McCain's Rick Davis goes on the attack against Andrea Mitchell and Obama like a pit bull
The McCain camp is losing it. They are acting flat out mean and nasty. They are now saying that Obama is using the race card. How desperate they must feel for attention. Yes, Obama is black and he will make observations that are true and not racist. This is a ploy to try and get in front of the racist card because these internet smears are racist in nature. Davis also denied the reports in Business Week that McCain would have run an ad against Obama if he had visited wounded troops in Germany. OK, Rick..
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(h/t Christy) Rick Davis, (Uber-lobbyist via FDL) John McCain's campaign manager, was like a pit bull against Andrea Mitchell today on MSNBC---filibustering and revealing the type of campaign Republicans are used to running. Mean, nasty and out of control. Watch this lengthy exchange and you'll see what I mean.
The use of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton is not about being a celebrity to me, but more about morals. Why is Paris famous? A porn video. How is Spears staying in the news? Custody battles and rehab. When ex-McCain campaign man John Weaver said these attacks are childish:
Breaking his silence about the campaign, Weaver said that the attack ad likening Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton "diminishes" and "reduces McCain on the stage.""There is legitimate mockery of a political campaign now, and it isn't at Obama's," Weaver added. "For McCain's sake, this tomfoolery needs to stop.
Davis shot back that that was why he wasn't helping McCain now. You see, he wouldn't lower himself to these types of Rovian attacks. The attacks that McCain was subjected to in 2000. Obama's worldwide popularity is historic and Obama is historic because he is the first African American as the Democratic nominee for president. Rick Davis said that Obama wasn't historic. Wake up, Rick. Facts are facts. Goober Graham and Lieberman tried to defend the scurrilous Spears/Hilton ad this way. (Please read below the fold) Take the AOL Poll below too
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Andrea Mitchell did get intimated by Davis as the long interview progressed. That's what Republicans are good at. They bully everyone that gets in their way. There's a lot to talk about in this interview. Please watch it and discuss.
Did you catch Lieberman's response:
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Lieberman took a different tack, saying the ad simply compares the two candidates in a "creative" way and people should lighten up. "To some extent the appearance of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears -- people complain about it -- they should just relax and enjoy it," he said. The idea is to draw people into the ad. The point of the ad is really quite strong: Who's ready to lead America?"
Where have you heard 'just relax and enjoy it' before?
Ron Brownstein responded this way via the Political Base:
Here's what political journalist Ron Brownstein just told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell in a live interview a few moments ago:
Andrea Mitchell (MSNBC): Ron, Rick Davis said that this is Obama playing the race card. What is your take on this?
Ron Brownstein: Rick Davis said something that astounded me, that he can't imagine where Barack Obama was thinking that the McCain campaign was introducing race into the campaign. Andrea, there are a lot of famous people in the world: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen, Bono. All of them are globally more famous than Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. And yet, when trying to illustrate their argument about celebrity, the McCain campaign chose the images of two young white blond women to flash those images immediately adjacent to Barack Obama and, you know, we have seen this move before. In many ways, this ad is reminiscent of the ad that the Republican National Committee ran against Harold Ford -- who is now a commentator on this network -- in 2006, and I think the McCain campaign should be asked much more firmly why they chose these particular celebrities to illustrate the point. If you want to make the point that he's a celebrity, Tom Cruise is not more globally famous than Paris Hilton? Is that really a plausible argument? What are the things that those two people have in common? They were young white blond women.
Full transcript. It's worth a read.
ANDREA MITCHELL, MSNBC ANCHOR: And joining us now on the phone is Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager.
Thanks so much, Rick, for joining us today.
RICK DAVIS, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Thanks you for having me, Andrea.
MITCHELL: First of all, let me play you a bit of sound of Barack Obama, who yesterday, was talking about the scare tactics and what the Republican's are trying to do.
This was Barack Obama, yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face. So what they're going to try to is make you scared of me. You know, he's not patriotic enough. He's got a funny name. He doesn't look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MITCHELL: Now, in response to that, you said, Obama played the race card and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It was decisive, negative, shameful and wrong.
Explain to me, Rick, how is what he said playing the race card?
DAVIS: Well, I think it goes well beyond that.
First of all, that is one of three instances yesterday that Barack Obama said the same thing in three different locations in Missouri.
Second, (INAUDIBLE), his campaign actively has been feeding to journalists, all night last night and all day today, the notion that somehow, something we had done in our campaign, of which I could not identify for you today, was somehow-had racial overtones. Third, liberal blogs all around the country were actively pursuing this, this morning. Which I can only assume didn't come out of the blue.
And so, I just wanted to make it clear. And to be honest, I don't know how else you explain the quote that you just played other than to believe that somehow Barack Obama was calling something we had done racist, or something that we had done with racial overtones. Otherwise, I don't know what else he was talking about.
MITCHELL: Well, let's talk about the celebrity ad.
Now, the Obama campaign is responding to that, of course, because they're take on it is that you are comparing him to two people, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, who are famous basically, for doing nothing.
Whereas, he is a United States senator and the Democratic nominee.
You know, how do you defend the ad?
DAVIS: Well, I think it's very simple.
You know, what we did is we looked at three of the top celebrities of our time. And if you look at what the campaign that Barack Obama has waged, you would have to say that he's become one of the global celebrities of our time.
I mean, even your last-
MITCHELL: That's your definition. I mean-
DAVIS: Dr. Thompson said, I mean, this isn't interesting? She said, he's a major figure in world history.
I agree he's a major figure in the world. I don't know so much about history. He hasn't been in the United States for very long. And he was only a state senator for a short period of time. So, I don't know what her history is.
But, the reality is, that he is a celebrity. I don't think anybody would deny that fact. And I think you can compare him to two other people with great global name recognition and a huge fan base. And when you have an event that we used in the ad, like he had in Germany, where 200,000 of his fans show up, honestly I don't know if Britney Spears could get 200,000 fans in Germany, today.
MITCHELL: But you could compare him to a lot of other figures.
You could compare him to political figures, to world leaders.
Why compare him to two pop-stars-
DAVIS: I mean, Andrea, do you not believe that Barack Obama is a celebrity?
I mean, when I'm-
MITCHELL: That's not the way I would define him. I think the word celebrity-
(CROSSTALK)
DAVIS: He's on the front cover of every tabloid. He's on the front cover of every magazine. He's on the front cover of every you know, you know, celebrity journal that you've seen.
I mean-
MITCHELL: He's on the front cover of news magazines, Rick.
DAVIS: -- that he's a celebrity. I can't believe that anybody would think otherwise.
MITCHELL: He's on the cover, as is John McCain, of the new "Time" magazine. That's a new magazine, not a tabloid, not a celebrity magazine.
(CROSSTALK)
DAVIS: -- take a presidential campaign overseas.
Look, there aren't supporters overseas. There's nobody in Germany other than the ex-pats who are going to vote for Barack Obama. These are fans. What else would they be?
And so, I think that you're just declaring the obvious when you say 200,000 fans showed up, an event in Germany to celebrate his fame. I mean, do we really believe that you know, the political event that he put on there was for the purposes for getting votes in Germany? No. I mean, it's a celebrity event.
And I think that that's a simple thing. Look, the reality is, you're missing the really important part of this which is, you know, just because he's a great celebrity doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to lead the country. And let's talk about what we think one of the most important, pressing issues were.
You were just talking about it on your show. And that's the distinction between whether we want to act today and get together trying to solve a problem of energy by allowing there to be drilling, or whether you want to take Barack Obama's position, which is siding with the Democrats in Congress to keep a moratorium against trying to create new offshore sources of oil.
MITCHELL: Rick, let me ask you about John Weaver, one of your former colleagues in the McCain campaign.
And he said that, John-John McCain has been a celebrity, ever since he was shot down. Obviously back during the Vietnam War, whatever that means. And he says, I recall Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush going overseas and all those waving American flags. There is legitimate mockery of a political campaign now, and it isn't at Obama's. For McCain's sake, this tomfoolery needs to stop.
How do you respond to John Weaver, a Republican and a McCain supporter?
DAVIS: You know, I think this is just one example of why John Weaver hasn't been involved in this campaign for over a year.
MITCHELL: OK.
And were you guys ready, by the way, on the whole subject on visiting the troops, not visiting the troops at Landstuhl (INAUDIBLE)?
Were you ready with an advertisement as some has suggested, in case he had visited the troops, to criticize him for doing it while on a political trip?
DAVIS: No. I mean, frankly, we learned about the trip from the media.
We, like many people in the media, weren't very well informed in what details of Barack Obama's trip was going to be. But, when we learned about it you know, it was disappointing to us. Because I am very confident that the soldiers at Landstuhl would have enjoyed a trip and a visit by Barack Obama. So, from our perspective, you know, look, we think he made a mistake in judgment. We think those are the kinds of things that people are evaluating.
And look, Andrea, I think that you know, the public surveys that at are out this week, indicate that you know, that not everybody's been as crazy about his trip besides the Germans who attended his event.
MITCHELL: How did we get so negative here in this campaign?
I can feed you both sides, taking shots at each other. How did we go so off track? You have John McCain, the happy warrior, who survived the 2000 campaign barely, because of you know, the negative attacks and was (INAUDIBLE) by that. But vowed never to let that happen again.
And you have Barack Obama, a new paradigm in American politics. Two guys who say that they were going to be different.
How did this come to such a negative pass?
DAVIS: First of all, you know, I wouldn't describe John as at all bitter about the 2000 election. It was one of the greatest activities and moments of his life. He had an incredibly uplifting experience from that. The millions of people who supported him.
So please, I mean, I wouldn't refer to anything-
MITCHELL: OK. I won't use that term. You're correct.
(CROSSTALK)
DAVIS: Our campaign has embarked upon an effort to defend John McCain since Barack Obama won his nomination.
Every single day that Barack Obama has been out on the campaign trail, he's attacked and attacked and attacked John McCain. There are many days and many instances I could show you where they held the same stage where John McCain never mentioned Barack Obama's name and Barack Obama viciously attacked John McCain.
The first that was ad ever run that was a negative ad in this campaign was run one month after Barack Obama won the election by his campaign, not John McCain's. So, the reality is, many people say that the McCain campaign has been on the defense for some time. And to some degree, they're right. Because what we've had to do is defend it ourselves against the ongoing attacks by the Obama campaign that started immediately after his nomination.
MITCHELL: Rick, that first ad was a response ad. It was an energy ad in July and it was a response to a Republican National Committee ad.
The first negative ad in this campaign that any of us can find-excuse me just a second, was the RNC ad-
(CROSSTALK)
DAVIS: The Democratic National Committee viciously attacked John McCain in three different ad cycles three and a half months before that.
So, I mean-
MITCHELL: That was before this nomination was decided.
DAVIS: We didn't attack Barack Obama at that time. You know, he wasn't even the nominee. But the Democratic National Committee spent a lot of time saying some very unscrupulous things that Barack Obama did not push them back on.
And when anybody in the Republican Party said anything that was (INAUDIBLE), who was the first person to publicly go out and say, hey, this is inappropriate. We're not going to have that kind of dialogue in our campaign-John McCain.
MITCHELL: And let me just correct myself for a moment.
I wasn't saying bitter-I didn't mean to say that. What I meant to say is that John McCain came out of 2000, saying he would not resort to negative campaigning because of what he experienced in South Carolina, which certainly would have left a lot of other people embittered. And he came right back and was the happy warrior.
And I'm just asking whether the whole tone of this campaign on both sides, has now deteriorated, degenerated, to a level that the American people a pox on both their houses.
DAVIS: Well, I think that's a lot of hyper activity on the part of the media. They think that in the first month since Barack Obama has won his nomination, the campaign that this campaign has stooped this level.
We are running ads that we think attract attention to the issues that we think American voters care the most about. That is trying to get this country out of an economic and energy crisis. John McCain has a specific plan to do that.
We've talked about that in every ad we've run. It is a clear and distinct difference between the plan that Barack Obama has. Which is basically, go slow. And as far as he's concerned, you know, the rising gas prices, just-you know, he's only a little worried about the fact that they're rising so fast, not that they're rising. John McCain wants relief for people who are pressed by energy prices and that's what our ads talk about.
MITCHELL: I wouldn't say there you go again. But, clearly, there's a lot of, a lot to say about the allegation that Barack Obama wants gas prices to go up.
But, let me ask you about this quote. You said, only celebrities like Barack Obama-there's that "C" word again-go to the gym three times a day, demand Met-Rx chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and bottles of hard to find organic brew-Black Forest Berry Honest Tea and worry about the price of arugula.
So, is that your campaign, you know, stick right now? That he is sort of out of the mainstream, elite, going back to you know, some of the attacks that the Clinton people tried during the primaries against him.
That he does not fit with working class, aspiring voters?
DAVIS: Well, look. I'm going to let working-class, aspiring voters make that judgment themselves.
But, these are all things that Barack Obama has as part of his daily routine. And so, look, there's nothing more personal than a presidential campaign. Those we're not the ones who report things.
Those come out of news reports by folks like you, you know, who make a regular habit of talking about the every detail of our candidate's livesboth John McCain's and Barack Obama's. And so, it's not like we are out there digging up what kind of iced tea that he likes to drink.
MITCHELL: But Rick, do you think that focusing on whether or not he eats peanut protein bars and or this, is part of a dialogue? I mean, is that what you really want to be campaigning about?
DAVIS: Oh, ®MD+IT¯®MDNM¯I don't think-honestly I don't think we are focusing on it. You're the one bringing it up, today. It's in the course of an ongoing dialogue that these things are all in the public domain.
I mean, you know, you can ask that question of every reporter that's covered Barack Obama. Why they felt compelled to write those things.
S, I mean, all we're doing is accumulating the interesting amounts of information generated by the news media about Barack Obama and putting that together in a public domain.
I mean, at what point in time does that not become something that can be entered in the political equation. What does John McCain talks about? John McCain talks about his plan to get this country out of an economic crisis, his plan to get sources of oil immediately so that we can bring down the cost of gasoline.
And those are the things that I think you should focus on those things as well.
MITCHELL: Well, those are the things that Barack Obama focuses on and John McCain.
So, one just wonders about the trivialization of this by some of the attacks and counters, that's all.
I'm happy to talk about more substantive issues next time.
DAVIS: Well, I'm happy to talk about more (INAUDIBLE) issues the next time I come on your program.
MITCHELL: OK, we will do that.
Thanks very much. Rick Davis, who is a celebrity on the political circuit, if not a celebrity like Britney Spears. What can I say?
Rick, thank you very much.
Yeah, also Paris and Britney are both rebulicans.
Mr Hilton Donates to RNC and McCain
I was stunned after I saw this, Is this what The McCain's are stooping to? I thought 2004 was bad, but this ugly and low. God, how deperate are they?
*Republicans
I wonder if the average american will get the subtext of the ads.
And the American voters go baah, baah, baaah...
That race card, it has a white side too, huh? Who's playing that one??
Racism? In MY GOP? It's moar likely then you think.
Never one with that rare ability to gamble the rest of my life on one step or anything spewing from a conservatives maw, I must say that every time McCain or one of his apologists opens their mouths admiration walks out the door, held open by vain stupidity.
I would sincerely like him to embrace notions of Deep Play, leavened with the instant rice of social convention, yet find my self stranded, gape-mouthed, eyes akimbo, staring goose-like at that big rock candy mountain vanilla dollop of existential grab-assing he engages in with business partners/nankers cut from a cloth both tattered and mollusk scented.
Some where out there run the gazelles of his idealistic youth, stomachs swollen as they are with the earnest anticipation of even fouler digestive volition, as he admits to himself, as if anybody ever cared, of his complicity, yeah, his cowardice in the face of candy-assed home field GOP advantage.
All this because he dreams of eating sandwiches on the train, sax bellowing in intense, ad-hoc, race horse piss-off meanderings, intergalactic sausages wrapped around the vertical column of the same, as he defies the extra gravity of the situation, desperate to recycle, along with the fish, chickens, and vegetables he grew up with, admixtures and there waste products.
You're right Rick...you don't know what Obama's talking about. These pathetic jealous fuckers are mad because the man is popular....just like high school.
"Where have you heard ‘just relax and enjoy it’ before?"
On the Closer,
where the country, er a couple of teens got rapedSometimes...some people just need a good face punchin.
If it's about morals, then let's bring up McCain's extra-marital affair prior to his marriage to Cindy.
I can see the ads now - with pictures of that blonde, white woman, Cindy McCain, who is also famous for doing nothing.
Get your John McCain NOPE T-Shirts & Stickers today!
Ruth @ 6:
To bigots, only black folk play the race card.
So this is what desperation smells like.
Every single time these McSame idiots opens his or her mouth, out spews the vicious and vile rhetoric so common in the republican lifestyle. These fucktards are truly showing their desparation and we can all see it. Another case of the Emporer wearing no clothes when he's thinking he's so finely clad based on all the asskissers he's employed to tell him how good he is and looks. Christ, even a 2 years old sees through this shit.
To Rick Davis in particular and all the rest of these sycophants as well... STFU and Effoff! The world, not to mention the U.S., has had enough of your lies and whining.
If this guy wins, were doomed. Can you see him hovering over the button? Sends shivers down my spine. Half the time he doesn't know what he is talking about. Is he going to Lieberman and Graham holding his hand in the White House?
Rick Davis and the rest of his uber-KKK-loving wingnuts need to be put on the next slow boat to Gitmo...where they can be interrogated by rove who should be there (in a cell) waiting for them...
But, but, there's no difference between Obama and McCain....total bullshit.
B-B-B-But they are talking about the attract attention to the issues American voters care about!
Oh my goodness, the man has crowd envy.
His boy couldn't draw a standing room only phone booth and he calls 200,000 in Berlin fans.
"WAAAA WAAAA WAAAAA, Barack isn't real, WAAAA WAAAA WAAAAA", said the little man, with his fingers in his ears.
Andrea. You suck at breaking a filibuster.
The ad was so juvenile that one doesn't know where to begin. I saw this verbal exchange on MSNBC. Davis had a hard time shutting up. I think he was trying to monopolize the conversation to prevent Andrea from asking more questions of him.
This new deal of accusing Obama of playing the race card is truly insane. They are saying McCain has never brought up race. Okay fine maybe he hasn't but Sen. Obama has always been black and he's been talking about race for a long time. Obama brought it up today in jest saying he didn't look like the presidents you see on our currency. He used that same line in Berlin only there he said he didn't look like past Americans who had spoken there. He's stating the obvious and he does it with humor. Guess that gets the McCain campaign's bloomers in a twist.
As to why Britney and Paris were in the ad instead of more well known people, I think it was to show that one can be well known, but for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, it was lame as hell, that seems to be the aim of the campaign, when in trouble go lame.
I caught this on my google news feed and was thrilled to see McLame derange himself so. My god the idiots handlers are even undermining his own small 'base' of media courtiers. Like this won't blow up in his face like a trick cigar.
The straight talk express is headed off a cliff and convincing even the fawning pundit class of his utter unfitness and there is a stink of hysteria in it all like they are firing all of their guns into the dark before there is any sign of the enemy.
Look this is the absolute doldrum for election news as most people are doing summer stuff, waiting on the Olympics and so on. They won't even pay much attention until after conventions around Labor Day. Gramps shot his wad way too soon, a premature exasperation blast that will be utterly forgotten by Labor day and meanwhile, Obama's ground troops are going door to door in all states, inexorably while the coot sits on his ass with now ground game and a batch of the crappiest attack ads ever, so bad they are like collectible kitsch.
Maybe this is where Lincoln's postulate about folling all of the people all of the time finally comes to roost like some gtim cowbird in the middle of the McCain meltdown.
Andrea....He ate your lunch. Better check if he stole your panties.
Shorter John McCain (channeling Atrios) - "He's blaacckk! And he wants to fuck all your white women!"
But but but....he's more popular than McBain...and better lookin....and ladies swoon over him...it's JUST NOT FAIR!!!!!
Pfffft! Talk about whiney Americans....fuckin goopers start throwin a damn hissy fit the second things aren't goin their way.
Assholes!
blogenfreude @ 25:
And convert them all to Islam...despite the fact that he's a Christian...I love that one.
rick davis... hmmm, THIS rick davis?
"In all, [rick] Davis, his firm and a company he helped start have earned at least $2.2 million in part through their close association with McCain, his campaign and his causes, according to a review of federal campaign, tax and lobbyist disclosure records."
davis, and his firm, lobbying for:
verizon, SBC, and...
"In 2003, for instance, DHL Holdings (USA) and Airborne hired Davis to lobby the Senate to facilitate a merger. Hotly opposed by shipping giants FedEx and United Parcel Service, the merger encountered opposition from Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on the commerce committee. McCain took steps that helped Davis's clients. He thwarted Stevens's effort to insert language into legislation that would prohibit foreign-controlled companies such as DHL from holding certain military contracts.
Davis's firm earned $125,000 from Airborne in 2003 and $465,000 from DHL parent company Deutsche Post World Net (USA) from 2003 to 2005, records show."
Tellin ya...all these whiney repukes need some good face punchins!
lmab @ 24:
He's a granny panty tranny ?
You should read the comments on the Washington Post blog that John cited ("Obama is using the race card."). Pretty scary.
blogenfreude @ 25:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGQ-ISsDm8M
The best part of the interview is when Davis, accused of trivializing the campaign for saying that Obama is the kind of guy who loves protein bars and demands Arugula, replied that the media is at fault for publicizing his quote. Huh?
rick davis is just another gop reichwingneocon who
licks crap off his own a$$.
Anonymous @ 7:
Don'tcha mean moor likely?
The Davis-Mitchell contretemps caught a lot of eyes. My take, McCain now shows he's surrendered his campaign...and his honor...to the merchants of hate and slime.
And McCain told a townhall today "I'm proud of that ad."
Maybe McCain's Bangla-daughter can explain to the children of America why racist attack ads are a good thing.
I had to stop at around 7 minutes cause i couldn't listen to this gas-bag anymore.
Rick Davis has as much credibility as...well....Britney Spears!
john j @ 1:
Wasn't there a Brittany interview where she said we should support the president?
Don't know about her panties
Whether she was wearing them or he was.
this was a McCain add. She could not stop him from his talking points. I bet he is really pleased.
The reich-wingers and their pathetic establishment are desperate because of one simple fact....they are losing and losing BIG TIME. They offer nothing. They have no message. All they do is attempt to smear with really ridiculous campaign ads. November 4, 2008 will be the official death/end of the modern era reich-wing GOPigs. Amen.
Sen. Obama is the king of the prom and McCain can't even get a date. So McCain says, he only got to be the king of the prom because he's smart, good looking, made good grades, has a great personality and everyone loves him, but does he know how do anything?
I am begining to like Andrea. She was one of those that gave McCain a pass and didn't give Obama any breaks, but since she went overseas with Obama she has come back a new journalist. She was kinda miffed at Obama overseas but she has come back and may turn out to be one of the best unbiased reporters on the political scene. She makes some very good points, but of course the spin meisters continue to spin away she just laughs at them which I think is really all you can do and that says a lot. One other thing I would like to add. I am your average working class white shmuck. I exercise vigerously 4 to five times a week. I use herbal remidies for my ailments when I can and I drink decaf green tea. I eat energy bars, power bars and I make herbal tea concoctions. I have a lot of working class white shmuck friends that do the same thing. I can't stand Coors or Budweiser and mostly drink the micro brews. They try to paint Obama as some kinda weirdo because he exercise three times a week. Doesn't Bush ride his mountain bike alot?
ysbaddaden @ 35:
Thought it was moop.
Bogie @ 31:
Just wait. They'll eventually come here trying to justify Davis' vomit inducing diatribe. This race should already be over. They've got nothing except fears, lies, and racism.
lmab @ 24:
Disagree utterly.
She was PIIISSSEDDDD. If you don't really understand women then you wouldn't know. She was MFing pissed. And she isn't just some two bit network face.
In the long run, you don't bend Mrs. Greenspan over and get away with it. Davis just crapped in his nest.
ysbaddaden @ 38:
Yep, the interviewer was Tucker Carlson (about her mental equal) and it was done in O3, I believe. She said we should trust our president.
Paris' parents have given the max campaign donation money they are allowed to give to John McCain. That was revealed this morning on Morning Joe.
Reality is that he's not a Rethug, Rick! Oh, and calling the 200,000 that attended his speech in Berlin are "fans"?
Anyone still think the country can get its shit together? Anyone?
Davis must be an idiot, pissing off McSames base like that.
Mmmmmmmmm.........I loves me some intergalactic sausages.
Hey, where all the white women at?
What a flaming asshole! The McCain campaign must have as one of it's central tenets If the press catches you on something, deny and above all, keep talking and only let up when you wear them down to the next question. How. Rude. And Andrea Mitchell? How the hell did she ever become a journalist? Can she even form a coherent sentence? Does she enjoy being steamrolled? What a fucking joke...
The Truth Hurts @ 48:
Yes, I do. After we win everything this fall, the R's are going to have to decide if the Neocons are going to run their party or not.
What an idiotic tool.....arguing with Greenspan's wife and an objective journalist.
Eveyone here would agree McCain has had his worst 2 weeks of the campaign, in terms of photo-ps, gaffes and flip-flops. The national polls were trending towards Obama's - 49-40 in the weekend Gallup poll. But despite his numerous gaffes and flip-flops, McCain is now in a statistical tie with Obama in todays Gallup poll. Why? Because the Obama campaign have failed miserably in hitting MCain hard on anything this week. I mean, what has Obama done this week. He got his hip checked, sat down with Economists and met with a Democtaic congress with a lower approval rating than Bush. I'd say Obama has had his worst week of the campaign. And now the MSM are gonna distract the public with the race issue. Great, that's exactly what the Republicans want.
That moron David Axelrod better get his act together.
Wow! McCain's campaign is so desperate. We don't need off shore drilling because gas prices are beginning to drop WITHOUT additional drilling. Strange isn't it.
Here's a link to a list of some of the work that Obama did in the Senate.
This guy is a out and out asshole. The new Karl Rove.
Is McCain's campaign whining? Sounds like it.
Typical Republican right wing fool... keeps talking over Andrea Mitchell.
Obama was at a town hall meeting today and he asked if Paris and Britney were the best the McCain campaign had? The people there laughed along with him. It's such a pathetic ad that all you really can do is laugh.
I bet if McCain could come out and tell the truth he would admit it's embarrassing for him.
the Truth Hurts @ 48
Damn skippy! I KNOW we'll get this country back in shape, it won't be easy or fast...but I it can, it will and it must be done.
PorridgeGun @ 54:
I read on DKOS that that gallup poll is very flawed.
lilysmom @ 45:
I suspect and hope that you are correct on this.
If Holy Joe Liebermann had any class he would just campaign for St. McCain without attacking Obama. Unfortunately for us, Holy Joe has no class, or honor, or brains.
lilysmom @ 45:
I'm sure Mr. Greenspan does too.
pathetic, these neocons
andrea gave a$$hat rick too much leeway.
Ricky sounded completely idiotic and unhinged in that interview. Another angry reich-winger with no substance, no big surprise. What a tool.
pissed off patricia @ 58:
If he could remember it.
casper46 @ 60:
Polls schmolls!
Obama's camp needs to come back with a McCane / Winehouse spot.
Hell - I might put one together myself if I get time this evening
you're right mark. the images of britney and paris should have faded into cindy's mug. she's a tart like the other 2. has had drug problems and has delusions about the way she looks (claims to be a size 0).
casper46 @ 60:
gallup is on the dole with rasmussen. they reworked the same poll to show mcC*nt ahead (on the samd day) by reclassifying the survey group.
Same poll.
Same day.
Two different results.
gallup is full-o-schitt.
Oh, c'mon...Like there was EVER any doubt about it? He's a puke. they haven't won an election on ISSUES since Nixon lied about ending the war in '68...
Actually, they are rallying the base while Obama pretends to be President.
And it is working.
How dare that uppity black man (who is also the world's biggest star, EVER) use the race card against McCain and his good-old boys?
Somebody find me a rebel battle flag, so I can wave it real proud!
here4tehbeer @ 68:
Nah man...Winehouse? I like her! She's too cool to be associated with the likes of McCain!
I mean sure she's a strung out mess, but damn that woman can sing!
liberaMcSuuuurgeNmoderation @ 66:
but he'd deny it the next interview and say he never said that.
and they won't question him.
This is the best the GOP can do? Then we have nothing to worry about.
getalife @ 72:
it only works on minds like yours.
getalife @ 72:
Hillary lost, thank God, so now go "get a life".
Wow..when I saw the ad, I thought to myself that McSame is really desperate. He is jealous of the attention that Obama is getting and now he is the one playing the race card unlike the comment of one of the post above. Blacks are not the ones who only play the race card. It was evident in the Clinton campaign and it did not play out very well. To use 2 blond women in this ad is making his campaign look out of control. He needs to fire Rick Davis because if this is the way to the promise land, then McSame will never get there because he is lost in the desert. How stupid can Rick Davis be to go this route. Andrea tried to conduct herself during the interview but Rick Davis overtalked her in an attempt to control the interview. There was a comment that he took her lunch but it is hard to control someone who is out of control. I hope that those who see this ad recoginize this for what it is. It is GARBAGE, pure and simple. I do feel, however, that Obama responds rather than react to the negative ads in his articulate and calming way. Obama should never reduce himself to the same level because it would only hurt his image.
A commentor above talks about how even though McCain has had a bad two weeks Obama isn't gaining in the polls. I want to say that I don't believe the polls. If you add the polls up they usually don't even add up to 90%. For example the poll the guy sited with Obama at 49 and McCain at 40 equalls 89 percent. Where is the other 11 percent? Nader? Huckleberry? Clinton? All the polls site 40 to 42 or 39 to 44 or 43 to 41, where are the rest of the numbers to make 100 per cent? they never say. I think this poll taking thing has gone wack. I think the MSM wants to keep the polls to appear close so they can keep the viewers who are interested in the campaign tuned in. The polls are about ratings for the news agency not the pulse of the voters. Wait till November. The final count will be Obama 59 percent and McCain 41.
Kansaskowboy @ 80:
Obama 292 McCain 195 Ties 51
Obama 284 McCain 147 Toss up 107
It is quite striking how McCain's use of attack ads is getting public pushback while Bush's use of the same strategy was largely met with crickets. I think the reason we are seeing this shift in attitude is the public's perception of the candidates. Bush came off as a friendly "aw-shucks" kind of guy, the "compassionate conservative" who you would supposedly love to have a beer with. These warm and fuzzy feelings, foisted upon us largely by the press, helped give credence to Bush's messages/advertisements by implying that Bush wasn't the kind of guy who would put out baseless attack ads which lacked substance.
The opposite is true for McCain. McCain is older and, by all accounts, has a short fuse to go along with a surely disposition. He comes off as the angry old man with nothing better to do than be angry. This image almost encouragnes the public to dismiss his attack ads as an instance of the old man being cranky again. McCain's campaign has done nothing to combat this and, in fact, has helped to prop up the image by having McCain actually make the personal attacks himself, as opposed to the traditional attack-by-surrogate SOP.
Finally, I think the media actually compounded McCain's problem when they continually dismissed his multiple gaffes and temper tantrums as simply "McCain being McCain". While trying to provide cover for a flawed candidate, they implicitly told the public that sometimes you have to ignore McCain because he has a propensity to lose it from time to time. The electorate has begun to pick up on this and view McCain's campaign statements/ads with the caveat that they most likely are BS.
I am not a Britney Spear fan, but I have to say that when she said we should support the president it was in the beginning of Bush presidency, and she has donated half of her earning to charity and she pays her own employees well, and no doubt did her dance routine and the showmanship that all of her fan had the pleasure watching. It was when she rile the sexuality of the puritan that landed her in controversies and whether she had implants or not.
There is a bill in the house called the Britney Bill that impose a 20 yard bubble for paparazzi chasing down a celebrity. Celebrity have less right to their own privacy compared to the non-celebrity citizen. I honestly can't see how one could think straight being pursue by media hound, when much more important news effecting our lives are waiting to be told.
I think these ads that John McCain have is to serve one purpose and that is to fix his image problem of being too old. These ads have demonstrated that his maturity is very young at heart of a bickering child!
I wonder if Paris' Mommy and Daddy are happy about their daughter being used in a McCain attack ad?
After all the $$ could have gone to funding the ad, considering he gave the max to McCain $4,600 and she gave $2,300
http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Rick_Hilton.php
http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Kathy_Hilton.php
i watched that exchange live & it had me going back to the only answer there is to the current media climate that says:
"why can't Obama 'close the deal'" as if either presidential candidate in the last 2 cycles "closed the deal" in july. because there is a different standard this time.
it says:
"Senator Obama is polling a few points lower than 'generic democrat' against 'generic republican'". because there is a different standard this time.
This time there are 3-6% of poll respondents who want to vote "democratic" but simply can't vote "black".
It's different this time and it has nothing to do with "inexperience" or "exotic backgrounds" i mean come on, at least Obama was born in the USA, unlike McCain.
It's different this time because McCain is white and Obama is black.
she lets him bloviate and bloviate and bloviate. why is this news?
john j @ 3:
Republicans=Republic in the cans
Left&Left @ 13:
What's funny is the race card is only played from the game that white males created
What strikes me the most about Davis is his eagerness to continue arguing on points even after they've been exposed as being false, misleading, and even flat-out stupid. He's like a 7th grade boy whose parents never once told him to shut his trap and listen up.
Mitchell did the best she given Davis' insistence on keeping the discussion on an adolescent level.
God, I hate this campaign. And I hate even more than we have to hang in there with it and keep addressing this juvenilish behavior for the simple reason that the stakes are just too goddamned high.
My advice to Lieberman, after he's convicted of aiding and abetting war criminals and is sent off to Attica, is to just relax and enjoy it.
McCain's on the ropes! He's going down! 1...2..3...
Reagan was a celebrity. Arnold is a celebrity. McCain and the GOP are scared of Obama's popularity. Davis is foaming at the mouth he is so jealous!!!! Just reeks of envy and bitterness. THE GOP just wants someone who doesn't inspire people, to deter the masses from getting into the political process. Rick is a loser.Is he Billdo's son? He likes to shout over people and not let them talk. Typical con.
Of course it's flawed, they all are. But the fact remains that the national polls were trending Obama...he should be ahead by 10 point by now. But the campaign didn't capitalise on the World Tour. First they didn't forcefully challenge the lies about Obama snubbing the troops, summed up by Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel's performance on Face the Nation. That blunted Obama's lead in the polls. Second, Obama should have hit the campaign trail (and McCain) hard when he got back. Attack ads should have been tested and ready to go.
It also doesn't help that they've been floating names like Ann Veneman (bullshit) and Tim Kaine as possible VP picks.
92 snarky Says: McCain’s on the ropes! He’s going down! 1…2..3…
Wouldn't you love to see a video of Bill and Monica with a sports announcer?
BaScOmBe hearts Lara Logan and Rachel Maddow @ 70:
Sheeesh. Try not to poop in your pants just yet, Bascombe. There's still another 3 months.
The trend doesn't look good for the Lamb, especially coming off his Rockin' the World Celebrapalooza, but he always got that race card he can suggest, and then deny it's a race card.
"No, no. How could annnnny-body take it that way?"
I would swear that Mark Penn is running McCheese's campaign. They are using all of the same ploys that Hillary tried and they will work just as well for McNasty as they did for Hillary.
I really get tired of these assholes who use the tactic of rambling on and on and on, talking over everyone else, and not letting anyone else have a chance to get their own commentary in. And, of course, if anyone dares to interrupt them after they've been blabbering incoherently for several minutes, they get all indignant and accuse the other person of being rude.
ysbaddaden @ 94:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ns8t9iQck
Playing the race card , BO is multi-racial , why he is always called black ? . If any one could use the race card it is him . He has said before many times that his mother is white . If a white man and black woman have a child is that child white ? . Me I could care less about the color of a persons skin , because it says nothing about who that person is . Only a racist is afraid of a person because of their skin color .
dennis @ 95:
Very mature, Dennis the Menace. I think we can all see what you are talking about (nod, nod, wink, wink).
Putz.
Andrea Mitchell is perfect proof of what is wrong with the media in this country. She has no idea what she want's to ask and instead sits there letting some ass clown droll on with his talking points. Why do members of the media always have to ask stupid questions like "do you think the campaign has gotten nasty?" What do you think their going to say? How about asking "Look Mark those of us with a working brain know exactly what this add is insinuating and it's completely false and tasteless. When is John McCain going to be honest and respectable in his advertisements"?
dennis @ 95:
The facts and reality doesn't look so good for McGrampa:
Obama 292 McCain 195 Ties 51
Obama 284 McCain 147 Toss up 107
But, you can wank off and "poop in your pants" over "trends" while we celebrate an Obama victory in November.
Andrea Mitchell is letting this hack Rick Davis just run his mouth all over her. Shame on her . She's a very weak debater. The clown Davis known for getting Arnold in office. (15 billion deficit,22,000 state employees now being layed,off another 200,000 reduced to minimum wage in CA). Heck of a job Arnie. Give me 10 minutes talking with this Davis guy he'll be crying for his mother. Rapid fire lies don't get past me. That's basically what he did. They're basicly just mad that Obama is so popular not only here in the USA but world wide. Yes, there is a world outside the USA that the republicans ignore. They attack the strength of Obama (popularity) just like they did Kerry but the way they do it is so ridiculous it is blowing up in their faces. This from the guy (Davis) again who got a celebrity (Arnold in CA) in office. Yea,, celebrity politician ,,Rick yea your last job remember that one.
raincntry @ 4:
Not knowingly but they will subliminally. "Barack Obama is gonna rape our white women-folk".
Davis treated Mitchell like shit, comparing her and her colleagues like nothing more than tabloid-journalists. I hope Andrea picked up on that: go get him, Andrea. You have my blessing.
What a colossal asshole. I think any reasonable person would be turned off by Davis's manner. Pugnacious, interrupting Andrea every time she attempted to make a point.
Sure, keep putting him on TV. His manner should be enough to turn off most folks from McCain.
First McCain tried to label Obama as an elitist because his family came from Africa where they were poor goat herders. Now because Obama is well-liked by thousands of people (which is a bad thing, right?), he's now a "celebrity"??? (McCain would give his right nut to be so popular).
Incredible. Absolutely incredible that any honest thinking American would swallow this tyoe of disgraceful spin.
I think Fox news will be more fair and balanced by allowing Britney and Paris to have their own spin doctors reply to this guy.
Rick Davis = fcukwad
I, for one, am just proud to be an American for the first time. I thought it was neat to live in a country where a super rich heiress releasing a sex tape over the internet made her a household name. To see now that such a person now is now being compared to a presidential candidate makes me proud. Go America!
Remember the old days when politics was about stances and issues? LAME! Let the foolish Brits decide who should run their country on the basis of who is most qualified. We want the guy we want to have a beer with or the guy who has the most in common with a famous slut.
"John McCain’s campaign manager, was like a pit bull against Andrea Mitchell today on MSNBC—filibustering and revealing the type of campaign Republicans are used to running. Mean, nasty and out of control. Watch this lengthy exchange and you’ll see what I mean."
With all due respect John--and yes, I find the latest McCain ad eerily 'Harold Ford-like", What Mr. Davis offered was well within the realm of campaign-speak boilerplate.
Let us keep our indignation in reserve, let us not waste on trivialities such as this. Wanna be really pissed off? The coming months will offer myriad opportunities.
Robert
So Scharzenegger and Reagan weren' t celebrities? All face , no brains?
lilysmom @ 45:
She's a hack. For months, she has done anything she could to bring Obama down. Who cares if she is pissed. BTW, my mother and my wife are women. If you understood men, you would know........
getalife @ 72:
i'm not gonna bash this troll cuz it's a valid possibility, but i will take the long view, & this isn't an attack on Senator McCain's age but, McCain's "base" & the republican party faithful are dying off & shrinking in a very real demographic way. By the time i'm John McCain's age immigration from Latin America & all the other issues that at their base are sub-consciously (at least) racial will not be discussed by any serious individuals because "race" will have been finally reduced to the meaning it holds in the phrase "human race".
So they can take their base, rally it all up & just keep following after the Know-Nothing and Whig parties as they make their into the foot-notes section of the history books.
elitist
marxist
white wine drinker
extreme liberal
non patriotic
like jimmy carter
rock star
socialist
like george bush
what's next.... they have to running out of material
I gotta say, Mitchell's last line, referring to Davis by his own "celebrity" smear WAS pretty delightful.
liberaMcSuuuurgeNmoderation @ 11:
Agreed. A good ass whipping seems to be in order. Imagine this needle dick talking to one of your family members like this.
I thought she did a great job of staying on point, but she just couldn't get around his filibuster. She called him out on the '1st negative ad' and he just started redefining terms and staying on his message. It seems like they accuse the Dems of doing exactly what they're doing AS THE'RE DOING IT! That wasn't an interview, the guy just took the mic to repeat his message. My G$%! What a snake oil salesman..
She's just terrible. Why does Andrea Mitchell just sit there and allow Rick Davis to talk over her and not respond to her questions?
constituent @ 115:
N****r .... you know they're bound to call him that at some point, my $$ is on Pat or Bay Buchanan
getalife @ 72:
Try not to be the guy that everybody refers to as "That idiot who should be in a clown suit!" your whole life, OK?
McCain is playing the Old Pathetic Angry Forgetful Guy Card.
JimboSlice @ 120:
i'm sure it's gone their........in some circles
speaking of bay i always wondered if that was really pat in drag
JimboSlice @ 120:
Nope...It'll be Billo or Savage.
JimboSlice @ 120:
You don't actually need someone to say that word, Jimbo. You've got liberal bloggers who can decode the dog whistles no one notices but somehow get delivered to us subliminally. They're simply amazing at it.
Modern day Kreskins.
Left&Left @ 124:
i don't know much about savage except from exposure on this blog......he's a dick so maybe he's a good bet
i forgot muslim
arugula eater.....obama list
That guy, Davis, is a scumbag of nuclear proportions. I wanted to break my monitor.
I've seen it written that Mohammed Ali is the most famous celebrity in the world. Given Davis's logic, he should have been in the ad. But it certainly wouldn't have been as effective showing a strong, beloved black men, now would it. What a crock!!!
Well, there is one thinker at Daily Obama:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/31/93425/0546/477/559908
Do you notice Davis' intonation, the way his voice frequently rises in pitch when he's trying to sound convincing? He doesn't believe what he's saying himself.
ughh. what a scumbag
What an assbag.
dennis @ 125:
Yeah Dennis, bigotry doesn't exist amongst you and your folks....especially when the hoods are on.
she did an ok job, but i think more could have been done to undue those silly frame -ups.
I'm convinced the GOP has decided to write off the White House until 2012. There is no other conceivable reason, other than that of calculated design, that Hilton and Spears are now-and-forever joined at the arthritic hip of John McCain. The republican party is not that incompetent. Hell, even the democrats aren't that incompetent. Nope, they're in the tank this year.
Rick sounds like a spoiled child trying to lie his way out of reality.
What a clown. He sounds a like an itinerant jealous ranting loser.
Left&Left @ 133:
No one denies it doesn't exist, Left². Not me, and not 'my folks', either. But if you want to use that unfortunate fact to your advantage, go right ahead. Obviously no one is stopping you here.
He's got his talking points, and he's sticking to 'em! Mitchell challenges him a bit, but doesn't pick up on or press the racist dogwhistle element of the ad. Davis is pretty rude, too, talking over Mitchell constantly.
Andrea Mitchel can't just tell him to shut the f**k up, and let her finish her sentence? Damn, gain control of the interview.
When even Andrea Mitchell is visibly repulsed by a Republican hack, you know he's gone over the cliff. I'd like to think this jerk isn't going to be getting many invitations to appear on TV after such rude, aggressive behavior toward the host, but TV producers seems to have an insatiable appetite for rude, aggressive behavior.
Seriously, she hardly did anything in that interview to counter all of the BS he was spewing. His mouth was going off for 90% of that clip. Why didn't she point out that a lot of Americans in Germany are from the military? Why didn't she point out that Dubya is notorious for the amount of time he spends working out each day. They brag about how athletic he is, but when it's Obama they just say it's excessive. Why did she let him accuse the media of talking about energy bars and arugula when she had just read a quote from him? He said that quote, but then he said it was the media talking about arugula and he would rather talk about important issues, like how much Obama is exactly like Britney Spears. Yes, Obama is a fat, white trash pop singer that drives with his baby in his lap, not a Harvard-educated Senator.
Why won't someone point out how ridiculous it is that their main criticism of Obama is that everyone likes him too much?
wxgeek @ 37:
I had to chew it in small bites, otherwise I was going to puke. I knew Davis by reputation, and that he was of the Atwater/Rove ilk. But, I had never seen him speak. In this interview, he must have set a world record for most lies told in a 5 minute segment. I wanted to grab him and slap the republican off his face.
Anyone watching David gregory. He is doing his whole show discussing McCain Talking points. Don't these idiots, who are supposed to be journalists, realize that playing the ads over and over and discussing the message is feeding the beast?
Why doesn't Obama and his campaign manager go after McCain. If someone throws dirt in your face and blinds your one eye, do you sit there and let them blind the other?
You go after McCain and show the world who he really is. And that is Cindy, too.
You have to attack if you're a tiny little man and someone calls you on your bullshit.
m-antony @ 137:
Eat shit and die asshole!
rick, thanks for wasting 12 minutes of my life by talking nonsense that you could summed up in 30 seconds. it was like listening to elisabeth hassle'whatever her face ....over and over and and over and over again....i'm just shocked the words reverand wright and revko weren't ever interjected into the conversation....or were they...i went in and out of my a.d.d.
Batocchio @ 140:
This is pretty insulting for Andrea. I'm not sure why she let Davis walk all over her, but I am annoyed that the racism of the attack ad with WHITE Britney and Paris in it did come up?? The insult and racism of Republicans projecting a BLACK man with two young white women needs to be talked about, evaluated, repeated and brought to EVERYONE's attention.
Even in this blog's comments, there is barely any mention that the RACISM of the REPUBLICAN attack ad on OBAMA was that the Right wing campaign is using FEAR of the UPPITY BLACK MAN associating with their YOUNG WHITE DAUGHTERS!!
It's obvious, I know, but if you don't talk about it, name it, or point it out, the dull minded and simple sheep of the masses just don't get it!!
GET IT?
REpublicans are playing the race card non stop!! ... in any and every way they can.
Call them on their bullshit racism, hatred and bigotry!!
and for God's sake NAME IT!!
The McCain camp, having no non-Bush ideas and not getting the press that Obama is getting (and losing in almost all major polls) is down to attacks and smears. The problem is that this kind of thing doesn't work any more. The country and the culture has moved on. Look at the percentage of white voters Obama got in the primaries.
These kinds of attacks will move some of the Crazy Repubs into the McCain camp and likely move some of the independents, but it will also force many more of the undecided to make a choice. I know of too many uninterested voters that are being turned off by the McCain badly done smear ads. (Which Obama just laughs off).
This is just another example of how badly the McCain campaign is being run. When your candidate is old and stupid and can only keep repeating the ideas of perhaps the most unpopular president in the history of this Country, you don't have much to work with.
What they need to do is try and confuse the voters about what and who the real McCain is right up to the very last minute. At that point they can go negative and hope for the best. The McCain camp is going negative too early. The must feel that their candidate is so bad they have no other choice.
Again, my prediction is that this McCain campaign will go down in history as one of the worst run of all time.
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