I guess it’s all relative, you know, but apparently, the McCain campaign is about to go negative. Relentlessly, deceitfully, viciously negative.
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.
[…] “We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days,” said Greg Strimple, one of McCain’s top advisers. “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama’s aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans.”
That’s right, they’re “looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis,” not as an actual financial crisis mind you, but as a political one. They need to change the subject from, you know, actual issues, to Barack Obama’s “associations.” Shit, they can’t even get Obama on what he’s done, but rather, who he knows.
Here in WA state, where we’ve largely been spared the presidential air war, it might not seem like an unusual election season, but viewers in other, more competitive states should be girding themselves for a political shitstorm of near Biblical proportions.
We have come to the point in this campaign where John McCain only has two possible paths toward victory: character assassination or… well… the other kind.
McCain’s campaign is a national disgrace. It’s like a parody of all the worst elements of all modern presidential campaigns. I guess this is the logical next act in the farce: Karl Rove’s.
If McCain wins off of negative campaigning, I cannot express how much damage that will do to the morale of the American public. I just hope that the Obama camp has some crippling retaliatory strike prepared.
But whoever wins, McCain will still not be my president.
To use John McCain’s own form of address …
“friends, I come not to praise John McCain but to grieve over what he has become.”
His taking the low road, turns my morning for the hero I once admired to disgust. With apologies to William Shakespeare, the issue is the same as that put forward in Julius Caesar.. Our Republic is at risk.
Anthony spoke at the funeral of a noble man, a person many saw as the essence of Rome … a hero.
Rossi must lose.
I don’t think that McCain’s mental stability is very good. Those years of humiliation as a prisoner of war have certainly left their mark.
You want negative? A picture of a little girl, followed by McCain’s snarling visage, followed by a split screen with an exploding atom bomb will do the trick.
John McCain is a piece of shit and always has been. Only gullible fucking fools scrambling desperately for any scrap of “bipartisanship” and right-wing orcs ever bought into this “hero” shit.
The harder they question and attack our character and our motives, the harder we’ll hit back at their character and motives.
Who is this man McCain?
McCain 2000.
It’s interesting to have the Republicans actually announce that they plan to go as negative as possible to influence voters.
Watch for a press release two weeks from now announcing that, since the negative campaigning isn’t working, their strategy is shifting to aggressive voter suppression.
Well it’s already started with the silly Joe Biden lie page he has on his web site. It sounds like a spoiled third grader. Not very presidential in the slightest.
I did respect John McCain in 2000. I would not have voted for him over Al Gore but I would have stood naked and drooling in a crowded polling place to vote for him over Bush.
What this says to me is that he isn’t leading. He is being lead. The campaign isn’t his, he just happens to be the head spokesperson. It’s no surprise that the disciples of Lee Atwater who have taken over the republican party would go negative. But they gotta stop saying “maverick.” He’s a bridled, buggy whipped old wannabe at this point.
And knowing John McCain, he’ll say in a stump speech something like, “For the next two weeks I’m planning an aggressive campaign of voter suppression. But let me be clear: it’s essential that we do this democratically. I’ve been a prisoner of war. With your help, we’ll restore honor and dignity to the white house again. I’m a maverick. God bless America.”
McCain’s lack of principles is breathtaking. Palin and he are truly pathetic. Neither is a maverick; they are both simply sluts for whoever pulls the strings in the Republican Party leadership.
Voting for a Republican is so irresponsible it should be a punishable offense. It should also be a tort.
@8 “What this says to me is that he isn’t leading. He is being lead. The campaign isn’t his, he just happens to be the head spokesperson.”
That’s absolutely true and it’s even more pronounced in Palin’s case. The GOP people who went to Alaska to smother “troopergate” weren’t McCain campaign staffers; they’re Bush insiders. So were Palin’s debate trainers — they came from the Bush administration, not the McCain campaign. McCain is indeed a Bush clone vying for a third term, and if he wins the people who brought us the messes in Iraq and the economy will still be in power.
Goldy: Barack already said before in his ABC News interview with George Steponallofus he has the most negative ads.
Deal with the truth for a change.
WON’T WORK – THEY CAN CALL HIM BAD NAMES AND ALL, AND IF THEY OVER PLAY, IT WILL TURN TO COMEDY ON THE AIR. EVEN R’S WILL MOCK THE SHIT.
ALL DONE, ALL DONE INCLUDING RACIAL ATTACKS, IN THE LONG LONG LONG RUN UP- THE PRIMARIES
AT THIS POINT AMERICA HAS DECIDED OBAMA IS THE BETTER BET TO FIX THE ECONOMY. t
tHAT DEAR FELLOWS IS THE ONLY ISSUE THAT IS
IN EVERY POCKET BOOK, EVERY HUT AND PALACE AND EVERY CITY, TOWN OR STATE. MONEY. IT IS OVER EXCEPT FOR THE TENSION AND VOTING.
THAT FEELING, HE IS THE ONE TO FIX THINGS, IS STRONG, UNIVERSAL AND CROSSES ALL LINES AND CLASSES, AND IT IS VERY MUCH MORE PSYCH – SOME COLLECTIVE INSTINCT AFTER MONTHS OF WATCHING ALL THIS – THAN SLOGAN.
NOTHING WILL TRUMP IT. NOTHING. BY THE WAY, OBAMA SLAPPED ASS IN THE HOUSE THE PAST WEEK – GOOD SIGH CAUSE THE LIMP AND WASTED NO PROGRAMS DO NOTHING CONGRESS IS A BIG PROBLEM.
PERHAPS THE FIRST PLACE TO KICK ASS. LET HILLARY RUN THE SENATE, DE FACTO, AND REPLACE PELOSI AT ALL COST.
Does anyone remember ‘Sugarfoot’?
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Sadly, McCain is still fighting the 2000 Republican primaries. If he had just gotten a little more agressive on Bush, he would be finishing up his last term as President now.
4 – I am at a loss to understand why we have not been seeing this from Obama already. Does he want to win or what? Start lying and wallow in the mud for awhile, otherwise he is going to be swimming against a raging river of Rev. Wright, et all reminders from now until Nov 4.
18 MGI
Maybe you haven’t noticed. Obama IS winning.
The only way libs get eleceted is too lie. It is the job of the repubs to expose libs for who they are. McCain can win (and win easily) if he lets Palin loose.
What’s John McCain to do?
He can’t run on the war. He can’t run on health care. He can’t run on the economy.
He’s got nothing that America wants, so he’s going to try to make people like Obama less. Like his other campaign “strategies,” this one won’t work.
20 JBD
The overwhelming consensus outside of Wingnutville is that Biden won the debate with Palin handily. Polls show that her unfavorables are higher than her favorables. Biden’s +22 and she’s something like -4.
Please tell us HOW Caribou Barbie will help McCain win. And do give us details. What battleground state will she swing, for example?
Dog @ 20
I most certainly hope that you get your wish and McCain turns Palin loose. Even McCain, however, is not that stupid. I suspect we’ve seen about all we’re going to see of her. She will be limited to appearing before Republican audiences.
Please, let Palin loose.
Palin is in a wrapper until after the election. Mccain is a vicious liar and that is all we are going to hear. I will never have a shred of respect for him again.
I would like to hear Palin expound on her well informed and well thought out views on the role of the VP and how the Constitution allows for “more power,” and “more flexibility.” Her thoughts are I am sure fleshed out because she reads “every” newspaper and “every” magazine.
As pathetic as her lack of experience is, whats worse is a total lack of interest in national and international affairs. To quote J. Chait, even Pat Buchanan is at least well read and has thought about a lot of these issues for years and decades.
McCain should be deeply ashamed until death that he put the country at risk with this choice at this time in our history.
When McCain and Palin start hitting at Obama for his associations, then Keating 5, Sarah’s wacky churches, her husband’s secessionist party, Pastor Hagee, and everything else is all right back on the fucking table.
I’d sure as fuck use it. But watch Obama not go there. He’s going to win with a message of positive policies, positive change, and hope for the future.
My prediction: the next debate is a blowout for Obama. Overall percentage of those polled will have him ten points or more ahead of McCain in “who won the debate?”
11
To vote Republican today should be considered an act of Treason.
13
Puddy Pud-you are a fucking idiot! Prove me wrong Puddy: tell me all the things you think have improved in this country and the world over the past eight years due to Republican leadership and legislative power. And do it without badmouthing the other guys. You can’t do it without lying Puddy. Because there is nothing positive to say about the Republicans. They do not practice a single value that they preach.
25
With the way the polls are tracking Obama won’t have to go negative. And since McCain is now running against the press and is out of favor with them there will be (hopefully) some serious fact checking of his smears.
To a democrat, going negative means telling the truth.
Did anyone notice how much better palin does when she’s live to the public (convention&debate) and the liberal media can’t clip & snip her comments?
It almost seems like 2 different people.
I guess that’s what the liberal media can do on behalf of obama.
15:
Which one, the movie, TV western, the guitarist from the Ohio Players, or Madonna’s longtime drummer (can’t remember his real name, but he had the ‘sugarfoot’ nickname)?
At least you didn’t pretend that biden didn’t lie.
You just made the correlation that just like a third grader mcsame pointed out bidens lies.
And I’m sure a few of 3rd graders did point out the lies. At least private schooled or home schooled third graders. Those in public school couldn’t point out a lie without someone doing it for them.
Good point comrade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrSjtdfc_I
Boner at #4 You thinking New York or LA?
Obama and his terrorist ties in this country could make it happen. I wish you libs could
wake up but it don’t look too promising.
Mark,
Who is this terrorist Obama is such close friends with? What’s he like? What do you think he will do when Obama becomes president?
I think I know who you’re talking about. I’d like to know if we’re talking about the same person.
.
I see Daddy Love is ignant still.
Keating Five – Discredited attack. Why isn’t it being used? Because McCain was exonerated by Robert Bennett, but the Donkey group Common Cause sued to have him there so it wasn’t just four Donkey Senators.
Wacky Churches – Discredited attack. Most real churches believe what the Old Testament says about witches and witchcraft.
Her husband’s secessionist party – was an Obama Campaign Friend Ethan Winner discredited attack. See last week on HA. Winner quickly removed the YouTube Videos which I produced this week and he admitted to their lack of veracity.
Pastor Hagee – Discredited attack. John doesn’t attend his church like Obama attended Wright’s church.
See ya Daddy Love Weak Sauce! You need to get that small minded brain out more!
JSA@39: William Ayers, from his house he helped launch Barack’s campaign.
Ms Cinical@27: You need to see what Barack said on ABC News and he said the Obama Campaign is more negative? Search on it. He told that to George on his show you moron!
So tell me who am I voting for again?
I D I O T
Pud,
I know the guy’s name. I guess here’s what I’m getting at.
William Ayers, at the ripe old age of 24 was involved in the Weathermen and probably had quite a bit to do with setting some bombs.
When I was young and dumb, I advocated some pretty wacky things. I was a pretty angry kid.
William Ayers is now 64 years old. He teaches education at a university.
I am 40. I no longer think that Maoism is necessary to kick the American bourgeois out of its stupor. Doubly so since I have unfortunately joined the ranks of the bourgeois class and don’t think I need to be struggled against.
Barack Obama is not associating with a 24 year old radical hothead. He’s had some association with a 60 year-old college professor on the subject of education. The college professor was young and dumb. So was I. BFD.
Shrill Sarah is back to her old tricks — bashing Obama by saying he “pals around with terrorists.” That particular piece of spaghetti didn’t stick to the wall last time and won’t this time either.
I once sat on a committee with a Republican but that doesn’t make me a Republican.
Here’s how bad things have become for our righty friends:
“McCain can’t prevail without holding onto most of the states that Bush won, and he’s now virtually tied or trailing … in at least 10 of them …. The GOP nominee also is only playing in five states that Democrat John Kerry won in 2004 … and he’s running behind” in all of them.
(Source: Newsweek; quoted under fair use.)
Roger Rabbit Commentary: This is beginning to look like it might turn into a 400 electoral vote rout. The RealClearPolitics electoral map already has Obama at 353 EVs; all he needs to reach 400 is flip Missouri and a couple of other pink states.
Actually, I don’t mind if the Repugs go negative against Obama, as they surely will because it’s the only card left in their deck. McCain going out in a flurry of smear ads will be a fitting epitaph for the late Republican Party. As the curtain falls on the conservative era, that’s exactly how the GOP should be remembered by history.
Deregulation Sank The Titanic
A new book whose author gained access to the results of a secret investigation by the company that built the Titanic reveals the ship sank because it was deliberately built with thinner hull plating and smaller rivets than called for by the architect’s specifications.
The reason? To save weight so the ship would sail faster than the competition’s ships. And the builders and owners knew when the ship was built that it had a weak hull.
They were able to do it because there was virtually no government regulation of the shipping industry at the time.
Postscript: The same yard built 2 sister ships to the same design. After the Titanic sank, the first thing the builder did was add more steel to the hull of the second ship in the series. The third ship was built to the architect’s original specifications. It was no mystery to them why the Titanic broke up into 3 pieces.
JSA: Go back 13 years in your chronology. He also mentioned after 9/11. Ayers wasn’t repentant.
@13 The Real Puddybud spews:
YOU need a grammar checker!
Bill Ayers has blood on his hands.
Granted, it was three of his own buddies who blew themselves up in that Greenwich Village townhouse, but if they hadn’t, their target was the an NCO dance at Fort Dix. With pipe bombs filled with roofing nails.
Incompetence is no defense.
From Slate.com:
“They began building bombs to detonate at sites of their purported oppressors, like a hall in Fort Dix, N.J., that would be hosting an Army dance. But on March 6, 1970, the bomb meant for the American soldiers went off prematurely, blowing up the Greenwich Village town house where its violence-drunk manufacturers were living. Three of them were killed.”
Glad to see you are honest enough to not deny the truth.
Right around :45 obama admits he’s got the most negative ads.
a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnTp44l8c_4
No doubt obama expected the liberal media to edit out the truth.