The McCain Thread

[Stikmann]

I'm "only" 54 and I wouldn't do it either. To criticize McCain because he came in out of the rain and Obama didn't is stupid.

Not really considering how much his latest stump speeches have him proclaiming to be a “fighter”. 72 or not, one second saying “I’m a fighter!!” and then saying “Hey, it’s raining…think I’ll stay in.” seems to be at odds. I don't think it's a big deal either way but I can see opponents calling him out on it.

 

[danoyse]

It's cold and raining, he's 72 and it sounds like he probably has a bad cold. Staying in makes perfect sense, it shouldn't be held against him.

 

[Marx]

McCain is 72. I wouldn't be standing out in the cold rain at 72 years old either.

I'm "only" 54 and I wouldn't do it either. To criticize McCain because he came in out of the rain and Obama didn't is stupid.

Not really considering how much his latest stump speeches have him proclaiming to be a “fighter”. 72 or not, one second saying “I’m a fighter!!” and then saying “Hey, it’s raining…think I’ll stay in.” seems to be at odds. I don't think it's a big deal either way but I can see opponents calling him out on it.

It's cold and raining, he's 72 and it sounds like he probably has a bad cold. Staying in makes perfect sense, it shouldn't be held against him.

Did I say that I personally am holding it against him? NO I did not. What I said is that it doesn't make him look good. It's all about perception. Anyone that pays any kind of attention to politics knows that.

 

[USMC]

It's cold and raining, he's 72 and it sounds like he probably has a bad cold. Staying in makes perfect sense, it shouldn't be held against him.

Even more reason he shouldn't be running for president.

 

[StrainedEyes]

I want a President who is afraid of the rain because of how old he is.

 

[USMC]

I want a President who is afraid of the rain because of how old he is.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

McCain vows to "Fool the Pundits" and Polling
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0447d908-a521-11dd-b4f5-000077b07658.html
Yeah, good luck with that

 

[ShadowBoxing]

He only has a 5 point average lead in Arizona, meaning if it drops any further it's officially a toss-up state.

 

[danoyse]

Did I say that I personally am holding it against him? NO I did not. What I said is that it doesn't make him look good. It's all about perception. Anyone that pays any kind of attention to politics knows that.

Of course you did, we know what a shill you are for Obama.

Just kidding.

 

[jaguarr]

Yeah...this guy's not an attention-****e at all.

http://features.csmonitor.com/polit...lumber-is-now-joe-the-foreign-policy-advisor/

Joe the Plumber is now Joe the foreign policy advisor?
By Jimmy Orr | 10.29.08

Who can fault him for trying?

He’s Joe the Plumber, not Joe the foreign policy adviser. He gave it his best shot yesterday. And some would say his initial outing in answering foreign policy questions was better than Sarah Palin’s inaugural attempt.

How’d this happen?

How did Joe the Plumber begin dispensing foreign policy advice?

Simple. There was a “Joe the Plumber” bus tour yesterday in Ohio. Joe the Plumber (aka Joe Wurzelbacher) teamed up with Congressman Rob Portman (who was allegedly on McCain VP short list) and they went to five different towns in Ohio stumping for McCain.

Wurzelbacher was doing everything you do on the campaign trail. You know, shaking hands, talking to people, kissing babies, taking pictures, saying a vote for Barack Obama dooms Israel…

WHAT?

On the first leg of the five-town “Joe the Plumber World Invasion” tour, Wurzelbacher ran into a supporter who asked Joe if he believed, “a vote for Barack Obama means death to Israel.”

Wurzelbacher doesn’t have handlers. Many would say, especially Palin supporters, that gives him an advantage.

So instead of practicing the age-old political maneuver of not answering the question, but answering what you wan to talk about — he replied to it.

“I’ll go ahead and agree with you on that,” he said.

Joe makes news

This of course made news. Wurzelbacher isn’t an official spokesman for the McCain campaign, but in stumping for McCain he’s kind of one.

And “a vote for Obama means death to Israel” is not a McCain talking point (we checked on their web site).

Joe on FOX

Shepherd Smith over at Fox News had Wurzelbacher on the air after he had commented on Israel. A very clumsy exchange ensued with Wurzelbacher seeming to be stumped with his statement, putting up, at one point, the equivalent of a white flag.

“Listen, you don’t want my opinion on foreign policy. I know just enough probably to be dangerous,” he said.

“Yeah, well that’s what I was kinda wondering,” Smith replied.

What say Joe?

Where was Wurzelbacher going?

He was just articulating (poorly) a McCain position that Barack Obama is too inexperienced to become President. McCain often says that Obama’s statement that he would meet with even rogue leaders without precondition is testament to his naivete.

McCain versus Obama

There is a continuous volley between the candidates on this issue. Like in the first debate:

McCain: Senator Obama twice said in debates he would sit down with Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Raul Castro without precondition. Without precondition. Here is Ahmadinejad, who is now in New York, talking about the extermination of the State of Israel, of wiping Israel off the map, and we’re going to sit down, without precondition, across the table, to legitimize and give a propaganda platform to a person that is espousing the extermination of the state of Israel, and therefore then giving them more credence in the world arena and therefore saying, they’ve probably been doing the right thing, because you will sit down across the table from them and that will legitimize their illegal behavior.

Obama: Now, understand what this means “without preconditions.” It doesn’t mean that you invite them over for tea one day. What it means is that we don’t do what we’ve been doing, which is to say, “Until you agree to do exactly what we say, we won’t have direct contacts with you.” There’s a difference between preconditions and preparation. Of course we’ve got to do preparations, starting with low-level diplomatic talks, and it may not work, because Iran is a rogue regime.

Some backing

So Wurzelbacher gave it a shot. It’s not easy to ad-lib about foreign policy on the campaign trail. But give him credit, the McCain team even backed him up a bit by emailing a supportive statement to Fox News:

“While he’s clearly his own man, so far Joe has offered some penetrating and clear analysis that cuts to the core of many of the concerns that people have with Barack Obama’s statements and policies. Whether its Obama’s willingness to sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or his plans to redistribute the paychecks of hardworking Americans, there is good reason to question the judgment that Obama would bring to the Oval Office.”

So, there you go, Joe. While not Colin Powell or Warren Christopher, Wurzelbacher survived the day on the campaign trail. And although he will probably not answer questions on foreign policy in future stops, give him credit for trying.

jag

 

[Matt]

McCain vows to "Fool the Pundits" and Polling
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0447d908-a521-11dd-b4f5-000077b07658.html
Yeah, good luck with that

Lazur raised a valid point earlier. Why is Obama focusing on PA so much? If it were just McCain, I'd say he is senile...but why is Obama defending PA when he is leading by anywhere between 11 and 15 points? I dare say that their internal polling may be a lot more competitive than media polling, and internal polling usually is more accurate. We could see a couple upsets come election day. I predict an Obama win...but I don't think it will be the blow out people have begun to suspect.

 

[Marx]

Lazur raised a valid point earlier. Why is Obama focusing on PA so much? If it were just McCain, I'd say he is senile...but why is Obama defending PA when he is leading by anywhere between 11 and 15 points? I dare say that their internal polling may be a lot more competitive than media polling, and internal polling usually is more accurate. We could see a couple upsets come election day. I predict an Obama win...but I don't think it will be the blow out people have begun to suspect.

If Obama wins Pennsylvania is is next to impossible for McCain to win the election. Obama is not going to take any chances, and I can't blame him. I'd be doing the same thing. I think the election is going to be much closer percentage wise state-to-state than the polls currently show.

 

[Shifty]

Are You Better Off? Rev. 2.

29 Oct 2008 11:21 am
28 years ago yesterday, in a late-in-the-game debate, Ronald Reagan famously asked, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

"Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? If you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have."

The man who made turned the debate performance into an ad for the Gipper, Jeff Goodby, is now helping the other side. (He was a junior account exec back then... he later created the Got Milk ads.)

He's edited this ad for Progressive Future, a center-left organizing group based in Denver. The ad will run in Ohio and Florida.

[YT]nrBKC3nQHYk[/YT]

 

[jaguarr]

I wonder how all the conservatives who orgasm at the mere mention of Reagan will react to this ad.

jag

 

[SuperT]

So much for McCain trying to tie Obama too Khalidi. It seems like McCain himself sent money to the Palestinian Research center.

McCain Funded Work Of Palestinian His Campaign Hopes To Tie To Obama

The latest guilt-by-association target that the McCain campaign is using to hit Barack Obama could carry some collateral damage for its own candidate.

As Politico's Ben Smith reported on Tuesday, the McCain campaign is demanding that the Los Angeles Times release video in its possession of a party attended by Barack Obama and Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi.

The McCain camp gambit comes after conservative writers have repeatedly pressed for media outlets to write about the rather tenuous connections between Obama and Khalidi, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights.

Specifically, National Review writers want much more attention paid to the association, given that the LA Times has reported that Khalidi lavished praise on Obama at a farewell party in Chicago at which Bill Ayers was also present. (Other writers have accused Khalidi of being an aide to Yasser Arafat, a claim which Marc Ambinder and Ari Berman have suggested is not credible.)

In regards to Khalidi, however, the guilt-by-association game burns John McCain as well.

During the 1990s, while he served as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), McCain distributed several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including one worth half a million dollars.

A 1998 tax filing for the McCain-led group shows a $448,873 grant to Khalidi's Center for Palestine Research and Studies for work in the West Bank. (See grant number 5180, "West Bank: CPRS" on page 14 of this PDF.)

The relationship extends back as far as 1993, when John McCain joined IRI as chairman in January. Foreign Affairs noted in September of that year that IRI had helped fund several extensive studies in Palestine run by Khalidi's group, including over 30 public opinion polls and a study of "sociopolitical attitudes."

Of course, there's seemingly nothing objectionable with McCain's organization helping a Palestinian group conduct research in the West Bank or Gaza. But it does suggest that McCain could have some of his own explaining to do as he tries to make hay out of Khalidi's ties to Obama.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/mccain-funded-work-of-pal_n_138606.html

Maybe he needs to check his own history next time.

 

[jaguarr]

What the hell is with McCain's campaign? Every time they try to tie Obama to someone of supposed questionability it either comes out that McCain has just as strong, if not stronger, ties to that person or has other connections with someone even more questionable that get raised as a result. It's like watching someone commit seppuku over and over again.

jag

 

[Marx]

What the hell is with McCain's campaign? Every time they try to tie Obama to someone of supposed questionability it either comes out that McCain has just as strong, if not stronger, ties to that person or has other connections with someone even more questionable that get raised as a result. It's like watching someone commit seppuku over and over again.

jag

I just saw a clip of Palin still using the 'Ayers/Obama' relationship. I think they've run out of material.

 

[Superman]

[YT]nrBKC3nQHYk[/YT]

LOL That was slick.

 

[Fading]

The only positive for the McCain campaign is that Obama himself doesn't seem to care to push all of the questionable McCain ties. McCain may have stronger ties to half the ppl he grills Obama over having glanced at, but only the media seem to care to point this out. Of course the big negative being that ppl are just sick of the negativity. McCain's camp keeps trying the same personal attacks that continue to lower their polling numbers to all time lows. McCain is losing ground in places he shouldn't be losing ground in, and he refuses to let up.

Good analogy tho jag lol. I guess he's missing the vital spots just by enough that he can survive, of course once he gets done healing up he just tries it again. Even a person constantly getting in wrecks eventually loses their liscense or ends up using public transportation.

 

[souvlaki]

McCain Now Running Robocalls Attacking Obama In Home State Of Arizona!

John McCain and the Republican National Committee are now running robocalls attacking Obama as weak on terrorism -- in McCain's home state of Arizona, according to multiple readers from the state.

The call signals genuine worry about McCain's home state at a time when several polls show the race to be much closer than expected there.

McCain's robocall, which was played to us over the phone by Mary Joe Bartel, a retiree who lives south of Tucson, attacks Obama as unprepared to defend the country from terrorism, singling out Joe Biden's recent remarks about the likelihood of Obama being tested by an international crisis early in his first term.

Here's the script:

I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because Barack Obama is so dangerously inexperienced, his running mate Joe Biden just said, he invites a major international crisis that he will be unprepared to handle alone.

If Democrats win full control of government, they will want to give civil rights to terrorists and talk unconditionally to dictators and state sponsors of terror. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the experience and judgment to lead America. This call was paid for by the Republican National Committee and authorized by McCain-Palin 2008.

Two other Arizona readers -- David Lorti, a Phoenix realtor, and Jerry Mooers, a retiree from Sun Lakes -- confirm to us that they received the same call today.

A poll last night found Obama within two points of the Arizona Senator. The call means Republicans are sinking resources into a state that obviously should have been a complete lock for McCain, with time fast running out.

Simply extraordinary. Audio when we get it.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/mccain_now_running_robocalls_i.php

 

[Marx]

McCain Now Running Robocalls Attacking Obama In Home State Of Arizona!



http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/mccain_now_running_robocalls_i.php

I guess I'm not surprised. Last I heard, he only has a two point lead over Obama in Arizona. (Which is a very bad thing for him.)

 

[dnno1]

You guys can vote for whomever you want. I'm not voting for a hypocrite.

 

[souvlaki]

Anyone hear about Joe the Plumber seeking a record deal? Apparently he writes country music. No, I'm not joking.

 

[Marx]

Anyone hear about Joe the Plumber seeking a record deal? Apparently he writes country music. No, I'm not joking.

I thought he wasn't a fame-w**** and wanted to 'return to his daily life'. I mean, that IS what he said.

 

[danoyse]

Anyone hear about Joe the Plumber seeking a record deal? Apparently he writes country music. No, I'm not joking.

Is that before or after he runs for Congress? I heard that one this week too.