Report: GOP internal tension showing

ALBUQUERQUE, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Tension within the camp of Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain has reached the point that it is starting to show publicly, CNN reported Saturday.

The network said friction between key McCain aides and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has been simmering for some time and several McCain advisers have suggested their frustration is growing over what one described as Palin "going rogue," CNN reported. A source described as a Palin associate said the vice presidential nominee was trying to "bust free" of what Palin regards as a roll-out that was mismanaged and therefore damaging.

McCain sources complain Palin has strayed from the campaign's message and said they aren't sure whether that was done deliberately. One McCain source told CNN Palin appeared to be looking out for her own interest over that of the campaign.

"She is a diva," the McCain adviser said. "She takes no advice from anyone. She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else."

The source, who was not identified, said Palin was "playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party."

The report comes with McCain trailing Democratic nominee Barack Obama by statistically significant margins in most national polls with 10 days left before the Nov. 4 election.