I sense a bit of blowback in the wind
July 26th, 2008 at 08:08pm Pat Cunningham
Last month, Barack Obama used this metaphor when asked about the prospects of facing nasty campaign tactics from his political adversaries:
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”
That line came to mind when I read THIS STUFF by Al Giordano concerning the bogus crap right-wingers are slinging about allegations that Obama dishonored wounded U.S. troops at a military hospital in Germany by canceling a scheduled visit with them.
I think the FACTS in this case are on Obama’s side, and I expect that he’ll be more thoroughly absolved over the next few days.
But I also expect that his camp will respond in kind — and then some — to the fury of accusations in the right-wing blogosphere and to this ad released today by the McCain camp:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/49hC9TpP_rY" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Entry Filed under: John McCain, Barack Obama
9 Comments Add your own
1. Will Pfeifer | July 27th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
That line, by the way,is from the movie THE UNTOUCHABLES. As Sean Connery says (courtesy of David Mamet’s script), “That’s the Chicago way!”
2. Pat Cunningham | July 27th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Thanks, Will. I knew I had heard that line somewhere before.
3. Menlo Bob | July 28th, 2008 at 2:41 am
When I read the reason he decided not to visit wounded vets I’m stunned. The Department of Defense wouldn’t let him visit with campaign staff so he chose not to visit at all. Did it ever occur to him that it would be right and proper to visit alone? Stunned…McCain is right.
4. Pat Cunningham | July 28th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Bob: You are absolutely wrong. He followed the Pentagon’s advice and chose not to polilticize a visit to the wounded vets. The congressional delegation with which he was traveling had returned to the U.S. He had no Senate staffers with him, only campaign staffers. He made the right decision, as Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel will attest. Do you think Obama would deliberately diss these wounded troops and risk raising the ire of people like you? Three times last week, he visited wounded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with no reporters or photographers and no fanfare. His plan for the visit to Landstuhl NEVER included bringing the press along. The plan was to keep the press on the tarmac at the airport. By the way, when McCain visited Europe last March, his travels took him closer to this hospital in Germany than Obama ever got. But McCain didn’t visit it either. What do you say about that? Sounds pretty unpatriotic to me. McCain’s ad attacking Obama on this matter is dishonest and dishonorable and is backfiring among fair minded people. Only the Obama haters are buying this crap. My favorite part of McCain’s ad is the bogus video representation of Obama playing basketball in a gym. The narration suggests that the scene shows him frolicking at the time he could have been at the hospital in Germany. In truth, it shows him playing basketball earlier on his trip — with U.S. troops! McCain is really becoming sleazy, and people are noticing. He’s gonna lose big time, and he deserves to. The liar!
5. Kaus | July 28th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Michael Dukakis led George H.W. Bush by 17 points after being nominated in Atlanta. Al Gore and John Kerry were ahead of George W. Bush in the summer.
Lame-O numbers…..is this the best Obama can do? Yawn.
6. Pat Cunningham | July 28th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Welcome back, Kaus. We were worried about you. I see you haven’t lost your touch (or gained it, as the case may be). Incidentally, Dukakis wasn’t running against a Republican Party whose brand had become as unpopular as today’s GOP is. But keep on whistling past the graveyard, if it makes you feel better.
7. Kaus | July 28th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Thanks Pat. I was at the methodone clinic trying to remove my addiction to your blogspot….it didn’t work.
8. Menlo Bob | July 28th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
What in hell difference does it make if there are senate staffers with a senator Obama? No one preventedwas him from going alone. I am not a McCain supporter, but on this he is right. Obama’s rationale is the ultimate lame excuse.
9. Pat Cunningham | July 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Bob: Why didn’t McCain visit Landstuhl when he toured Europe in March? The tour was official, not political, so there was no problem with campaigning issues. His itinerary took him closer to the hospital than Obama ever got. But he didn’t visit. Hmmm. Bob, this whole thing is really rather simple. When the Pentagon raised the general issue of avoiding appearances of using the wounded troops for campaign purposes, Obama canceled the visit to avoid any such problems. There was no issue of the press being along, because that was never part of the plan. And he already had visited three hospitals for wounded troops on this trip, none of them with press coverage. You’re beating a dead horse, Bob. You’re just ridiculously anti-Obama, and you’re not going to let the facts of the matter deter you. None of the facts are on your side of the argument.
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