Even though reports of agitation between the McCain and Palin camps bubbled up in the final weeks of the campaign, as Barack Obama began pulling away and the GOP duo was unable to regain the momentum, when the defeated team of McCain and Palin split up in Arizona on Wednesday, the personal differences were starkly visible.  

Various press accounts suggest that Palin rubbed many of the McCain aides the wrong way. The most recent one, according to published reports, was the election night incident when Palin irked McCain aides saying she wished to make her own concession speech, other than McCain’s.

For weeks, the McCain-Palin campaign has had to deal with widespread ridicule following the disclosure that the Republican National Committee was billed for $150,000 in wardrobe purchases for the Palin family. It is unclear how much McCain knew about this clothing debacle, as reports suggest that he was kept out of the loop for fear that he would not approve.

According to Fox News report Wednesday, Palin’s lack of knowledge on some topics also strained relations between the two camps. Sources say that Palin had resisted coaching before her faltering Katie Couric interviews; did not understand that Africa was a continent rather than a country; and could not name the three nations that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement - the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, on a personal level, McCain and Palin had a good working relationship. A senior McCain adviser said last week: “McCain has had no problem with Palin. He’s very appreciative of what she’s done.”