DON'T GET SPUN! Part 1: True Context of 2/15/00 Bush-McCain Clash In Kerry Smear Ad

CNN ^ | February 15, 2000 | CNN Transcripts; Bush, McCain, Keyes, Larry King

[nopardons]

Makes one really wonder and does give on pause.He'd better say something about his appearance in Kerry's add,or he's NOT going to be received well at the Convention.

[singfreedom]

McCain has turned into a real jerk. He states that the people attacking Kerry are the same ones who "attacked" him in the last presidential primary. Truthfully, I don't recall a single attack on McCain's service, only on the fact that he had "abandoned veterans". Does he really count this as an attack? If so, his imagination is as good as Kerry's in Cambodia!

McCain MUST denounce Kerry's fallacious use of his "face and words". I can't believe he is stupid enough to let this happen! But, on the other hand, this is the coauthor of McCain-Feingold. What a dupe! The Democrats played him like a fiddle!

[CyberAnt]

I still think it's possible Kerry promised McCain SecDef if McCain would not attack him. But for McCain to appear in one of Kerry's ads is just beyond the pale.

[nopardons]

What do you mean "is turning into a real jerk"? He's been one for years and years!

[nopardons]

Kerry wanted him for V.P.,so a Sec Def offer would NOT surprise me at all.But this stuff,allowed to hang out there,just prior to the GOP convention,does NOT ensure a rousing welcome for McCrazy next week...quite the opposite.

[CyberAnt]

Yes, I'm waiting for some explanation of why he's in the Kerry ad. If he did not give permission for them to use his picture .. and for that matter .. they use the President's picture .. how can they do that without permission.

[CWOJackson]

So what do you think is in it for buchanan and his latest book? The Ambassadorship to Palestine?

[nopardons]

They can't use McCain's,but they can use the president's face and words,without permission.That's WHY McCrazy has to ask then to cease and desist/refute that Kerry add,or be held responsible for his acquiescence.

[CyberAnt]

Well .. I've never been able to figure out Buchannan, and therefore I would never read his books. My impression is Buchannan would put a fence around America and tell the rest of the world to go to hell. That's just too unrealistic for me.

[CyberAnt]

Okay .. if you say so .. and I agree McCain has some 'splainin' to do.

[nopardons]

I say so.........believe me,I know this stuff.And yes,McCain REALLY has a whole LOT of 'splainin to do.

[NYCVirago]

BTW, FWIW -- I stand by my prediction that McCain will pull out of his speech at the Republican Convention if Bush doesn't bend over and beg forgiveness for something he's not responsible for.

For what it's worth, the New York Post is reporting that McCain has asked Kerry to drop the ad featuring him.

[NYCVirago]

And one other thing: did you know that one of the POWs the Dems are smearing for being in the second SVFT ad was McCain's Virginia campaign co-chairman?

[Nataku X]

He is according to the New York Post, you can always count on Old Media to never report that.

[Avenger]

Nice editing in the commercial; the Kerry campaign must have hired Jabba the Hut (i.e. Michael Moore) as a consultant. I wonder how many burgers per hour Moore charges?

[Qwinn2]

Thank you SO much for posting this. I'm having a -ball- with this transcript. There's something absolutely fantastic here that you missed.

Confront lefties with the fact that there's no way to tie the single veteran McCain complains about to Bush personally, and that veteran attacking Bush's father rather makes it improbable, and eventually they'll claim that there's also a vicious "ad" that Bush threw against McCain. Not a campaign heckler, not a push poll, but an "ad". They never give any greater detail than that it happened in South Carolina. Exactly that happens on this thread at the Charlie Rose board:

http://boards.charlierose.com/board/topic.asp?ti=8028

Now, in the transcript, McCain informs us of the only "ad" that -he- ever found to be offensive.

MCCAIN: Well, let me tell you what happened. There was an ad run against me, we ran a counter-ad in New Hampshire, Governor Bush took the ad down. And then I was beat up very badly by all of his surrogates, called Clinton, called Clinton-lite, called every -- a hypocrite. I mean, you've seen...

KING: In New Hampshire?

MCCAIN: No, here in South Carolina. You've seen it -- turn on the radio, turn on the television, and unfortunately now pick up the telephone and you'll hear a negative attack against John McCain.

Let's all pause for a moment and appreciate the irony here: The -vicious- South Carolina "smear ad" that McCain charged Bush with, and that Democrats regularly decry as an outrage... was that he compared McCain to Bill Clinton. An incredible outrage!! A vicious smear!! How dare he smear McCain by likening him to our favorite President?!?!?

I think we can all understand why a Republican during a Republican primary would consider being called "Clinton-lite" to be a smear. But why Democrats are telling us that "Clinton-lite" is a vicious smear is absolutely beyond me. You'd think in their eyes, it would be a compliment.

Is there any real question as to -why- Democrats constantly repeat McCain's claim that he was "smeared" in an ad, without telling us the details?

I'm going to be laughing about this for a week. I couldn't make stuff like this up if I tried.

Qwinn