McCain plans a "personal attack' onslaught against Obama
By John Amato Friday Oct 03, 2008 8:00pm
With job losses continuing to be a major problem in America, John McCain would rather not focus on the economy. Nope....You can always count on the politics of personal destruction from Republicans and the news coming out is that John McCain will amp up these attacks that have little to do with the issues and all to do with desperation.
Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.
With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.
"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Being so aggressive has risks for McCain if it angers swing voters, who often say they are looking for candidates who offer a positive message about what they will do.
Maybe now the Obama-Biden ticket will stop complimenting McCain every chance they get.
Plain is attacking Obama with the FOX News/Sean Hannity/Bill Ayers nonsense.
Palin cited an article in today's New York Times as evidence that Obama "sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country." The Alaska governor was referring to William Ayers, one of the founding members of the Weathermen and someone who once served on a charitable board with Obama in Chicago.
Obama was eight years old at the time...I saw the really awful Vampire movie on cable called "30 Days of Night" and it reminded me of the type of cities that are in Alaska and I wondered what Palin would do when Vamps attacked her city...
Login or Register to post comments.
A personal attack in a presidential campaign???
Shocking!!!
Let's be clear, if one is breathing one can't be a "war hero."
Also "war heroes" do not seal their military records in order to prevent people for scrutinize them.
So yeah, McCain "war hero" my ass.
Audey Murphy, Sgt. York, Forrest Gump (snark), and many other heroes survived their moment of valor, but it is fair to question McCain's membership in that club.
He dropped a few bombs on who knows whom and with who knows what effect, never shot at an enemy plane or identifiable target, crashed or was involved in the destruction of several US planes, suffered severe injuries, and was held as a POW for several years.
He served his country and suffered for it. He was awarded medals. I'm not convinced he ever demonstrated extraordinary bravery at any point. He never exerted himself to do extraordinary damage to the enemy at extraordinary risk to himself. He never performed an extraordinary act in saving the lives of his comrades in arms or civilians in his care.
He did his duty. He suffered. Just like hundreds of thousands of other US soldiers. Bless him and the many like him.
He is not a hero, at least not any more than they are.
If you remind everybody you talk to in the next few weeks that this is just a desperate attempt to distract everybody's attention from the Republicans' hideous record on the economy, this tactic won't work. Once you show an audience how a magician's trick works, they won't be fooled by it anymore. "Look, he's waving a red silk handkerchief in his right hand to distract you from seeing his left hand reaching into his pocket."
After Palin's "performance" the other night in the "debate" with Sen. Joe Biden, whenever I think of Palin now I think of Valley Girl.
Is Wasilla Alaska in a valley, BTW?
Fer shure?
Well, gag me with a rubber hose.
Golly gee.
Darn tootin.
You betcha.
Wink. Wink.
Or when I think of the debates, I think of a first-year student debating a tenured, scholarly, veteran Professor.
Hold it now. "30 Days of Night" horrible? Excellent movie. Oh wait, this isn't Aintitcoolnews.com hahaha...
Obama campaign doesn't need to be negative.
The GOP take the American public for idiots, because a lot of them are. Bush was folksy, the guy everyone would want to have a beer with. Really though, I think a lot of Obama's appeal is that his story is similar to everyone else's and people see themselves in him, but it's only in upbringing. Obama wasn't handed his degree or his business or political career because of his family or his name. Unlike SOME people.
The Dems finally understand this and that's why they're hammering home the whole "change" thing. It's something short and snappy that will stick in the puny mind of Johnny McRetard in Sheboygen, WI.
(Oh, and while I'm technically in favor of sticking to the idea of not letting people get distracted from the failed economic and national defense policies of the Republicans, all of which McCain subscribes to...I wouldn't mind if a few people started pointing out that Palin only released the LAST TWO YEARS of her tax returns in order to hide her and her husband's donations to the Alaskan Independence Party. And also that, this means that THREE OF THE FOUR candidates in this election have now released their JOINT TAX RETURNS, while Cindy McCain continues to insist that hers are private.)
Obama can put a stop to this on Tuesday. He should take the earliest opportunity in the debate to say something like this: "John, I believed you to be an honorable man. Let me take you back in your own history to the South Carolina Republican primary in 2000. When similar tactics were used against you then, I thought they were despicable and beneath a candidate for the highest office in the land. It ruined your campaign. You said at the time....[insert what McCain said]. Now look at you Senator. Your campaign is doing the exact same thing. Honor is not like some garment you can take from the shelf and wear it when it's convenient, and take it off when it's not. You either have it with you at all times, or you don't have it at all."
McCain was not a war hero. He gave the enemy more information than his name, rank and serial number. Yet the American public persists in the pleasant myth that he was, while a real hero like Kerry was accused of faking his wounds.
If Ayers is such a terrorist, why isn't he in jail? Because he was cleared of the charges against him. Does Ms. Palin not believe in the American justice system? Because that is what cleared him. Ever since, Ayers by all accounts has been a model citizen, contributing to his community. Apparently Ms. Palin also does not believe in the Christian concept of redemption. Shame on her? You betcha!
Now let us turn to an aspect of Ms. Palin's own personal life, her record as a mother. She eloped, apparently pregnant outside marriage, had a son arrested for tampering with brakes on school buses, advocated abstinence as a form of birth control which did not work as her eldest daughter is pregnant outside marriage, flew to a conference in her ninth month of pregnancy, stayed to give a speech despite her water breaking and then flew after her water broke, jeopardizing the welfare of her unborn child. She keeps her youngest child up way past his bedtime and leaves his care repeatedly to her other children. She is an awful mother, yet is held up as some paragon of maternal virtue. Shame on her? You betcha!
After two years of campaigning, the sprint to the finish will be gory.
One approach to a slime campaign at this point is to be nice and look sorry that your opponent has falled to the level where all he can do is throw mud. I think Obama can do it. Biden can be the impatient one who takes an angry tone in response.
NY Times, Friday Oct 3, 2008:
Obama and ’60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths
This is going to be a huge, huge fail. I can see the columns now asking "Is that all the Republicans have left? Where did McCain go?" Public opinion will drop for McCain in a big way now seeing as he's given up.
While we certainly have no shortage of dumb people in this country, I really don't understand what McCain thinks this will do for him. These low-class tactics only appeal to those who are already going to vote for him, no one else. This doesn't gain voters, it eliminates them. McCain has attached Obama for months and gone so far with his lies and distortions that even our lazy press called him on it.
The McCain plan until the election seems to be to avoid talking about McCain.
Of course, Obama could take the guy to the woodshet at the next debate over it, but for some reason they seem to want to stay clear of that.
Negative campaigning has been shown to depress voter turnout, particularly among younger voters. Historically, low voter turnout has benefitted Republicans.
Since McCain can't change enough minds to win the election, he's employing a tactic to discourage voting by Obama supporters. It's a cynical but effective strategy.
right @ 13:
Faux will prop him up and there's always Rush and Drudge.
Maybe Obama should get a blessing from Sarah the Stupid's witchdoctor least Keating Five Johnny make any inroads into the electorate.
"Being so aggressive has risks for McCain if it angers swing voters, who often say they are looking for candidates who offer a positive message about what they will do."
Except for the fact that going negative seems to always yield a 90%/10% return rate which is why its still used in pretty much every election across the world. Its especially concerning this time around. All it will take is a little more fear planted into whitey's head and he'll pull the lever for McCain dispite what all the polls are saying. I hope my country can prove me wrong.
When he was a pilot he trashed five planes and we want this guy to pilot the American Government?
Time to run out the Keating 5 Barrack. I'm surprised Palin isn't using Obama's middle name by now.
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/cindy-mccain...
All I want right now is for CINDY to state, as clearly as she does in this October 2008 interview expressing pride in her husband's "gentlemanly" campaign, that she is NOT PROUD NOW.
Just read the pg 3 closing paragraph. SHAME on MCCAIN.
There is only one superior way to win a battle of personal attacks - Jujutsu.
Anais @ 9:
You know, I think McCain is a terrible senator, and would be a disaster as a president. And you're right...the Swiftboating of Kerry was despicable. As you may have noticed, John Amato has never run anything questioning McCain's military service. Sure McCain overplays it but that's his choice like it was Kerry's to play up his...pre-Swiftboat.
But coming from a third generation Marine Corps family, I have an immediate visceral negative reaction to people who have never served and were never faced with anything close to what any those guys faced (both Kerry and McCain) and somehow feeling qualified in passing judgement on those who did serve and suffer.
Policy positions and criticisms of campaigns are fair game but unless you've been faced what Kerry and McCain faced, you seriously need to STFU.
In other words, annie, youre saying that only the military can express an opinion about insanemccain's bad character and Godawful lies.
Do you remember a little thing called THE FIRST AMENDMENT??? That means that I, a 67 year old woman who never served in the military, is allowed to call insanemccain a f**kiing, lying ratbastard!! If YOU dont like my opinion, too bad! YOU need to "seriously STFU"!!
A REAL hero would rather lose the election than stoop as low as insanemccain is now.
As for his rep who said they are going to get tougher; I beg to differ, sir or madam, you are talking vicious and unprincipled. Shame on all of you!!!
Pulling out the big guns are they?
Watch as the McCain team shoots itself in the foot.
Well - they can counter with the fact that Palin's husband was a long-time member of an Alaskan secessionist party, with possible ties to terrorist militias.
Also, they can just play some clips of McCain's anti US propaganda tapes that he made for the North Vietnamese.
The key paragraph from the NYTimes article:
Also in the article is
Which is a little-self-unaware from coming from a bomber pilot who bombed areas with civilian populations. (I do not believe Ayer's bombs killed anyone or were intended to, though they could have.)
Anais @ 9:
I never considered McCain a war hero, but I never considered him a good naval officer either. At the bottom of his class at the Academy, lost 5 planes, the Forrestal fire (not his fault, but his plane), became POW on his 23rd Flight, etc…
He was probably given more attention while a prisoner because of his father, and I don’t fault him for breaking under that torture as he did. But his “singing like a canary” gives neither credence nor refutation to him being a “hero”. He deserves a “thank-you” for his mostly bad service, and a “No thank-you” for his bid for POTUS.
I think Cindy's drug problem should be brought up now. Yes we should feel sorry for anyone who suffers from addictions. But to have her husband's clout stop the investigations into where the drugs came from is ilegal.
And lets bring up McCains calling his wife the C word.On video. I'm sure there is a strong Democratic woman who can make the point.Obama's voice does not have to be heard.In fact dub in Miss Sarah's.
Amd the "rumor" of Miss Sarah's affair.
This just make me mad!
Voters say they don't like negative campaigns, but they're still more than happy to vote for the negative candidate.
Bipartisanship, civil discourse, and complex policy discussion is impossible until the republicans have been out of power for 12 years and come back begging for forgiveness. Nothing less than an unconditional surrender will save this country.
listening to air america today I heard the following overheard among the republicans;
{some republcian guy] "why doesn't john take off the gloves"
[mccain staffer] "tune in to the debate"
I hope obama is prepared for the onsluaght with some of his own
@25 Bill Arnold
Good point.
30 Days of Night was not horrible. It was a very well crafted horror movie that had numerous scares.
And this man claims to be of a calibre worthy to be President of the United States?
Why doesn't he just buy time on TV to say, "My friends, I am totally desperate. My party has screwed the pooch for the last 8 years. I haven't any idea how to fix anything, and if I did I'd use up most of my remaining energy running around as if my hair is on fire, as I did last week. Nothing would ever get accomplished. So, instead, I'm going to tell you what a rotten bastard the other guy is. I know it's not very presidential, but it's all I have."
Macbeth, the story of an warrior who sold his honor for power and, in the end, loses both and his life.
hmmmm
The temptation is to cast Palin as one of the witches, but she isn't smart enough. lol
A womn whose husband recently belonged to a secessionist political party should not go around impuning the patriotism of someone because of who he knew when he was 8.
Well, if they had any sense or civility, anyway.
What would Zeus do? @ 11:
Conventional wisdom among political operatives (at least the ones with whom I've worked) is that negative campaigning absolutely works, up to a "disgust point," and that, when you're opponent slings mud, the proverbial high road is more like an unsteady tightrope. Voters do not reward the honorable candidate, so you either respond in kind, or at least fight back hard, and somehow negatively.
And when I watched Obama debate InSane, like Mr. Amato, I winced at his overly conciliatory tone. The way Gone InSane was debating, I was half expecting him to say "Senator Obama is not fit to shine my shoes." And I was expecting Obama to respond, "Well, now . . . look . . . John is exactly right. I am not a shoe-shine boy. I'm running for President of the United States, and I take that too seriously for this kind of exchange."
"What's he doing?" I kept asking myself. But . . . by all accounts, Obama did connect with the necessary demographics, and they did think he won the debate. Faced with evidence that undermines my understanding, I have to ask myself whether Obama actually knows what he's doing.
Which would mean there is something I'm overlooking. Could it be that because America's legion of morons and bigots will presume him the untrustworthy black Muslim, he actually needs to be overly conciliatory in order not to fan the flames of idiocy? Could it be that as the economic crisis sets in, people really would rather see calm-and-collected, as opposed to righteous-and-aggressive?
Perhaps. Or maybe the Republicans are finally just scrambling in the wake of their disasters, and people are just ready to move on, period. I suppose I still tend to think Obama should at least get more aggressive than he's been, and indeed, stop complimenting InSane every chance he gets. But I also have to admit that his style has not hurt him the way I might have predicted.
These people don't care about the future of of country. It's a game to them. They're reprehensible.
This should be Obama's response.
suck on this mccain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITToVCGgvEk
Im sorry, but these Republicans are just disgusting to me. They lie to us, steal our money, tell us were un-American because we don’t want to support their phony wars. They say we don’t support our troops when they can’t even spend the money (our money) to supply the troops with the equipment they need. I love this country and what it really stands for; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but this government we have is the vilest thing on earth and seeing there faces and hearing there voices truly makes me ill. I’ve given up hope on these people ever doing the right thing.
Anyone who watched the VP debate on CNN would have seen the ticker of swing voters (in ohio) and their moment to moment reactions. It was very obvious that attacking the other candidate did very poorly. Better was to deliver platitudes, like Palin did. But best was to talk specific plans of action, as Biden did.
McCain's attacks may reassure his base, but it's a losing strategy. But for a party who's run out of ideas, it's to be expected.
If McCain pulls this in Tuesday's debate, Obama's response should be very simple, dignified, and direct.
And it should begin...."Senator, eight years ago, during the a hard-fought South Carolina Republican primary....."
You can write the rest of it yourself. Game, set, match.
I'll give it a go:
"Maverick ... reformer ... regulator? Hardly. John McCain called his role in protecting Charles Keating from federal banking investigators the worst mistake of his life. The Senate Ethics Committe called it poor judgment. John McCain accepted gifts and holidays from Charles Keating, trips on his private jet, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. And thousands of elderly investors lost their life savings. The country simply can't afford four more years of mistakes and poor judgment."
Everyone has been screaming "Keating 5, Keating 5". Look again guys at who the other 4 were. Perhaps you didn't bother looking at the names of the party beside the pictures.
This could be a sticky wicket you don't want opened.
But I have said before. Even though Ayers & mcCain were not charged, Ayers was trying to save lives in getting the soldiers home. McCain (and the Dem Senators) were actually ruining the lives of 21,000 investors....mostly seniors.
This could go either way.
I find it utterly amazing that in all the wars this country has fought, at home and abroad,that John McCain was the only man/women ever captured! He then sat out the rest of the war as America's only POW in history!
No kidding. Actual combat duty.....less than 3 months.
Wanna a real hero...how about any of the many soldiers who have served 3-4-5 deployments to fight.......you guessed it....George & Johnny's war.
And if he gets elected.....expect the draft! America's hero.............and Maverick.
My God...the hats he wears!
In order for this to work for McCain, he's going to have to go into the debate and try to convince people that he and Obama are the same on the economy. Look for him to highlight that they both voted for the bailout bill and that the Democrats took alot of money from the financial houses. Why? Because if people don't see any difference between them on the economy (and many moderates don't see any difference) then people will vote based on these other "issues".
This is what happened in the last election. Bush kept hammering Kerry on how their differences on the war were minor and insignificant. This did lead alot of people to think "What would Kerry do different than Bush" and people really couldn't see much of a difference. They effectively neutralized the vastly unpopular war as an issue in the campaign.
If the mud starts flying, perhaps the MSM will go to work debunking the lies, they seem to finally have realized that it is not just good journalism, but that people like it. In other words, it's a moneymaker.
Off topic- new site looks good.
Also- I was looking around McCain's website trying to find the bad parts of his health plan, about the corporate tax on benefits. Anyone know where to find it?
I side with John on this one, 30 Days of Night was disappointing:
http://fudgonaut.com/portal/viewtopic.php?t=37
10 Things You Need to Know About Senator Obama’s Tax Proposals
Read the Paper: "Michael Boskin: A CLOSER LOOK AT OBAMANOMICS"
Under the tax plans of Barack Obama and his Democratic friends in Congress, American families will only be left with… the change in their pockets.
In 2009, Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress have an idea for a bill. Well, really, it’s a lot of bills that will be paid for by nearly every American in the form of higher taxes and higher costs for food, energy and other products.
So if you have a retirement account, work in or shop at a small business, are close or in retirement, or even flip on a light switch, then there are a few things that you should consider.
Under that plan:
1. Small main street businesses would be forced to pay tax rates as high as 62.3% under Senator Obama’s tax proposals.1
2. Senator Obama’s tax plan would tax small businesses at a higher rate than large corporations!2
3. Taxes on retirement income and savings could increase by at least 33%, hitting millions of seniors when they need these resources the most.3
4. 4 million workers over the age of 50 – those eagerly looking forward to retirement – would be hit with increased tax bills. 4
5. Millions of Americans would only keep 38 cents of every dollar that they earn.5
6. Senator Obama’s tax plan would reduce the after tax wages of millions of workers by 17.7%.6
7. It will take 227 days per year, nearly 8 months, just to pay your tax bill!7
8. 97,065 carpenters, 110,908 police officers, 254,992 nurses, 208,562 postsecondary teachers and 237,000 dentists would see tax increases, if the earnings cap was successfully eliminated.8
9. 10.3 million workers would see an average of $5,650 taken from their paycheck and given to government programs.9
10. Even YOU might be considered “Rich.”
NEW REPORT: McCain Would Give America’s 200 Largest Corporations $45 Billion In Tax Breaks------------------
If you’re a CEO of one of America’s largest corporations and have enjoyed the Presidency of George W. Bush, a contribution to the McCain campaign is looking like a pretty good investment.
A new report from the Center For American Progress Action Fund finds that a key piece of John McCain’s tax plan — cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% — would cut taxes by almost $45 billion every year for America’s 200 largest corporations as identified by Fortune Magazine.
Eight companies — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Bank of America Corp., AT&T;, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Microsoft Corp. — would each receive over $1 billion a year.
These giveaways are just one part of McCain’s doubling of the Bush tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy which would create the largest deficits in 25 years and drive the United States into the deepest deficits since World War II.
A recent analysis by the Public Campaign Action Fund found that John McCain’s campaign has received $5.6 million from the PACs and executives of the Fortune 200.
Over the past eight years, under George W. Bush, American workers have seen their wages stagnate as corporate profits have skyrocketed. John McCain’s misguided priorities show he’s more of the same: the same $45 billion in tax cuts for America’s 200 largest companies could be used to lift over 9 million Americans out of poverty.(Think Progress)~~~~
I could never, ever understand how McCain would ever extend his hand to either Karl Rove, Charlie Condon or George Bush after the charachter assassination they did on him in 2000.
I see now because any resemblance of being part of the human race was drained from him to now, pick up the playbook used against him in 200 and use it.
It's very simple folks but maybe (without being smug, arrogant or smart) this is one of the main differences between Canadians & Americans is, we see this shit and puke...it's that simple. We look at it as someone testing our intelligence or common sense.
We are not interested in what the other guys going to do, sell us on your plans...give us substance. This crap is the farthest thing from that.
For any American to accept this type of "playbooking", then they desrve to be lied to, cheated on and have their homes foreclosed, sons/daughters sent to war and their country's security to be threatened.
If your leader will be this deceitful you during his campaign race, believe me, he'll lie to to about things like WMD & bombing innocent people.
Friggin ugliness to the max. What an absolute pity coming from those who consider themselves World Leaders. Little wonder you've lost the respect of the world.
Login or Register to post comments.