Friday Talking Points [44] -- McCain House Party!
John McCain said something ridiculous to a reporter yesterday.
I hasten to point out that the previous sentence should have been a major media headline at least twice a week for the past three or four months. McCain has been saying downright ridiculous stuff throughout the entire campaign and the media, up until now, has largely given him a free pass on it.
But I'm certainly not looking this gift horse in the mouth. For weeks now, I have been practically begging someone -- ANYone -- to ask John McCain this exact question: "How many houses do you and your wife own?" Politico finally asked. John McCain blew the answer. Yet another gaffe from McCain, but the difference this time is that the media chose to run with it.
Politico was probably prompted to ask this question by a Big Labor effort to point out how wealthy the McCains truly are. This effort, led by the SEIU, the AFL/CIO, and Brave New Films, got the coveted Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award here just last week, I should mention. It seems their efforts have now paid off handsomely.
Now, sober and intelligent people will bemoan how trivial the media is when it comes to vetting our possible presidents. They're probably right, but (as Don Rumsfeld would say) we go to an election with the media we have, not the media we would like to have. The media, in general, love what they consider a "good story." This means that they're usually for the "underdog" in the race, rather than the "frontrunner," because then the race remains close... breeding further "good stories." And they have been running with the "Obama can't 'seal the deal'" story for weeks now (ignoring the story that he has led in the polls the entire time), so they're ready for a new storyline. "Obama fights back" fits the bill perfectly.
You can almost hear the McCain advisors telling him "Obama's about to pick his running mate, and then there's the convention, so this story will die out after a day or two -- don't worry about it." But while they are doubtlessly telling him that in private, they have been going absolutely bonkers in public. Because they realize full well the damage this can do to McCain. They have been spooked into prematurely "tossing the kitchen sink" at Obama, with everything they can possibly think of (Tony Rezko, eating arugula, vacationing on a "private beach" in Hawaii even though they're all public, and even rumors of the return of Reverend Wright). All this while defending McCain as having "really only four" houses, while Obama's one house is a "frickin' mansion." Oh, and playing the "prisoner of war" card with a vengeance.
But the media, fickle as they are, don't seem to be buying any of what the McCain folks are selling. Perhaps it's because McCain has all but shut them out, after his new campaign team (with the Karl Rove Seal of Approval) decided to deny them access to the candidate. The media is even pushing back on the "POW" references now -- something that would have been unthinkable mere weeks ago. USA Today shows how much the dynamic in the media has changed in the past two days:
McCain, who has portrayed Obama as an elitist, is the son and grandson of admirals. The Associated Press estimates his wife, a beer heiress, is worth $100 million. Obama was raised by a single mother who relied at times on food stamps, and went to top schools on scholarships and loans.
So the McCain campaign is reduced to screaming "Rezko Rezko Rezko!" while nobody's paying attention. The desperation quote of the week from the McCain team comes from an interview with the Washington Post yesterday:
[McCain spokesman Brian] Rogers called the house story "by far the most personal attack" of the campaign...
Um, yeah. If you've been in a "cone of silence" since 2006! Is he serious? The "most personal attack" of the entire campaign is pointing out how many houses the McCains own? Wow. Rogers goes on to show Obama how this personal-attack stuff should be done, calling him Obama an "arugula-eating, pointy headed professor-type." But remember, mentioning how many houses the McCains own is far more "personal" than that.
Or something. Sometimes it is hard figuring out how Republicans think, I have to admit.
But their hopes that this story is going to die down after a few days is what is truly delusional. Obama has been weak among blue-collar whites, especially in Appalachia, and especially in the battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. And this issue is absolutely tailor-made... whoops, "tailor-made" might be elitist... let me try again... this issue absolutely hits them where they live. Yes, that's much better! So don't expect it to go away any time soon. Two days into the fracas, Obama has his second ad up on the subject. He doesn't appear to be backing down from the issue at all, which is a very welcome sign.
This week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award goes to a group effort by Senator Barack Obama's War Room. These guys were really starting to make me nervous the past few weeks (even earning them the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award in Friday Talking Points [42], two weeks ago), since while they seemed able to rise to McCain's attacks at times (and other times fell far short), the main complaint I had was the time it took them to get their act in gear. A McCain ad would appear, and days and days would go by before the Obama camp fought back.
This is a sure way to lose a campaign. Bill Clinton set the gold standard for War Room response rates in 1992, as every time something negative came out about Clinton (most famously the "bimbo eruptions"), the Clinton camp would -- within the hour -- be choking news reporters' fax machines with rebuttals, fact sheets, truth-checking data, and other tidbits the reporters could use -- in the same news cycle the bad news broke in. This helped derail the attacks, and forced reporters to present "both sides of the story" right as the news was breaking.
This time around, however, the Obama folks got it right. From a USA Today article:
Politico asked McCain "how many houses do you and Mrs. McCain have," and the political news website published his answer ("I think -- I'll have my staff get to you") at about 6:30 a.m. ET. By midday the Obama campaign had made a TV ad, slated events in 16 states, circulated audio of the response and posted a YouTube video of Obama calling the remark proof of McCain's "gap of understanding" between his world and the real world.
Now that is most decidedly more like it! You have to own the news cycle on this stuff, and Obama's crew nailed it this time. For such lightning-fast response times -- to a gaffe that was just asking to be pounced on -- Obama's War Room gets their first ever Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award. Let's keep up the good work, folks!
There seems to be some question of whether Joe Lieberman is still a Democrat or not. Or maybe it's just the mainstream media being lazy, I'm not sure.
Lieberman's name was run up the flagpole as a possible running mate for John McCain this week, and I saw (on more than one instance) national broadcast network news refer to him as "a Democrat" or "a registered Democrat." Funny, I thought he was now in the party of "Joe Liebermans for Joe Lieberman" or something, but I'm going to take the networks' word for it... because it allows me to award him his third Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.
He really should get "most disappointing for the entire year" -- for breaking his promise to his constituents (made during his last campaign) that he would campaign for the Democratic nominee for president. This, as anyone can tell who has seen a single photo of John McCain in the past four or five months (with Lieberman surgically attached at the hip), was a big fat lie.
But he gets the award this week in specific for agreeing to speak at the Republican National Convention. Joe should just go ahead and become a Republican after the election, because if there is any justice in the universe (Harry Reid, I'm talking to you!), then Lieberman will be stripped of all his seniority in the Senate next year.
The Associated Press got it right with their little Freudian slip this week, calling him:
"...Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential prick in 2000 who now is an independent."
Couldn't have said it better myself. Ahem.
So Joe Lieberman, who knows no shame, gets a third Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.
[Contact Senator Lieberman on his Senate contact page to let him know what you think of his actions, although it really wouldn't be polite to use the same language the AP used....]
Volume 44 (8/22/08)
Since I won't be going to the Democratic National Convention next week (the DNCC turned down my request for a press credential... go figure...), I am magnanimously offering some suggestions for all good Democrats who will be attending. This week's talking points can be used by anybody who steps in front of a television camera during the convention, or by anyone giving a speech from the podium.
Of course, we're going to lean rather heavily on the whole McCain "housing crisis," since it opens up all sorts of avenues (like this amusing image from the DNC) to portray John McCain (and Republicans at large) as "out-of-touch elitists," which they so richly deserve (pun intended).
Feel free to suggest your own talking points for the convention... with bonuses given for whittling them down to something that would fit on a bumpersticker!
John McCain is a joke
This is one of those times I'm really sorry Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Saturday Night Live are all on vacation. Because it is a truism that when you become the butt of late-night comedians' jokes, you have absolutely lost the "framing" battle.
Stepping into this void are two enterprising folks from the Huffington Post. John K. Wilson riffs on Jeff Foxworthy's bit with his "If You're John McCain, You Might Be A Rich Guy" list, and RJ Eskow weighs in with his list of "John McCain's Got a Lot of Houses" jokes. The funniest from these (both of which are worth reading in full) are at the top of the talking points list this week.
"If your annual expenses for servants are five times the median income per person in America, you might be a rich guy."
"Know what else? John McCain doesn't know if any of his houses share a border with Pakistan."
"Hey, John McCain can't remember how many houses he has! It's not his fault, though. He had the number written down but he left it in his other plane."
Charles Keating. The Keating Five. Did I mention Charles Keating?
McCain's team has announced that "the gloves are now off" (were they ever on?) and that Tony Rezko is now fair game for them to use against Obama (was he ever not, in their opinion?). Luckily, there's a convicted felon in John McCain's past, and in Cindy McCain's past real estate deals, as well. His name should be repeated every chance you get in the next week.
"Tony Rezko? I'm sorry, for a moment there I thought I heard you asking a question about Charles Keating! You remember the Keating Five scandal, don't you? When John McCain was accused of corruption on behalf of his buddy Charles Keating? And those real estate deals Cindy McCain had with Keating? Oh, excuse me, that should really be 'convicted felon Charles Keating,' shouldn't it? Amazing how many times we've heard the media talk about Tony Rezko, without Charles Keating's name coming up once, isn't it?"
Michelle and Barack trust each other with their money
Cindy McCain still hasn't released her full tax returns to the press. This should be seen as the next phase of this debate, and should be hit hard in the next week, by everyone who has the chance. There is no better way to paint the McCains as out-of-touch elitists than this issue.
"Why won't Cindy McCain allow America to see her tax returns? What is she hiding? Why does she file separately from her husband? Don't they trust each other with their money? Barack and Michelle file jointly, as a married couple, and they've released their tax returns for all to see. Cindy McCain must be hiding something -- maybe just how filthy rich she is, or maybe something else -- who knows?"
Country-club Republicans
Barack Obama's second ad has an excellent phrase in it: "country club economics." Shove this one in to the hilt, and use it to define the whole party, not just McCain:
"I think middle-class Americans are getting pretty tired of country-club Republicans trying to pass themselves off as 'regular folks' and 'Country Club McCain' is just one example of that. If you ask hard-working American voters, I think they'd tell the Republicans to take that baloney back to their country clubs, because they'll be voting for the guy who hasn't had everything handed to him on a silver platter in life."
McCain loves tax cuts for millionaires
The key to this one is the word "millionaires." Rinse and repeat, as they say.
"Of course John McCain is for tax cuts for millionaires. But that's about it -- most of his tax cuts (which are really the George W. Bush tax cuts) go to millionaires like himself. Barack Obama is for a $1,000 tax cut for middle-class taxpayers, and McCain's plan only gives them a tiny fraction of this amount. Republicans are always for cutting taxes on millionaires, but Republican tax cuts never seem to make it down to the middle class. Obama's plan guarantees middle class tax cuts, and will also end the special treatment for millionaires Bush wrote into the tax code."
Million-dollar condo for the McCain kids to play at the beach.
This one is just priceless (so to speak). Hmm... priceless... this could easily be turned into a MasterCard spoof commercial, now that I think about it. This one is so good, it's worth writing John and Cindy McCain's words down on an index card, just in case you get the chance to use it.
"At the same time John McCain was telling the American people (quote) 51 million homeowners are doing what's necessary: working at second jobs, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets to make their payments on time (unquote) out on the campaign trail, Cindy McCain was buying a second condo at the beach. Seems the one the McCains had wasn't big enough for the whole family. I wish I were making this up, but I'm not. Cindy said, in an interview where she talks about buying a second multi-million dollar condo in the same place, (quote) When I bought the first one, my husband, who is not a beach person, said, 'Oh, this is such a waste of money; the kids will never go.' Then it got to the point where they used it so much I couldn't get in the place. So I bought another one. (unquote) The elitism in that statement is just flat-out stunning. In the first place, how many wives would say 'I bought' some real estate? Every single married person I know would say 'we bought' instead. Secondly, life must really be so tough out on the campaign trail for the McCains that they just can't survive with only one multi-million dollar condo, but instead have to have a separate one for the kids. Must be nice to be so out-of-touch with the reality most Americans are facing."
Cindy even lied about Mother Teresa
Cindy McCain has had to take some recipes she plagiarized off her husband's campaign website already this year. But now it appears McCain's campaign had to go back and correct the story of how she adopted a child -- something you'd think she could remember accurately. Unless she were manipulating the story to make it sound better, of course. Where have we heard that before on the campaign trail (you can't see it, but I'm ducking from sniper fire as I type this), hmmm?
"Earlier in this campaign, Cindy McCain told the story of how Mother Teresa herself talked Cindy into adopting a Bangladeshi orphan. Now, the fact comes out that Mother Teresa was actually in Mexico at the time. Whoops! Maybe you should ask her about that the next time you interview her, what do you think? Check with the Christian Science Monitor, because the McCain campaign website has already scrubbed the story from their pages."
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
Cross-posted at: The Huffington Post
-- Chris Weigant
Actually, I think McCain's biggest foot-in-mouth this week was a interview with The Pueblo Chieftain where he talked about the 1922 Colorado River water compact:
“I don’t think there’s any doubt the major, major issue is water and can be as important as oil. So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties. I think that there’s a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource.â€
Translation: take more of the Colorado river water from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming and give it to Arizona, California and Nevada.
You don't mess with western states water lightly. Remember Chinatown? Should push Colorado to Obama's camp if they can use it well, the convention in Denver and just a few days away and all.
BashiBazouk -
I saw that, too, but it kind of snuck under the radar since it's a local issue.
There are several of these local issues that McCain is on the wrong side of, in very critical states that are polling very close.
Colorado - the water issue you point out.
Nevada - McCain's in favor of Yucca Mtn., not exactly a popular issue here.
Florida - McCain wants offshore drilling, which will make Floridians think twice.
-CW
@CW
You missed that McCain said in an interview last year that he didn't know what kind of car he drove and had to ask a staff member.
So.... I have this picture in my head of Elizabeth Miller watching her cell phone, email, CNN, etc all day waiting for them to confirm it's Biden, eventually reaching late evening getting all worked up yelling at the TV "Tell me already!" ;)
I'm to the point that it's 99% Biden, 1% Al Gore.
Oh... Elizabeth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPev5sEdTjg
Obama needs to copy that ad and run it over and over!
Ok Chris, so I know only a bit about the Keating 5, and I'm not too sure why the media doesnt speak of it much, but what happened between Obama and Rezko? Does it pale in comparison to the Keating ordeal? Have you in the past, or can you in the future give some more details on that? I hope Obama does get tough, cause where I'm sitting, McCain isn't hard to paint a grim picture of. Oh, and so you know, I'm in Florida, and my folks are on the coast of VA, so offshore drilling isn't a fave topic of mine, but believe it or not I have seen a few "Drill here drill now" stickers.. I'd like to get one of my own that says "Drill here drill now accomplish nothing..."
This article about McCain's role in the Keating 5 is pretty good. It is from 1989 when the event started to unfold and from a weekly Phoenix independent rag, so it's a bit over the top...
@BLaws,
Oh, man...thanks for that clip! If that wasn't a sight for sore and tired eyes, I don't know what is.
Despite all the media coverage surrounding Biden tonight, I still don't think the media get it. Forget about a governable majority - an Obama/Biden combo would have the potential for a real and dramatic landslide.
This selection would say quite a lot about the kind of leader Senator Obama is and I would have a new found and high level of respect for the man.
Well...it looks like it's official now - that's it for me tonight...I shall sleep like a baby tonight with not a care in the world...not to mention a smile on my face, after watching that video...thanks again for that!
Hi Chris. I only discovered your writing about a month ago on Huffpo. I've enjoyed your Friday talking points columns, got adventurous this AM, and found this site. Spent most of the day reading all the talking points posts from the first to the present. It's amazing how things have changed from when you started last year. I got nostalgic for the old Hunter S. Thompson series in Rolling Stone covering the 1972 election. I've reread the book that came out of that coverage over a dozen times, that campaign was what got me hooked on U.S. politics. Anyhow, when you make me fondly think of HST back during his heyday, I can't think of a higher compliment.
I've kept coming back to this site to see if you've posted any Biden comments, do you take weekends off? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
First off, I'd just like to say that since Obama has now fulfilled the ultimate dream for LizM (aka ElizabethM), we can all say "well done!" for her efforts to promote the cause. As the VP drama wound to a close, I have to say I had to agreed with her that Biden brought more positives to the table, with the least amount of negatives, so I can solidly now get behind Obama/Biden 08. For her unstinting work on behalf of her man Joe, I salute Elizabeth here. If Joe's got even a handful of such supporters as her, we'll win this thing without even breathing hard.
As for kevinem2, I offer a sincere welcome to the site. My secret plan is to draw all the thinking people over from HuffPost here, in order to have a rational debate about the issues of the day. Ahem.
You will have noticed the evolution (there's a scary word for Republicans) of the FTP column if you read them all. I am coming up on the 1-year anniversary of the column, but haven't decided what to do to mark the auspicious occasion. So, having recently read them all, your suggestions are appreciated... and you are welcome to the daily columns here, which are always posted in a convenient place, unswayed by fickle "Featured" mentions on HuffPost....
As you mentioned, I too cannot think of a higher compliment than to be compared to "Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail" by the immortal HST. This is the first time anyone has dared to put me in such a pantheon of greatness, and I humbly thank you for the honor while at the same time decry "I am not worthy!" in my best Wayne-n-Garth imitation.
Yes, for the most part, I do take weekends off. But check here every weekday for another installation of my own personal vendetta against the system.
As for quoting the greats, I always defer to the incomparable Robert A. Heinlein, who in "Double Star" wrote:
"Brother, until you've been in politics, you haven't been alive."
"But you said --"
"I know what I said. It's rough, and sometimes it's dirty and it's always hard work and tedious details. But it's the only sport for grownups. All other games are for kids. All of 'em."
Heh heh. Couldn't agree more.
-CW
My favorite catch-all phrase when nothing seems to be going right...the late Marty Feldman in "Young Frankenstein"..."could be worse..could be raining."
Oops - and so it is. Just pouring here in the little ghost town I'm trapped in. Oh well.
For benskull and all:
This article from the Chicago Sun-Times -- http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article -- is a pretty concise account of the Tony Rezko business. It involve Chicago politics, so put your rubber wellies on before you wade in.
Rezko has been an operator out here for years. He's specialized in: (a) making generous campaign contributions to anybody he gets close to, and (b) tinkering up low-income housing schemes with the city (developments which have a bad habit of falling apart and going into bankruptcy) with the help of politicians he has helped. And he has helped Obama (according to the article, to the tune of $50,000 between Rezko and his business partner and their wives). Mind you, there's nothing in Obama's history that shows he personally represented Rezko in court, but as a junior at his law firm he did his share of scutwork drawing up documents and such.
The specific story McCain has jumped on is Obama's home on the South Side. From the article:
So, yeah, there's some stink in all this, and McCain's Rover Boys will run as far as they can with it.
Chris,
Thanks so much for the vote of confidence and for your kind words and astute reporting throughout this long campaign. As for winning this thing “without even breathing hardâ€, I would say that Joe Biden will demonstrate that he can attract the kind of deep and wide swath of support throughout the country, and across all party lines, that most people can’t even begin to contemplate - especially within the media, present site and resident journalist excepted...absolutely, positively, unequivocally!
And, here’s a big salute right back at you, CW! You can count yourself among a very select group of journalists who really care about democracy, the political process, and your role in protecting and defending both. If more journalists understood, as you do, their duty and responsibility to uphold their end of the bargain of a free press, then the promise of America and the democratic process would not be in the threatened positions they are both in today...that is a fact!
For a very long time now, I have hoped against hope that Joe Biden would finally be in a position to make a difference in reversing US policy in Iraq and in implementing a political solution there...the number one issue that affects ALL others, I might add. Despite having a slightly different notion of how that might come about, I am thrilled by Senator Obama’s eagerly anticipated VP selection, to say the least.
It sure seems like another lifetime ago when Joe Biden first made his intentions known that he was considering a second run for President - around the time that Bush’s war in Iraq began to circle the drain, not long after the “major combat operations have ended...†declaration by the President in mid-2003. Senator Biden soon concluded, however, that the bulk of his time and energy needed to be devoted to helping in the effort to save the President and the country from a failing policy in Iraq. This left no time to prepare for a presidential campaign and Senator Kerry became the Democratic nominee.
By 2005, Senator Biden had once again publically entertained thoughts about the possibility of running for president, if he could determine that he had the prerequisite support to start a campaign. The situation in Iraq had since worsened and Biden had begun to develop a comprehensive strategy to promote a political solution. Whenever he was asked by the “big feet†in the media about his intentions to run, he was always candid and straightforward about the fact that he was working on the assumption that he would indeed run.
I can remember thinking back then that this was a great strategy...announce early and deter other and lesser qualified candidates from even entering the race. Joe Biden, the leader among Democrats on foreign policy, national security and the judiciary, would be the de facto Democratic nominee by acclamation, for God’s sake!...or, so I pondered. The rest of the story is history, as they say.
Fast forward to a bright August day in Springfield, Ill. and the introduction of the Obama/Biden ticket. Who’d have thunk it? But, what a brilliant partnership it is! I must admit that, on that day, I gained a new-found respect for Senator Obama and for his superior judgement. I don’t think we know yet what all of the factors were that weighed in on this decision and maybe we never will. But, just knowing that Obama is wise enough, and truly confident enough, to choose Joe Biden as his running mate is all I need to know that there can be few tickets through the years that can claim to have been as strong as this one definitely is. I may even begin to pay very close attention to the polls, not to mention your outstanding charts! :)
Go Joe!
When the best argument the GOP can come up with against Biden is, he has Washington experience and therefore he is not for "change," I know Barack has made a good pick.
If he had chosen Kaine or Bayh they would have hit them w/ the inexperience card. And Biden just genuinely seems like a fighter.
So I'm looking forward to the upcoming race. And also hoping that people will be so disgusted with the media that they just turn off their sets and resort to browsing real journalism on the web.
(Ok. A guy can hope, can't he?)
David
@Elizabeth
A month ago or so you said something to the effect of "I will vote for Obama but I won't enthusiastically support him unless he picks Biden for VP" or something similar.
I'm going to hold you to that! I expect you to be calling all your friends and family driving them nuts till they vote for Obama/Biden, and knocking on neighbors' doors too! ;)
With the MSM still constantly picking the scab that is the Clintons we're going to need all the help we can get to get Barack and Joe into the White House.
I'm trying to post that video of Obama/Biden everywhere and have even forward it to the Obama campaign in hopes they'll obtain rights to run it from the student that made it. I've also contacted the student to get that incredible graphic of Obama/Biden in the video. He's going to post all the graphics he's made so far online. I'll post here when I get the link
BLaws,
Actually, I didn't quite say THAT! I was just lamenting Senator Obama's rhetoric on Iraq -
"...it is the disingenuousness demonstrated by Senator Obama on Iraq - in particular, the October 2002 resolution authorizing the use of US military force in Iraq - that has prevented me from enthusiastic support for his candidacy. He will redeem himself, in my book, if he asks Senator Biden to be his running mate."
http://www.chrisweigant.com/index.php/2008/07/17/defining-post-partisan/
Let me say that I have definitely have a new-found respect for Barack Obama and I can now very enthusiastically support him and do whatever I possibly can to spread the word about Obama/Biden and that this ticket represents change you can believe in AND the capacity to make that change happen.
I'll tell you what, though...if I were to go around knocking on neighbours' doors and explaining to them why it is essential to support Obama/Biden, far from driving THEM nuts, they would think I was the one who had finally gone off the deep end!
You see, that sort of behavior just wouldn't go over very well in southern Ontario...Canada. Oh, would that we were the 51st state and that I could vote for Obama/Biden and drive EVERYONE - within earshot - nuts 'til they saw the light and pledged to vote in favour of their own interests, instead of against them.
I am wondering about that great video - do you know if that student is the same person who put together some very good videos on Senator Biden during the campaign before the Iowa caucuses.
...and one more thing that has endeared me to Senator Obama...he has sandwiched the Gov in between Bill Clinton and Joe Biden on Wednesday night...you gotta love it!...sorry, I couldn't resist...I'm still not that strong!