Posted on 10/10/2008 11:05:31 PM PDT by SmithL
Republican Sen. John McCain had long promised American voters that he would be the ultimate maverick presidential candidate and run "a respectful campaign."
Americans "don't want us to finger-point and question each other's character and integrity," he told Ohio voters just five months ago.
But that was then - before the economy was in free fall and before his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, had gained ground in key swing states.
And this is now - the Arizona senator's campaign is pounding the drum to raise doubts about Obama's patriotism and what it calls his questionable background, particularly his past relationship with former '60s radical Bill Ayres.
With just three weeks to go until Election Day, McCain's campaign has ramped up expressions of raw Republican anger and frustration as the candidate has battled for traction. Recent rallies starring McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have aired openly hostile and anti-Obama rhetoric - even cries of "terrorist," "liar," "off with his head" and "kill them," which have gone unchallenged from the stage.
On Friday, McCain found himself in a tricky balancing act - booed by supporters at a Minnesota rally when he urged them to "be respectful" of the Illinois senator, even challenging one woman who said she didn't trust Obama because "he's an Arab."
"No, ma'am," McCain responded. "He's a decent family man, citizen; I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues."
The senator's attempt to contain his supporters' passion at a rally was his first in recent weeks - and comes at a time when political observers have targeted Team McCain's aggressive and increasingly personal attacks on Obama. They say the campaign has walked the line of being risky - and even irresponsible - in aiming to fire up the GOP base...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Pawleeeeeeeeeeez...SF Chronicle...yah we love your opinion
Leave it to the San Francisco paper to get it backwards.
The base is aiming to fire up the campaign.
The GOP is supposed to take advice from the MOST liberal fishwrap in the Nation?
The San FagFreako Comical?????
What???????????
If it’s a fact, it’s not an attack.
McCain is laying out facts about Obama’s past.
Truth hurts!
We know he’s not conservative enough, that’s not what he was booed for.
It’s a good thing when people are riled at the thought of your opponent.
bingo
Too bad the real life ending is likely to be different.
Carla Marinucci knows everything about the GOP. All the inside scoop. What an idiot.
If the Chronicle actually thinks it will influence any Republicans with their propaganda, they’re even more deluded than I thought. They long ago burned off any readers to the right of Jerry Brown.
Nah, it’s because he’s a lousy campaigner.
Fortunately he’s running against the only candidate he could beat (Kucinich excepted).
mccain promised to name names of corrupt politicans, but so far he has refused to
we all know mccain will never change, we’re all voting for him only coz of palin. With palin as vice president, it will put her in a good position to run for president in 2012
I sort of took it that they were booing the thought of Zero being “nice”.
I may have it all wrong but I saw it as a good thing...they utterly refused to accept any attempt to portray him as anything but evil, even if it was half-heartedly coming from Mac.
[IMO, he did *not* say it like he believed it himself...I assume if I picked that up, others did too]
I wonder when they will cover this “lie”
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcpdUtxNQ&feature=related
The real attack is coming from the media.
Oh, ain't that sweet irony? This is like a rapist blaming the victim for struggling too much.
They've built their candidacy out of spewing hatred non-stop for Bush, Conservatives, Christians, etc. And when we demand McCain respond, we're accused of anger and divisiveness.
He named Dodd and somebody else one day this week.
in the news coverage of that even where the names even mentioned?
meant to say event
McCain’s idea of “Maverick’ is that he bucked up against the GOP of the 1980’s and 1990’s in congress to “reach across the aisle”.
This seems to make McCain heroic in his own eyes, qualified for being Prez. He seems to bolster this idea in his own mind because he knew Reagan and Tip O’Neil were bitter political rivals but liked each other personally. McCain doesn’t understand that Reagan did not compromise his hard RIGHT stance politically, only perhaps socially, with Tip O’Neil. McCain confuses compromise with being a maverick.
DEAR JOHN McCAIN: YOU NEED TO REACH ACROSS BOTH AISLES AND WRING PEOPLE’S NECKS, NAME NAMES AND PUT PEOPLE BEHIND BARS FOR FREDDIE/FANNIE, FOR ACORN AND FOR RECALCITRANT CEOs.
DO YOU HEAR US JOHN McCAIN? YOU NEED TO BE A REAL MAVERICK AND STAND FOR SOMETHING LIKE JUSTICE AND MORALITY, SOMETHING BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE WILL RESPECT.
NO ONE RESPECTS A COMPROMISER and REAGAN WAS NO COMPROMISER, SEN. McCAIN.
He named Barney Frank as well...
But McCain needs to name more. Lately he’s been coming off as the “Kid who wants to be liked by everybody.”
We don’t want a UNIFIER... we want a WINNER!
He said he’ll name names, he needs to not only name names EVERYWHERE HE GOES, but explains what they did, and their ilk, and how they’re bad for America!
But what do I know? I’m just a single citizen, my vote only counts once... From what we’ve seen this week with ACORN... “their vote” counts as often as they want.
If you actually want McCain to hear your pleas, you probably need to post over on DU. I don’t think McCain reads Free Republic.
so put it in neutral John at your own peril.....LOL
RAGE ON SARAH PALIN!.....
When I read that I lol'd :)
Seriously though, I have written his campaign quite a few emails this cycle. I don't know if they actually get read, but I ask nicely to funnel the info to the top man. :)
Ask the Germans if they liked the end result of voting for the candidate for change in 1933.
Ask the Italians if they liked the end result of voting for the candidate for change a few years before that.
Ask the common Iraqi citizen if they liked the end result of voting for the candidate for change in th 1970s/80s.
I agree he needs to name names more, but the MSM ignores anything except something damaging or perceived as damaging to him.
MSM ignores anything about McCain except something damaging or perceived as damaging to him.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the ones in the crowd doing the shouting were actually Obama plants.
Ask the Kenyans in 2007 if they did.
Bingo!
Plus, I just love a Lefitst newspaper like the SF Cronical calling attention to the fact that some folks think he's an Arab....right or wrong, there are a bunch of Democrats that are not really "at one" with the Arabs either...and remember that it's Arabs that flew planes into the WTC and have kept the price of oil at above $3.00 for about a year or more.
They were booing McCain for his praise of 0bama. When you say “...not to fear an 0bama presidency...” you deserve to be booed off the stage and out of the race. McCain is not ready, nor will he ever be fit to lead us anywhere but to Socialism. Albeit, a little slower than 0bama, but still the destination will be the same.
Flame away!!
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102744/posts
I was thinking the same thing and it is not a stretch to believe either. Obama will do anything to win!
They didn’t boo him for not being conservative enough, I don’t know where you got that. They booed him for trying to get them to tamp down criticism of Obama. in other words for trying to be too nice. I suggest everyone email or call the campaign and tell them we don’t care if he ticks off Obama and his friends and supporters...
There is suspicion that some of the "rowdier" hecklers are Democrats stirring up trouble and getting McCain (A) off his message and (B) smearing his base. See the astroturf roots movement.
I will still vote for the Republican ticket, but I think he may have just lost the election with that idiotic statement.
I just convinced two more folks to vote for him and then I come home and read this idiocy. Well, God help our country, but this man is done embarrassing me,
Yep, I’m with Coulter:
“Vote Republican. She’s Only A Heartbeat Away.”
:)
Well then that settles it. If the SF Chronicle says Republicans are unhappy with McCain’s attacks on Hussein then they must stop.
I have to believe it is a tactic leading up to the next debate (fingers crossed) and this leads into something he plans to say or do but apparently done in a Presidential manner as in the leading days up to it has emphasized the honour, character and stated his opponent as a good family man.
I hope this true but part of me fears I am being over optimistic and it is just McCain being McCain and not liking the real dirty fight that his campaign office knows is needed.
Maybe he would have been fine to run pre second world war but tactics are dirtier and less gentlemanly in last 60 years. Having said that as a Brit I am reminded of the smear tactics used again Churchill pre second war world by his own party.
Politics is and has always been a dirty business. Palin has the appetite for it so did Bush and Cheney but McCain I fear especially since the Keating 5 incident does not like to get involved in the real messy business it takes to win a general election. I am not saying he is holier than thou but that he fears being shown as just like every other politician but does not appreciate you can do things without really dirtying yourself. IMHO GWB was a master at this during the last election allowing others to attack and just little references to it in his speeches but in no way coming over praising his opponent.
The balance is the trick and maybe McCain does not know after years working in the Senate where to get anything done you have to work with the other side how to really distance himself enough to personally criticize them. Maybe it also shows that he knows he is loosing and of course means he goes back to the Senate where again he will have to work with the other-side to get anything done.
He needs IMHO to be encouraged that in many States it is still within the margin of error and to fight and fight hard and it still can happen. If it does not then he can build bridges again with other-side after the general election after all they do not care how they attack him why should he care the other way because in reality unless they get the magic 60 number in the Senate they still need the likes of McCain to get things done.
But yet nary a comment about how Obama’s “Post-Partisanship” got thrown under the bus the moment he secured the Dem nomination ...
quelle surprise.
LLS
Everytime McCain gets on a roll, he starts this “respectful” crap. Respectful, Senator McCain is going to keep you a Senator and Obama the President! What a complete joke this election is. The MSM won’t tell the truth about the dem candidate. They know what it is but they think it’s their job to “elect” the president!
McCain is, for all the bravado and toughness of being a POW, a candy a@@!
“If you actually want McCain to hear your pleas, you probably need to post over on DU. I don’t think McCain reads Free Republic.”
LOL I nominate that for the Post of the Day!
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