If Sarah Palin is her party's nominee for president in 2012 it will be a "catastrophic election" for the GOP, Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign manager predicted on Friday.

Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt -- who ran McCain's campaign and played a role in picking Palin as the senator's running mate -- offered a scathing assessment of the former Alaska governor's political trajectory.

"I think that she has talent," Schmidt said, "but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012."