series of public relations gaffes.
As The Australian reported last week, Ms Palin has in the past two weeks noticeably distanced herself on several occasions from Senator McCain
, a move many regard as her attempt to establish her own identity and a possible run for the White House in 2012 if Democratic contender Barack Obama wins on Tuesday week. 
