Posted on 08/18/2008 8:17:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I've never seen anything like it.
The latest controversy has it that Barack Obama did so poorly at Saturday's Saddleback civil forum that left-wing commentators and members of the Obama entourage have made allegations of cheating against John McCain. I first saw the story at Newsbusters, which noted that NBC's Andrea Mitchell suggested to her colleague the possibility of McCain cheating by overhearing Pastor Rick Warren's interview with Obama. Betsy Newmark responded to the Newsbusters piece:
These guys are so full of themselves and their guy's miraculous abilities that they can't imagine John McCain would actually come off as more forceful and prepared than Obama. So they have started whispering that McCain, with his superhuman powers, somehow escaped the "cone of silence" to overhear the questions.
Mitchell also seems to be missing how illuminating that whispered accusation is. They're at the same time revealing how badly they think their guy did; how impossible it seems to them that their guy could do worse than the old guy; and how little they think of Rick Warren and the Saddleback Church.
I wonder if they even realize how insulting to Rick Warren that accusation is. They're basically saying that the respected pastor allowed one of the guys to cheat. And that John McCain, who knows something about honor, went along with that cheating. And that Pastor Warren has perpetuated a cheat on the American people by saying that McCain couldn't hear the questions ahead of time.
The New York Times also covers the controversy, but indicates ultimately that McCain did not overhear Obama speaking (the sequence of interviews was decided by coin toss).
Michael Goldfarb puts all of this in perspective:
Now we know why the Obama campaign has been so reluctant to put their candidate on the same stage as John McCain. The difference between the two last night was striking. While Senator Obama punted on questions of great importance to the American people, and sidestepped even simple questions about whether the United States must defeat evil, John McCain offered the straight talk voters expect of a candidate for President. Senator McCain's responses reflected his long record of bipartisanship, the anecdotes accumulated from a lifetime of service to this country, and the depth of his experience on matters of national security.
The Obama campaign, shocked that John McCain would have the temerity to upstage their celebrity candidate on national television, is now struggling to find an explanation. According to Andrea Mitchell's reporting earlier today on Meet the Press, the only explanation the Obama campaign could come up with was foul play:
“The Obama people must feel that he didn’t do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because what they are putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well-prepared.” The facts are that Senator McCain was in a motorcade led by the United States Secret Service and held in a green room with no broadcast feed. If the Obama campaign really believes that Senator McCain had some unfair advantage, our offer of weekly town hall forums remains on the table - anyplace, anytime. Obama backers must be absolutely freaking that their man is barely treading water in public opinion (the race was tied at 44 percent as of Friday).
I've read the spin across the leftosphere all weekend, which suggested McCain couldn't answer a straight question at Saddleback Church. But if the latest allegations of dishonesty are any indicator, it was Obama who was stumped, and it's now perfectly clear who really took home the trophy on Saturday.
Andrea Mitchell should resign immediately.
This moonbat is an embarassment to journalism.
you know obama got his nuances kicked hard,
or the leftists would not saying mccain cheated.
McCain’s a republican. They cheat. That’s all they do. Look at 2000 and 2004. No Way Bush could’ve won without cheating. It’s systemic! Duh!!!
She'll be promoted at the National Barack Channel. At least SeeBS news had the decency to push Dan Rather out of his job.
Did anyone else have to look up the word “ignominy?”
As if Maverick would have to steal those questions. They were pretty straight forward and easy if you have core values. Black Whiteguilt Oblack is a bit short in that department.
Pray for W and Our Troops
I was rather surprised at the report I saw on CBS by accident tonight. I should recognize the two talking heads discussing, but their names slip. Anyway, the one reported the Obama theory (that McCain listened in) and then looked at the other guy questioningly who replied that his impression was that the Obama campaign was just worried that their guy didn’t do nearly as well as McCain and so they had to spin an explanation of some sort.
McCain should just say “If you think I cheated, why don’t we have a rematch?”
And then watch Obama run for cover!
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2008/08/i-honestly-cant.html
I Honestly Can’t Believe I’m Reading This
Regardless of what any one American’s politics or personal election preference might be, is it lost on people what they are reading if they click into Andrew Sullivan’s blog from Memeorandum?
Here is how Swindle describes it to Byron York:
“I vaguely recall that story being told, among other stories.”
Convinced? The answer as to why McCain never mentioned this in his first account or for a quarter century since and didn’t even recall it when asked to recount memories of three separate Christmases in captivity is dismissed with the usual gambit:
What is quite well known beyond ANY shadow of a doubt is that Senator John McCain spent five years in captivity for serving his country during which time he was brutalized to such a severe extent that he still carries the scars and handicap from that captivity.
What is also well known beyond any shadow of a doubt is that Senator Barack Obama had some form of long-standing tie to an unrepentant domestic terrorist - but we can’t know the extent of those ties because the Richard J. Daley Library of the University of Illinois at Chicago is blocking access to the records of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.
And all Andrew Sullivan and a significant number of new media members on the Left care about is whether or not a North Vietnamese prison guard drew a cross in the sand with a stick some 40 years ago?
Sorry, but are you people f~&/ing insane? Do you not have any sense of what country you actually live in today? Do you really not understand why America has rejected your presidential candidates at the ballot box in so many elections over these last forty or so years?
If this is how you intend to present yourself and your arguments from now until Fall, I’d suggest you prepare to lose once again. Turning any good American’s stomach with your pathetic, distasteful and ultimately bat crap crazy tactics just ain’t no way to win friends, or secure votes.
And if the Atlantic wants to preserve anything like a reputation, it might do well to consider giving Andrew Sullivan a break. Whatever bend he has gone around does not appear to be the kind from which one very easily makes it back.
I read an article today (sorry, can’t remember where) by someone at Saddleback and he said both Obama and McCain were given the first two questions in advance because Warren wanted them to have a comfort level.
And he told them the subjects he would probably quiz them on.
Perhaps Obama’s arrogance did him in. If he knew the questions, perhaps he thought them to death to appear intelligent? Can it be possible he believes his own party propaganda that Republicans are stupid?
Imagine President Obama's reaction to the first international crisis caused by some outrageous action by Russia or another rogue nation: "they cheated!"
Exactly right! McCain should challenge him to a rematch if he thinks he cheated.
What I don’t understand, if they think McCain cheated; it was only possible for him to have heard a small portion in the limo on the way to the debate- yet McCain answered EVERY question quickly and concisely and intelligently.
If they’re saying McCain heard it all from his ‘green room’, then they are calling Pastor Warren a liar.
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