Posted on 03/20/2008 6:47:45 PM PDT by jdm
John McCain’s campaign got its first opportunity to show how seriously it wants to avoid getting into the identity-politics meltdown in the Democratic primary. The campaign suspended Soren Dayton, a former blogger now working for McCain, for sending the link to a YouTube regarding Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright over a Twitter message:
An aide to John McCain was suspended from the campaign today for blasting out an inflammatory video that raises questions about Barack Obama’s patriotism.
Soren Dayton, who works in McCain’s political department, sent out the YouTube link of “Is Obama Wright?” on twitter at 12:31 today with the tag, “Good video on Obama and Wright.” It has since been taken down. ….
Informed that Dayton was circulating the video, McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said he had been suspended and “reprimanded by campaign leadership.”
“We have been very clear on the type of campaign we intend to run and this staffer acted in violation of our policy,” she said.
I’m conflicted by this. I know Soren, and he’s a pretty good guy. He didn’t create the YouTube, and as I wrote this morning, it doesn’t do anything except show Wright, Obama, and his wife Michelle speaking for themselves.
However, McCain has nothing to gain and a lot to lose by getting involved in this controversy. If he stays out of it, the fight remains between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and now Geraldine Ferraro. If his campaign starts pushing the video or any of the commentary, it will rope McCain into the debate and give the Democrats an outside target. And why give them that escape route now, just when their party is finally being held accountable for its hypocritical pursuit of ethnic and gender politics?
McCain needs to take some action to show how seriously he wants to remain a disinterested observer in the coming meltdown. That means Soren has to get publicly disciplined, unfortunately. I doubt he’ll be on the sidelines for long. It may not be fair, but … it’s politics.
Nevermind. That's a question that pretty much answers itself.
all McC has to do is keep his mouth SHUT! he is a fool
McQueeg throws another supporter under the train! Nothing new! He is a jerk but he is what is left to the GOP.
It is clear that nothing gets between Juan McAmnesty and his Democrat masters. Nothing.
I'll grant that he is a jerk, but he's not GOP. He's nothing but a Democrat with an 'R' by his name.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Very clever, actually. What I would call practical accismus.
Hey, McPain—how’s the fundraising going?
This is just a preview of the type of president that McCain would be. He would be soft and fold like a tent with the opposition. This isn’t a good thing.
He’s doing it correctly right now. It’s the best for him (and us) to keep his campaign currently out of the Dem civil war. Let them fight it out.
He’s staying out of the snakepit..I believe it is a smart move for now ..Others outside his campaign can keep people informed.
it gets harder and harder to imagine myself pulling the lever for McC
It's entertaining in a way. McCain has been groin kicking his supporters and potential supporters for so long it's a reflex.
Why is this surprising? McCain hates freedom of speech. See McCain-(my good friend)Feingold for details.
Because of this? He is trying to keep out of the hillariously Democrat interfighting. It’s smart for his campaign to let the Dem’s rip each other.
you guys dont get it? as long as mccain doesnt touch this thing at all it takes a life of its own. if he were to advertise it then they can dismiss it as “swift boating”
Let me be the first to predict that old Mr. McQueeg won’t have a single staffer left by the time Nov. rolls around.
McCain also had a fit over somebody using Obama’s middle name. Judging from his recent major fiasco re: al Qaeda where Joe Lieberman had him change his answer, his mind is giving out. He looks and talks as if he is tired. No spark, no charisma.
“For cryin’ out loud! What the hell is wrong with John Mc—?”
He’s smart. He built up the phony “face of honor” position in the MSM when he ran against Bush in 2000.
If he gives them one, just one, thing to think he is ruthless, the MSM will get an “out” to turn on him.
Yep. What was that they used to say about Fred Thompson? That he had no "fire in his belly"? I sure don't see any fire in McCain's belly.
McCain's weapon of choice this election: butterknife
Why because he wants to keep the mud off of him? Do you like Clintonian gutter politics?
The dems are in full meltdown mode and the morons on this board are mad because he won’t give the dems a republican to target. It’s going to be a long election. Oh, and you are all pond scum for making me defend McLame.
>>McQueeg throws another supporter under the train! Nothing new! He is a jerk but he is what is left to the GOP.<<
This is smart on several levels.
1. If Hillary is the nominee there is no way McCain can outfight her in the mud
2. If Obama is the nominee it won’t be smart to go negative against him
3. With Obam sinking in the polls but still leading in delegates there is a chance to get a very wounded nominee - why interfere?
I also have a different opinion of McCain. I think he is basically a good guy who just doesn’t get it on free political speech and immigration - ordinarily fatal flaws but not when you look at the alternatives.
And, if I wanted to be cynical... I’d say - what better way to bring attention to the video? Get a staffer to take one for the team and put him on paid leave for a week or two...
Some people out there in FR land are nothing better than republican clintonians. It doesn’t matter if it’s the smart play for him to stay out of the middle of the mud pit. No Sir, he’s supposed to play in the gutter as well regardless of the fact they aren’t voting for him anyway.
McCain should ask all Republicans to contribute all their money to Obama to show they are not pro-freedom or racist or partisan. Their votes too. All in a “peace and justice” pro castro type of love fest.
As much as I despise McCain, I’ve got to hand it to him. He’s going around the mideast looking like a leader while Hill and Obama look like a couple of children in a mudfight.
He couldn’t have played this any better.
the guy simply sent someone an email
“An aide to John McCain was suspended from the campaign today for blasting out an inflammatory video that raises questions about Barack Obama’s patriotism.”
have to understand that yer boss is running a “different” kind of campaign this year, one where you talk nice to your enemies and throw your comrades under the BS Express Bus....
Call it the “Wimp” strategy.
If GOP leadership doesn’t work up a scheme to gracefully remove McCain as the nominee he is going to manage to lose to a democrat party determined to select the most vulnerable, unqualified candidate imaginable.
McCain refuses to actually campaign - he is waiting to debate the Iraq war when it has ceased to be the major issue. By November it will be almost a non-issue.
The real issues are the economy, the candidates’ qualifications and platforms, the real cost of illegal immigration (related to the economy), the worldwide WOT, and racial hate and divisiveness.
But McCain sees himself as above the fray, as too high minded to soil himself actually challenging an opponent on any difficult issue.
The man wants to lose.
he was more than ready to sling mud at republicans. He is just plain gross. and going senile i think.
I have no problem with this. The best thing he should do right now is stay out of the story. His staff should not be pushing this stuff around.
He needs to stay out of it and allow the two camps to keep damaging the other. He can then present himself as above the slime and look good to a public fed up with the crap.
McCain is my second choice in a one man race.
I wondered if I was the only person to think that - I tell my husband that all the time.
He wants to lose.
If the GOP leadership did such a thing then they should be abandoned by their members for disenfranchising the voters. He won the primaries needed to get the nomination. End of story.
McCain needs to build bridges within the GOP and middle of the road people in order to win this thing. If he can pick a good VP that could win a national election then that would be the best scenario at this point.
Why? For not stepping in the pile of dog crap? Let Hillary do his dirty work.
Nah... he's got a big gun--he just aims it at his own camp, first. Nuttin' new there!
“you guys dont get it? as long as mccain doesnt touch this thing at all it takes a life of its own. if he were to advertise it then they can dismiss it as “swift boating””
You are trying to use too much common sense with the hate McCain crowd. All I have to do is read the first paragraph of any post and can predict the those pieces which will start the feeding frenzy.
I never was, nor am now, a McCain fan. But will vote for him if I have to to block the two clowns fighting it out on the Dem side. It what’s called rational common sense.
I think they're waiting for him to get about 90 more delegates bound by law to vote for him on the first ballot before launching. If they damage him too soon, the Republicans still have an out.
We’ll see. Once he’s running against Hillary - he’ll roll over & expose his belly to her. In fact, I’d say she’s saving a whole other bucket of mud to sling on him when the time is right. He just will not fight the democrats on any level.
The best we realistically can hope for is that the Democrats self destruct enough for McCain to get in so that what is left of the GOP can benefit from an incumbent President.
Quite the contrary. At last resort he could more than solicit enough groupies from right here.
AMEN!
I have no faith in MucKain, but as irritating as he is, he's right on this behavior of his... strategically speaking.
I still won't vote for him over Nader. At least Nader ain'ta pretend GANG-GREEN Party member. If Dubya had fallen for the Kyoto Treaty and Glowbull Warping I woulda voted for Nader in 2000. He really pist the Dems off then and they're STILL not over it!!!
This 24/7 obsession with Obama’s pastor will backfire.
Conservatives are already suspect as racists by some...rightly or wrongly...
staying on this Pastor Wright track is going to backfire.
McCain is keeping away from it because..well, because he wants to win in November.
“He’s doing it correctly right now. It’s the best for him (and us) to keep his campaign currently out of the Dem civil war. Let them fight it out.”
Well, yes and no, I remember 1996 to well, Dole was done by June because Clinton basically painted him as a old guy who didn’t know the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn, and there was no effective counterpoint to that.
I would submit that Rush et al are that counterpoint, and we ourselves are the finger soldiers that have to do the heavy lifting for Mad John and accurately and effectively show what the Obama/Wright couple is all about.
That said, it is better if Mad John himself and his staff, and anyone connected him in anyway is not drawn into it.
INOW, Rush and the Chaos Operation are McCain’s Best Friends, but ones he cannot even really acknowledge.
That is our wonderful Hobsans Choice, Mad John mocks us, we get to do his heavy work, simply because Che Obama and Hilde are so unacceptable to us.
In a way, we are divorced from Mad John, we are Free Agents in Election 2008.
That's a load. McCain has no problem kicking conservatives under his Doubletalk Express bus. It's about damned time he started doing as much to his liberal friends.
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