Washington, June 30 (ANI): A longtime friend and campaign trail companion of John McCain, the vanquished 2008 GOP presidential nominee, has described his vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin as Alaska's lipstick-wearing pit-bull and as a "Little Shop of Horrors."

This comment appears in the August edition of Vanity Fair, reports the New York Daily News.

Several senior members of McCain's campaign team contacted by Vanity Fair said they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job, and might never be."

During the campaign, there were reports of anonymous McCain aides describing Palin, the governor of Alaska, as a "diva" and a "whack job."

The Vanity Fair article recounts how strained Palin's relationship was with McCain advisers.

She, on the other hand, maintained "only the barest level of civil discourse" with Tucker Eskew, the operative assigned to be her chief minder, the magazine reports.

She believed Steve Schmidt, McCain's top strategist, had lied to her about conducting polling in Alaska - that was a "belief she conveyed to anyone who would listen," the magazine reported.

According to the magazine, Palin was so intent on delivering her own concession speech on Election Night that she wouldn't accept advisers telling her that McCain had decided he would be the only one to speak.

She took the issue up with McCain himself, discussing it on the walk from his hotel suite to the farewell rally. Palin did not speak on Election Night. Only McCain addressed the crowd and the nation.

Palin has refused to comment for Vanity Fair. (ANI)