Top McCain aide steps aside, rather than take on Obama
By Steve Benen Tuesday May 20, 2008 7:30amLast summer, Mark McKinnon, the former chief media adviser to George W. Bush, and now a top aide to John McCain’s presidential campaign, admitted that he liked Barack Obama so much, he didn’t want to work on the campaign running against Obama and he wouldn’t create negative ads against the Illinois senator if he became the Democratic nominee.
Of course, that was easy to say at the time. A year ago, McCain’s campaign was in deep trouble, and Obama still seemed like a relative long-shot. Given that we’re talking about a top-tier politico who was Bush’s top media guy, I assumed he’d come up with some excuse to change his mind.
I assumed wrong. Chris Cillizza reports that McKinnon actually meant it.
Mark McKinnon, the lead media consultant for Sen. John McCain’s (Ariz.) presidential bid, is stepping down from that role — making good on a pledge he made last year not to work against Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the fall campaign.
McKinnon confirmed his decision to The Fix this afternoon. “I’ll be transitioning, shifting position from linebacker to head cheerleader,” said the always-colorful McKinnon. He added that he would continued to be a “friend and fan” to the campaign.
McKinnon is not just some low-level staffer — he’s been responsible for shaping McCain’s media strategy. He’s also a trusted member of McCain’s inner circle and Cillizza added that “many within the campaign acknowledged that losing him would be a heavy blow to the effort.”
And now he’s leaving the playing field to watch from the sidelines, because he just likes Obama that much.
To get a sense of his perspective, consider that McKinnon told NPR last year, “I would simply be uncomfortable being in a campaign that would be inevitably attacking Barack Obama. I think it would be uncomfortable for me, and I think it would be bad for the McCain campaign.”
I guess McCain deciding to stay positive and not attack Obama wasn’t an option.
I have to say, this is just not normal. I can’t think of a comparable example of a major candidate’s key advisor stepping down because he or she liked the other party’s candidate so much.
I suppose this leads to two questions:
1. Why would McCain hire a media advisor who was prepared to quit if Obama became the Democratic nominee?
2. Why would McKinnon go to work for McCain if he were prepared to quit if Obama became the Democratic nominee?
I suspect the answer to both is the same: they assumed Clinton would get the nod and this wouldn’t be an issue.
I guess kudos to McKinnon are in order. I never really thought he’d go through with this, giving up a high-profile, lucrative job for the Republican presidential nominee. The follow-through here is pretty impressive.
Login or Register to post comments.
first
Obama 08
that's all you got to say? lame
that is so 2005
2nd
Wow... McCain just lost the last vestige of respectability. Maybe another lobbyist can step it up and insert their vast experience in supporting oppressive regimes worldwide into the McCain campaign.
sorry 3rd
Well at least there is someone with a conscience not willing to create a negative portrayal fueled by racial fear and overall lies.
It would appear the campaign came to him and he agreed to take the job on conditions. Those conditions were that he would leave rather than go after Obama. You gotta give him credit, he's a man of his word.
The icing on this cake would come if McKinnon became Obama's media adviser.
The Con strategy is easy to see.
I won't bother explaining it though since I'll get bricks tossed at me.
One can also look at this as a sign of how negative and racist the McCain campaign inevitably going to get, that even one of his most trusted advisers are getting scruples - beforehand!
Jeez, a principled gooper. Who woulda thunk? Seriously, I remember when he made that statement last year. I am impressed with his admiration of Obama and sticking to his word.
I have yet to see a GOP presidential candidate that I felt even near the same.
moondancer @ 10:
And I have beach front property to sell you in Kansas.
L.A. Confidential @ 8:
Con? If its a con, it's a very long and sophisticated one. At the time he made the statement Obama was a blip on the radar. And McCain was in the pack with Giuliani and Romney sucking up the oxygen. So maybe you can explain the motivation of this "con"?
ya there is such an untold story going on here. No way in hell would I swallow this bull being served up.
My head.... it's imploding! Quickly! A republican sex scandal to make the world normal again!
Chico Hussein @ 7:
I'm sure he would if the money was right.
There are principled GOP'ers, most of them, however, get shredded by the media for not towing the party line.
One who has managed to retain their dignity and integrity is Chuck Hagel.
"Top McCain aide steps aside, rather than take on Obama"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mNDHTfdn1A
If he had any more integrity he would stop being a republican altogether.
Not so principled as smart. Look at the reality of the situation. McCain is the "presumptive nominee" for president for the republican party and last month he only managed to raise $18 million, while he spent $58 million. He came in third in the fundraising, and he's got the entire republican party behind him.
It's not looking good for him. I think this guy is keeping his options opened.
I love stories like this. Hopefully he'll support Obama for the next six months.
But then :::::
Exit polling from Kentucky shows that white Americans would rather vote for mccain than vote for a black man. While I respect their right to chose Clinton over Obama, the fact that so many polled admit that they could not let themselves vote on a race issue is just deplorable.
Shame on Kentucky, you bring America down and are shooting yourselves in the foot.
moondancer @ 12:
April 2004, McKinnon, set up the consulting firm Maverick Media, Inc, "to handle advertisements" for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc.. "Campaign officials said the money covered television time in March [2004] and beyond, as well as production costs. The firm [received] about $46 million throughout" Bush's 2004 presidential campaign.
Anything else moon?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 20:
Good morning (or evening) Bob. You keep forgeting we're in Bizzaro World here in the States.
;-)
Snip: . . . . . . .
Two days before the heavily Caucasian Iowa caucus, one forthcoming and self-critical caucus-goer and neighbor told me something I'd been suspecting for some time. Obama, he said, was "a way for liberal and moderate whites around here to pat themselves on the back for not being too prejudiced to vote for a black guy." But it was all premised, he agreed, on Obama being a "good," that is non-threatening, middle-class, academic-friendly, and "not-too fiery black" - one who seemed unlikely to confront institutional white supremacy in any way more meaningful than attaining higher office.
"94 Percent Of Donations Under $200"
Roar!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama's spin team really needs to start coming clean.
Any of Hillary's "people", here, reading this? Jump ship while you can still keep your dignity. Go over to the side of good. (Obama, of course.) (I am Edwin the Appeaser, and I approve this message.)
*NOT that Hillary is bad... oh ...nevermind.
Mark McKinnon, the lead media consultant for Sen. John McCain’s (Ariz.) presidential bid, is stepping down from that role — making good on a pledge he made last year not to work against Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the fall campaign.
McKinnon confirmed his decision to The Fix this afternoon. “I’ll be transitioning, shifting position from linebacker to head cheerleader,” said the always-colorful McKinnon. He added that he would continued to be a “friend and fan” to the campaign.
******************************
Whaddaya know...a conservative with a conscience.
Yah. Remember, Rove resigned too.
"Barack Obama is quietly planning to take over the Democratic National Committee and assemble a multistate team for the general election."
Shhhhhh! Quiet now. Don't let this get out to the Public
Hmm, so McKinnon kept his promise. He just did something a politician seldom does unless their arm is twisted out of joint.
Is it that he likes Obama so much or the fact that he dislikes McCain more and figures McCain can't win against Obama in any case? If so, then McKinnon's resignation speaks volumes about the type of backing that McCain has behind him. It indicates to me at least that the Conservative/Republican movement remains in tatters and now that Obama appears to be the nominee the Republicans are starting to jump ship.
L.A. Confidential @ 23:
I'm just sitting back and loving your meltdown. [Deleted. Let's not call names here, OK? Thanks-Sitemonitor] Aahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
L.A. Confidential @ 22:
I take your point, I'm just so surprised that the pockets of bigotry in America are still so
strongstupid, and seem to reside in the so called bible-belt. I live amongst Thai people and I don't think I have ever experienced feeling discriminated against, I mostly just feel bad for my poor ability with the language over here (hard because it is tonal) but nobody has EVER slighted me, they encourage me to keep trying. The good part is, I have NEVER been asked anything that has to do with religion, and when people wai (put their hands in that pray position) it's just a way of greeting you like they see good in you.Chico Hussein @ 7:
I am inclined to give the guy credit, but if I'm Obama, it wouldn't be THAT much credit.
Besides, I believe he is on the record as saying that he intends to vote for McCain.
Left&Left @ 31:
Actually I'm perfectly calm, analytical, and unattached.
One look at your reply above though certainly tells your story.
addendum: I suspect he likes Obama, but I also suspect the departure may be more a product of personal discomfort with the inevitable decline to racial polarization as a political tool in the campaign that spurred his decision.
L.A. Confidential @ 34:
the padded-cell laugh.
L.A. Confidential @ 22:
Oooooh, "someone said". Compelling argument, Faux News style.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 32:
It's really bad here now Bob. Religion has screwed it self into the sinews of everything.
Even Obama had to step into the sewer with his Kentucky "I'm A Christian" Flyer. Still didn't work he got his butt trounced.
Maybe McCain is just a douchebag and nobody likes working for him.
He certainly gives that impression when you see him caught "off camera".
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 36:
the padded-cell laugh.
I'm surprised Left&Left didn't use "bwahahahahahaha" to try to shake me up.
LOL oh man.
i'd like to believe this and maybe it's true but....if it sounds to good to be true........
I heard on tv this morning that Hillary's campaign is now 31 million dollars in dept. I couldn't believe she told that story about the little boy selling his bike and video games in order to give her money. Hell, I would go hungry before I would take money from a kid like that.
Maybe there is another part to this McCain story. Maybe the guy left because he does like Obama and maybe the McCain campaign is also short of money.
I would like to believe McKinnon, but since he's a republican I won't.
He's probably going underground, to do McCain's dirty work, without direct accountability leading back to McCain.
Never trust a republican. Especially not anything they say.
In fact there's only one thing I ever want to hear from any republican.
"In the past eight years our republican party has caused grave damage to the national security of the United States -- and we need to be held accountable for what we have done."
That is where they need to start -- and anything else is just another lie.
L.A. Confidential @ 38:
mckinnon has worked too hard to install this particularly vicious crowd of neocons and cronies; i highly doubt he's disappearing from the scene. more likely, he's just taken the lower profile to avoid having the inevitable race-baiting and scumbaggery that the republicans will employ against barack obama associated with his name.
Maybe he's been reading some of McCain's history.
"McCain’s most horrendous loss occurred in 1967 on the USS Forrestal. Well, not horrendous for him. The starter motor switch on the A4E Skyhawk allowed fuel to pool in the engine. When the aircraft was “wet-started,” an impressive flame would shoot from the tail. It was one of the ways young hot-shots got their jollies. Investigators and survivors took the position that McCain deliberately wet-started to harass the F4 pilot directly behind him. The cook off launched an M34 Zuni rocket that tore through the Skyhawk’s fuel tank, released a thousand pound bomb, and ignited a fire that killed the pilot plus 167 men. Before the tally of dead and dying was complete, the son and grandson of admirals had been transferred to the USS Oriskany."
think about it @ 41:
Or maybe it's been so long since we have seen anyone associated with politics who also had principles, that we are cautious of such things.
Billy Shears @ 43:
AMEN. . . It's bad enough that Dems have to stoop to the lowest games imaginable to beat these guys but Cons can NOT EVER BE TRUSTED.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 46:
Don't kid yourself sport.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 36:
Face it guys, this isn't about me at all. This is about your "bitterness" because Hillary is done and your "clinging" to hope that some catastrophe befalls on Obama. And please don't threaten me with "your vote", OK. Your judgment didn't matter in this primary so I'm sure it won't matter in Nov.
I love hearing this sort of new...
but.
chances are reasonable that he was forced out for not being supportive of the McCain camp way back when. I''ll bet there's a lot of in fighting on these teams, and someone else in the McCain camp worked to force him out.
Offtopic:
I just watched this interview with George Bush. Many of you have probably already seen it. It's the unedited version of the one that the White House is complaining about the editing on.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/24696309#24696309
Bush comes off as completely unhinged. He scares the crap out of me.
He tells us that he uses the Beehive Theory. That you can't assume that bees will stay in their hive and work and do their bee stuff. So you have to bust it open. If they defend their nest, then it proves that they were out to get you. And so your were righteous in busting their hive.
Well, whaddya know, a pol that actually kept his word!
The next indication of Armageddon is when Bush is tried as a war criminal, with Cheney joined to him at the hip.
I think Crooks & Liars in a backhanded way is finally admitting that Obama is our candidate. The LA Times is reporting today that Clinton's campaign debt has soared to $31 million of which $9.5 million is owed to unpaid vendors including school districts. Let's stop all this handling of Clinton with kid gloves. Time to shove her off the scene since she won't go willingly.
Left&Left @ 50:
Uhhh, before I leave Left of Left ....
I'm an OBAMA SUPPORTER!! (I'm drinking, it's evening here ... what the hell are you on?)
If I handled my home finances the way the Clinton campaign has handled theirs, I'd be in deep do-do. Seems her campaign is creating their own national debt.
I would like to know how much of McCain's own money, if any, he has loaned to his campaign.
:^) Repug party is toast for 2009.Both parties take a 8 year normal cycle term(no matter how bad they are).It's the Demoos cycle term know.McKinnon knows where the money is now.I hope Obama is NOT like a kid and candy---get conned by the slime ball Mc Kinnon.Any bets the Repugs get re-elected in land slide 2016?
My theory...FWIW...is that once McCain sewed up the nomination, the big-hitter types in the Repug Party moved in and announced that if McCain wanted their support (and he did, he desperately did), that they would run things. So they brushed McKinnon out of the way, and began planning a jolly Rovian campaign. Some part of McKinnon's disillusionment is genuine, but a large part is simply pique at having been pre-empted. Am I the only one (ha, ha) that's noticed that McCain's positions are becoming more and more aligned with a Bush third term? He's just going to be the top totem on the pole, and the real power is going to go to the same old crowd.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 55:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahahahhh! hehehehe. this made my day. and it hasn't even started yet.
MikeinMD @ 57:
PNAC!
Joe Branco @ 51:
There's another possibility.
Maybe they're setting him up to get close to Obama's inner circle.
Paranoid? Perhaps.
My rule: When dealing with republicans the prudent choice is to assume the worst -- and expect things to go downhill from there.
Left&Left @ 50:
Look idiot. We're trying to find a way to BEAT THE CONS IN NOV. It ain't going to happen with your attitude.
Nothing personal JUST BUSINESS.
Don't come crying to us in Nov if Obama gets trounced because you'll be to blame.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 46:
McCain really is a carbon copy of Bush... just cross out "oil tycoon" and insert "military commander". McCain came from a line of well off admirals/top brass, but he himself was a fuck-up. He went to college through the Naval Academy, and was ranked 894 out of 899 (6th worst student in his class). When he was captured by the Vietnamese for five years, it was just one of the many times he screwed up his mission.
Wow, a person that supports/works for a Republican that actually has a moral compass. I imagine that Lee Atwater is doing cartwheels in his grave right about now. Kidding aside, it's a good thing that every once in awhile the politics of destruction and break-down give way to honesty and concern about others.
Blue Taliban Osama Buddha @ 62:
Funny you mention his time as a POW. Here's a little under reported tidbit about that:
"McCain’s 5½-year stay at the Hanoi Hilton (officially Hoa Loa Prison) has ever since been the subject of great controversy. He maintains that he was tortured and otherwise badly mistreated. One of many who disagree is Dennis Johnson, imprisoned at Hanoi and never given treatment for his broken leg. He reports that every time he saw McCain, who was generally kept segregated, the man was clean-shaven, dressed in fresh clothes, and appeared comfortable among North Vietnamese Army officers. He adds that he frequently heard McCain’s collaborative statements broadcast over the prison’s loud speakers.
On October 26, 1967, McCain’s A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over Hanoi. The fractures of 1 leg and both arms were reportedly due to his failure to tuck them in during ejection. According to U.S. News & World Report (May 14, 1973), McCain didn’t wait long before offering military information in return for medical care. While an extraordinary patient at Gi Lam Hospital, he was visited by a number of dignitaries, including, to quote McCain himself, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the national hero of Dienbienphu.
Jack McLamb is a highly respected name in law enforcement circles. After 9 years of clandestine operations in Cambodia and unmentionable areas, he returned home to Phoenix where he became one of the most decorated police officers on record. Twice McLamb was named Officer of the Year. He went on to become an FBI hostage negotiator. This man has stated that every one of the many former POWs he has talked with consider McCain a traitor. States McLamb, “He was never tortured…The Vietnamese Communists called him the Songbird, that’s his code name, Songbird McCain, because he just came into the camp singing and telling them everything they wanted to know.” McLamb further quotes former POWs as saying McCain starred in 32 propaganda videos in which he denounced his country and comrades."
Hoping these sorts of tidbits get out to the general public.
Billy Shears @ 60:
Hillary should follow your example.
L.A. Confidential @ 8:
Exactly. Thank you!
Current Traffic Conditions.
L.A. Confidential @ 61:
What about YOUR attitude towards Obama? You have nothing good to say about the man while praising anything Hillary. And your "jump under the bed, McWar and the Repubs are coming to get us" is unfounded, fearmongering and cowardly. And I'll be to blame if Obama loses? That's so rich.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 65:
Most of the "General Public" most likely has never heard of Crooks and Liars.
You need to go door to door to reach the General Public.
I would advise you know what your doing before knocking on the door and saying, "can I tell you some tidbits about McCain and his despicable and treacherous record?"
xoites defends Constitution @ 68:
this is funny x. I'm just so tired of this cycle now. PEF!
Well, I'm outta here.
Work calls.
L.A. Confidential @ 70:
It is a shame people who read crooks and liars only talk to people who read C&L or else it would be possible that other people might hear about what we know.
Left&Left @ 69:
Obama listens to the kind of stuff I put on the table all the time get real. You really think he's into this game because he wants peoples approval?
You just don't get it. Your damn ego is so terrified that someone might not be nice to Obama it's just ridiculous.
This is the politcs BUD.
pissed off patricia @ 47:
Yeah...methinks we've become somewhat jaded regarding politicians...especially when a republican does something that appears to be honorable.
xoites defends Constitution @ 72:
I try to talk to people about this stuff all the time. 99% of them say, "uhhh, I got to go. I just remembered I have an important appointment".. when they "sense" I'm heading into something that will demand their 100% attention and focus and sacrifice.
The important appointment is actually happy hour or shopping.
L.A. Confidential @ 73:
Easy fellows....we have a presidency to win in Nov...this bickering is pointless. I am going to vote for WHOEVER the DEM nominee is...Obama or Hillary....McBain CAN NOT win. PERIOD!
FOCUS on the goal people.
L.A. Confidential @ 75:
If you talk to them like you talk to us they have my complete sympathy.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 36:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnVJ9B_tUDs
The real reason might be because McKinnon knows McCains medical history
about his facial cancer combined with his age means that McCain is just
a prop and the real president will be his VP. IMO, McCain won't last the first term.
He is being used, he knows he's being used and there is nothing he can do
about it. It is my guess that the RNC has stuff on McCain that is ruinous and probably criminal
so he will do as he is told right up to his dying day.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 65:
Funny you mention his time as a POW. Here's a little under reported tidbit about that:
"McCain’s 5½-year stay at the Hanoi Hilton (officially Hoa Loa Prison) has ever since been the subject of great controversy. He maintains that he was tortured and otherwise badly mistreated. One of many who disagree is Dennis Johnson, imprisoned at Hanoi and never given treatment for his broken leg. He reports that every time he saw McCain, who was generally kept segregated, the man was clean-shaven, dressed in fresh clothes, and appeared comfortable among North Vietnamese Army officers. He adds that he frequently heard McCain’s collaborative statements broadcast over the prison’s loud speakers.
On October 26, 1967, McCain’s A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over Hanoi. The fractures of 1 leg and both arms were reportedly due to his failure to tuck them in during ejection. According to U.S. News & World Report (May 14, 1973), McCain didn’t wait long before offering military information in return for medical care. While an extraordinary patient at Gi Lam Hospital, he was visited by a number of dignitaries, including, to quote McCain himself, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the national hero of Dienbienphu.
Jack McLamb is a highly respected name in law enforcement circles. After 9 years of clandestine operations in Cambodia and unmentionable areas, he returned home to Phoenix where he became one of the most decorated police officers on record. Twice McLamb was named Officer of the Year. He went on to become an FBI hostage negotiator. This man has stated that every one of the many former POWs he has talked with consider McCain a traitor. States McLamb, “He was never tortured…The Vietnamese Communists called him the Songbird, that’s his code name, Songbird McCain, because he just came into the camp singing and telling them everything they wanted to know.” McLamb further quotes former POWs as saying McCain starred in 32 propaganda videos in which he denounced his country and comrades."
Hoping these sorts of tidbits get out to the general public.
I've been hearing more and more about McCain's time as a POW, and I'll be honest - I haven't looked into it and I don't know if it's true - it sounded like a Internet smear-job, but now I'm not so sure. I'd like to know more. Can anyone point me to the sources of these comments?
If even a portion of these things are true, and combined with McCain's horrible platform and outright lying, we Democrats are going to deliver a sound thumping to the GOP come November (because they deserve it).
Sorry, I screwed up my quote block. My comments at #80 start after Chicken Little, at, "I've been hearing more..."
Mojopo @ 80:
I've been hearing more and more about McCain's time as a POW, and I'll be honest - I haven't looked into it and I don't know if it's true - it sounded like a Internet smear-job, but now I'm not so sure. I'd like to know more. Can anyone point me to the sources of these comments?
If even a portion of these things are true, and combined with McCain's horrible platform and outright lying, we Democrats are going to deliver a sound thumping to the GOP come November (because they deserve it).
A gentleman named Roland C. Eyears wrote the piece I've been grabbing bits and pieces from. Here's a link http://www.wcltam.com/news/special/articledetail.cfm?articleid=23261
The guy's a rightie and his work seems to be documented. It certainly rates being checked out for accuracy. Maybe McSame isn't "Jezbuss" after all.
When I first heard about this, I must admit I was a little skeptical, but most of me knew that he would keep to his word. Why? Because there's not a whole lot of room to attack Obama on.
He knows that going after Obama the wrong way would (and has) set off numerous calls of "below the belt" ads- see the NC and TN GOP ads. He knew this would get racial in a hurry and it certainly has. Would you wanna be the one making ads designed to get people afraid of a minority so your candidate can win? I think not.
there are still some across the aisle who have integrity. bodes well for whatever is in our future.
Thanks, Chicken Hussein...uh - Little. Great name!
Mojopo @ 80:
I steer away from this POW stuff because (1) at this point the facts are going to be hard to determine, and (2) I believe it's extremely difficult to make judgments on people's behavior in these kinds of extreme situations of war and imprisonment.
As a practical matter I am much more concerned about McCain graduating from the Naval Academy 894th out of his class of 899, than I am about speculating about his POW experience -- particularly since I can only "speculate" about my own behavior if I were in the same situation.
Quick! Someone call Mark Penn and tell him they have a job opening for him . . . .
*
SMART man.
Be careful saying anything complimentary about a Republican. A few troubled heads could explode. ;)
AgentX @ 83:
No thanks. Not only that but I'm sure he's also not interested in ending up slouched behind the wheel of his car in a pool of his own blood after a drive by takes care of "biz".
Billy Shears @ 86:
I'd of thought the same thing about the right's swiftboating Kerry but they did it anyhow. Looks like McSame's "heroics" as a POW might have the level of credibility as Bush's "service" in the Guard. I'd be happy to leave McCain's past alone if it wasn't being promoted as one of the reasons he should be elected President.
Since it is "lose the dogs of war" on his sorry ass, check out the material and if it's true get it out the same way the Swiftboaters put out their lies about Kerry.
"starred in 32 propaganda videos" it would seem to me if that be true, it would not be that hard to get a hold of one of them. If true, they need to be widely aired, if not, then this kind of wrongful pursuit needs to be stopped. If there is nothing there and this is viewed as nothing more than a swift boat attack, this could very well end up hurting the campaign. of course, if there is truth, then this would be the death knoll for mccain's campaign.
In reality, i really feel his campaign has always been gasping for life in view of the fact that he has been so aligned with the current administration.
L.A. Confidential @ 90:
Wow...LA...that's a pretty bigoted statement dude...
this is too funny, of all the McSame staffers that have been in the press and have left the straight talk campaign in the past few months, the one with integrity is leaving for all the right reasons. and this from a man that helped bush co. sell their brand of B.S. to the world. how bad must the straight talk journey be going for a man with this on his resume to walk away. it makes one wonder what request or action was just too much for him to stay.
bulls**t he is stepping aside. He just wants to be able to claim he has his hands clean. He knows obama won't take his crap, he knows how vulnerable mccain is, and he wants some patsy to take the flak first and take the blame for the failure later. It's all appearance.
no longer a proud american @ 92:
I ABSOLUTELY agree. If this right wing pundit is not putting out verifiable information about McCain then it should be called BS, BUT if what he's saying is true then it needs to be put out AFTER McCain is the official nominee. I'm hoping C&L aficionados with more time and resources can trace down this guy's claims and either verify or debunk them. Anybody up for the task?
L.A. Confidential @ 90:
What a pathetic individual.
People like you are simply embarrassing.
He probably is voting for Obama too and positively refuses to tell Reslug lies and typical gutter trash talk.
So, I just read the McCain slam here: http://www.wcltam.com/news/spe.....leid=23261
I respected the author's post, up until he accused John Kerry collecting Purple Hearts for bumps and bruises, to further his political aspirations. John Kerry served our country honorably, period.
I think the author of the McCain slam is offering some highly questionable data, and it sure didn't help that he went off on a nutter-rant about his right to bear arms. From there, the author steps in and out of Crazy Conspiracy Land. I'm a die-hard Dem and I will indeed be voting for Obama, but I'm having problems with that anti-McCain link. In fact, it's beneath us.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 82:
A gentleman named Roland C. Eyears wrote the piece I've been grabbing bits and pieces from. Here's a link http://www.wcltam.com/news/special/articledetail.cfm?articleid=23261
The guy's a rightie and his work seems to be documented. It certainly rates being checked out for accuracy. Maybe McSame isn't "Jezbuss" after all.
Given how McSame has shown that he will flip his "hardcore values" 180 degrees at the drop of a hat, this certainly seems possible.
Mojopo @ 99:
I've never found it necessary to like or respect a source in order to check up on its accuracy. I agree, the author's a turd. So what? Are his claims accurate? If they are, time to bury McCain. If they aren't, then they get relegated to the outhouse where they belong.
Mojopo @ 99:
It's bad voodoo. Don't go down there.
In fact I'd spend more of my time looking for republicans who were promoting this stuff and passing themselves off as Democrats, because this will turn people off -- regardless of whether it's true or not.
There's plenty of real issue and policy stuff to run with.
I feel good about my candidate.
I'd be happy to lose, with my candidate, rather than get in the gutter with rats and trash of the republican party.
Just for fun I Googled these terms: "Robert Timberg" mccain adultery. This link popped up right away. http://www.usvetdsp.com/mcaindiv.htm
This paragraph is kind of fun, considering the claims of McCain's family values and high moral character.
"While still married to Carol, McCain began an adulterous relationship with Cindy. He married Cindy in May 1980 -- just a month after dumping Carol and securing a divorce. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii."
Billy Shears @ 102:
Well Billy that all sounds well and good. You're the kind of guy I'd love to get into a fight with. I get to do all the punching and kicking and you just stand there (until you fall down) and take it. It is possible to debunk a candidate's "mythology" without getting into "the gutter with rats and trash." McCain (and his surrogates) don't use an item from his past to promote his campaign don't go after it. If they use an item that's a lie, debunk it.
How is that getting into the gutter?
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 105:
If you have the facts then nobody's stopping you. But at this point nobody's interested in the bluster.
Am I the only one that finds this disturbing?
Clinton quoting Rove and now a highlevel operative for the fascists openly admires O'Bama and ... only clinton quoting Rove is disturbing?
I have a question .... rhetorical .... what is it with these two candidates that Rove and McKinnon find interesting?
Billy Shears @ 106:
What "bluster" would you be referring to? Would that be the part where I suggest that if someone's going to punch you it's not a bad idea to defend yourself or something else?
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not!! @ 108:
Any and all "bluster" will do.
No good can come of questioning McCain's POW behavior, unless you have hard facts and a qualified source to publish those facts -- and stand behind them.
It's sort of why newspapers don't run stories before they've investigated them -- leads mostly to trouble.
As they say in court, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference if it true -- you have to prove it, beyond the shadow of...
If the strategy is merely to raise doubts -- through insinuation and inuendo -- then you better be comfortable with the rats and trash, because you're playing in their ball park now.
I wouldn't give McKinnon that much credit. He's never been hired by the campaign, he produced the ads he did at cost, and he's planning to keep doing the same job for them he has been, except for producing ads that directly attack Obama and debate prep, which he's waffling about.
He's got the best of all possible worlds, then, doesn't he. He's not "part" of the McCain campaign, he can take on jobs that pay, and he's still working to get them elected.
McKinnon's sleaze. The last explanation I would consider is that he's doing anything because his heart is touched by anything but a scalpel.
Holy crap! Stop the presses! A Repugnican with character?!? Are you freakin' kidding me?!? That's gotta be a first!
[Deleted. ALL CAPS-Sitemonitor]
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 94:
I'm not being bigoted there are radicals and dangerous people all over the place who do ugly things. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. Case in Point. Alan Berg (January, 1934 – June 18, 1984), was an American attorney turned liberal radio talk show host from Denver, Colorado. Berg was known for being abrasive and combative, and his debates sometimes turned into shouting matches. He was assassinated in his driveway on June 18, 1984 by a White nationalist group called The Order.
I wasn't implying Obama is going to order a hit on the guy.
He needs to sign up for Obama and help him win!
LD @ 98:
Sweetie I don't know what kind of sheltered world you grew up in but the one I grew up in obviously is a whole different universe then yours.
DC @ 114:
Forget it Obama doesn't need a Republican advertising exec jumping on board and messing things up for him beyond repair like everything else they do.
Billy Shears @ 103:
Well said. I suspect you're right about Repugs posing as Dems. It's one of the favored shell games by the GOP, in general. And it's a distraction. Let's stick with what we know for certain about McCain, because there's plenty of stuff on record about him that Dems can use to their advantage. Mainly, he's an idiot and a liar. Plus, shove little old toad-man McCain on TV in a debate next to tall, dark and handsome Obama and see what happens. I'm just saying, visually - oh, my...it's going to be priceless.
Wasn't this situation in an episode of the last year of the "West Wing"?
Yep, silly how there are several parallels of that season to this political season.
OK. This is pretty amazing stuff.
What is also amazing is the inference that McKinnon would have no trouble at all in attacking Hillary. It isn't the principle of running negative against an opponent that bothers him. In as much that Hillary's and Barack's positions are not that different from each other, this is a very curious thing indeed.
Oh, wow. That SNL skit about the Petraeus Senate hearing rings more and more true. I seriously love Obama myself and contributed to his campaign because hey, who needs three meals a day to survive anyway, but I do have to wonder what it is about the guy that inspires this kind of positivity. This Daily Show clip says it all.
Choir of angels. It can only mean one thing: Barack Obama did something.
The GOP has a bottomless cesspool from which to recruit their goons. Mark my words, a big part of their strategy will be to go after Obama's wife. What immoral degenerates. If Americans want to clean up our political system, they should be rejecting this type of campaigning. The Repukes do it because it works. They have become powerful feeding off the worst nature's of people.
I got the sense McKinnon was serious when he said it before, and good for him.
That's pretty cool. I like my paycheque, but Obama is too nice to smear.
McKinnon knows too well the repugs will pull out all the stops and run the most racist, inflammatory political ads this country has ever seen to defeat Obama and wants no part of that. John McSame however could not care less how he wins. He's the kind of coward that wouldn't even defend his own wife and child from below the belt attacks so he has no problem using them now.
hood @ 68:
Except that his "con" still makes no sense. Sit on 46 mil for four years in case Obama runs? Please. Then make a highly covered declaration of love for Obama as a plan to slip out of the codgers campaign to stealthily swift boat Obama? Why bother with the intrigue? McKinnon may not be a saint but I dont think he is head coach for Dr Evil either.
L.A. Confidential @ 23:
snewp @ 5:
I believe you need to do research..son! he does his own fundraising. and is a pro at it.what can you do? I know...NOTHING!!!! what do you say to that?and as far ad kentucky is concerned....who cares about what these backwoods,still in the 50's and 50's minds think......I don't let them stay in the past....it will be their undoing. God Bless them all
At least this much is true: MacKinnon is the fat lady and she's singing an aria.
vincent whitebear @ 126:
Open Secrets is a good site:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.php?cycle=2008
As far as 1) his academic performance, it's well-known that John McCain was a poor student who wouldn't have graduated were it not for the pull of having a father and grandfather who were admirals. Nonetheless, to be fair, academic performance alone is far from a perfect predictor of intelligence or ability. As McCain's supporters are usually ready to point out, U.S. Grant didn’t graduate anywhere near the top of his class either. Moreover, McCain’s school performance most likely suffered more from his penchant for partying than any lack of native intelligence. However, I am sure that none of his supporters would prefer to use the comparison of candidates’ school records as a primary means of evaluating the candidates in this particular race.
Regarding 2) his military experience (not counting the time spent as a POW), I may not be competent to judge it fairly; I have no military experience of my own. He flew 23 bombing missions over the span of 5 months. I understand that approximately 1 hour of each mission counted as combat duty as that was the period the bombers could be assumed to be within reach of any anti-aircraft guns defending the targets. So he had a couple dozen hours of combat duty before he was taken prisoner. ALSO, he was the pilot of 5 aircraft that were destroyed, one when he was shot down through enemy action, one destroyed in a fire no fault of his own (the Forrestal fire, which so far as I can tell was not caused as suggested in that post above), two from unknown causes (Timberg, a biographer supposedly friendly to McCain, strongly suggested in his book An American Odyssey that McCain's incompetence as a pilot was a possible cause), and one that was very clearly his fault (he took out some power lines while hotdogging over the Iberian Peninsula). Now, McCain's non-POW military experience may have taught him something, as he has been quoted as saying:
"It’s a difficult thing to say. But now that I’ve seen what the bombs and the napalm did to the people on our ship [during the Forrestal fire], I’m not so sure that I want to drop any more of that stuff on North Vietnam." John McCain, Oct 27, 1967
and also
"Most of our pilots flying the missions believed that our targets were virtually worthless. In all candor, we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn’t have the least notion of what it took to win the war." Faith of My Fathers, pp.185-186
But looking at it, it seems clear that the totality of his non-POW military experience, in which he did not command, was bad at being commanded, and did not exhibit extraordinary (or even ordinary) competence, does not do a great deal to recommend him as Commander-in-Chief.
As far as 3) McCain’s bravery, I believe there is little question John McCain was, in fact, a brave soldier during the Vietnam War. In the aforementioned Forrestal fire, his first instinct was to run into danger attempting to rescue another pilot. In reading an account of McCain’s time as a POW, I was impressed by his resolve under incredibly harrowing conditions. Up until 2000, I’d occasionally been impressed with McCain’s political bravery as well; I often disagreed with him, but respected him for espousing several positions unpopular with the Republican High Poohbahs, such as campaign finance reform. Since that time, his "maverick" status in my eyes has completely disappeared for very obvious reasons. He himself has admitted to saying cowardly and despicable things he didn't believe out of "political expediency."
Finally, 4) his war hero status is a little difficult to evaluate as a qualification. First, so far as I can tell, he certainly is a genuine war hero--anyone who reads the article linked above on his POW time would likely agree, I think. But I don't see that it makes him qualified to command armies or lead a superpower. His hero status isn’t based on any damage done to the enemy; it’s based solely on resistance and strength of will despite torture and deprivation. Strength of will is a virtue, but as our current President has demonstrated, without other good qualities, it’s a qualified good at best. Were all other things equal, I’d agree that I’d much rather be led by a hero than by someone who isn’t, but...
For me, John McCain’s military service and positive qualities, which I have attempted to be fair to above, do not outweigh the fact that his fiscal, foreign, and judicial (choice of Supreme Court justices) policies totally suck. Even had he graduated at the top of his class, never crashed a single aircraft, exhibited superlative military and political courage throughout his entire career, and singlehandedly won ten battles during the Vietnam War, still he would not have my vote, because those qualifications would simply not be enough (although I'd then probably recommend him for Secretary of Defense).
Login or Register to post comments.