McCain Campaign Falsely Accuses DNC Of "Attacks" On Cindy McCain
The McCain campaign is charging that the Democratic National Committee "attacked" Cindy McCain this morning -- and argues that this is at odds with Barack Obama's recent insistence that family members be "off limits."
There's only one problem: The DNC isn't attacking Mrs. McCain at all.
In an email blasted out to the media this morning, the McCain camp noted that the DNC had sent to reporters this article about Mrs. McCain.
"When will Sen. Obama do as he promised and `speak out against' Howard Dean and the DNC for their attacks on Mrs. McCain -- or at least demand they stop?" McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers asked in the email.
I received the DNC's email this morning, too. And nowhere in the email does the DNC attack Mrs. McCain.
The article that the DNC drew attention to reported that the McCain campaign had failed to reimburse Mrs. McCain for a flight in her company's private jet to New York City, where she attended a fund-raiser for her husband. The article quotes two Republicans criticizing the campaign for this.
The entire email from the DNC consists of criticism of the McCain campaign -- not Mrs. McCain.
The McCain camp is trying to argue that the DNC's circulation of the piece is at odds with Obama's claim that he "would never consider making Cindy McCain a campaign issue."
Is the DNC making a "campaign issue" of Mrs. McCain? In a sense, yes. But Mrs. McCain herself isn't really the issue. It's the campaign's failure to reimburse her. The same story could have been written about anyone else the campaign had failed to reimburse.
And it's absolutely false of the McCain campaign to say the DNC is "attacking" her.
Mcbush is starting to sound so clintonesque. You would think that he would have had handlers at least follow the clintons' implosion. Mcbush is following the same playbook. Landslide a coming.
June 18, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
yeah really, and i think the mccain camp is trying get sympathy votes.
McCain's so called straight talk on the environment
Candidates on equal pay.
The Sock Obama Toy is back
GOP trying to scare voters?
Its All About Taxes
http://sensico.wordpress.com/
June 18, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just want to add that maybe the mccain camp is trying to falsely attack the DNC for a "attack cindy mccain" to make excuses for them to go after michelle obama which is completely wrong.
June 18, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
My how times have changed, who ever would've thought that "clintonesque" would become a derogatory term when used by a Democrat?
June 18, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ahh, you haven't been around very long. The dem base didn't like the clintons this year or in the 90's either. As evidence of the clintons' status with the base, look at what happened in the caucuses. They got hammered. Generally, caucus participants are base, base voters.
June 18, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
You guys have been beating on them this year but he was the messiah in the 90's and during the Bush administration...
June 18, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nope, sorry, the clintons were despised in the 90's until, surprise, surprise the stupid lewinsky stuff. Until then the base couldn't stand them and then alot of dems felt sorry for them. Messiah, my a**.
June 18, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and on the king, howdy doody looks better than the king. No big deal on that one.
June 18, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
HAHA, how is this a false attack? It isn't even an attack? It is a legitimate question about campaign finance rules. Am I missing something here..?
June 18, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Responding to the original DNC email was incredibly stupid. Nobody would have paid attention to it, but now we're talking about how
1) Cindy McCain has a large ownership stake (all?) in a company big or rich enough to own a private jet.
2) Cindy McCain regularly flies on this jet
3) About 99% of Americans can accurately say "Cindy McCain has far more money than me and everyone I know put together."
Do they really want to be talking about this?
June 18, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm just posting to register my disappointment that you have put Drudge's "Obama Volunteers" story on the top of your "TPM Campaign Wire". I thought you were better than that.
June 18, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's from Politico and seems a reasonably fair story. I'm a big Obama supporter and had no trouble with it.
June 18, 2008 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just read it...it has to be false. Everyone knows that no Obama rep. would act like that! They had to be Republican plants!!!
June 18, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
To channel Dick Cheney, so what?
If a campaign tells a lie, and the media doesn't point out that it's a lie, does it even matter?
Let's see how the Obama controlled DNC handles this. The private jet is a legitimate campaign finance issue, and I hope the DNC manages to convey this, and doesn't just back down out of fear that it may look like it's attacking Mrs. McCain.
June 18, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like the sort of thing we have to stop if we want to change Washinton- an issue McCain is trying to run on as well. The issue here isn't Cindy but rather, election reform. Something McCain is supposed to be for, something that he should have realized in this case. Sounds like fair game to me....
June 18, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
make that campaign finance reform, not so much on the election reform (though in the same ballpark).
June 18, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is like a mini, personal, domestic WMD case for pre-emtive strike isn't it? Trying to lay a platform to attack Michelle Obama- by the way, the last time I heard, DNC were not the ones who called Cindy McCain C**T.
When will MSM wakeup and smell the shit? McJerk is a typical republican and there is nothing maverick about him- nothing.
June 18, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Only Johm McCain has the experience to attack Cindy McCain.
June 18, 2008 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is what I'm thinking.
:)
June 18, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
How very ironic it is that today, on youtube commedy, the #1 video is "He said it first."
Talk about attacking Cindy McCain, nobody does it like her husband.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euu_DMhsXQo
June 18, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
This was very very funny. Thanks for the link!
June 18, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's gone viral, I wouldn't be surprised if it is on Olbermann tonight.
June 18, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was funny!
June 18, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
OMG! That is hilarious!
June 18, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greg, you're on today. This is the kind of reporting work we love.
June 18, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess I'm a little confused about what message the McCain campaign is focusing on today. Is it national security, with Rudy, or is it unfair political attacks?
June 18, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
They don't know either, sputtering around is their technique apparently. Personally, I'd like an Obama attack on how retarded it is to open up our shorelines for Big Oil.
June 18, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently their message du jour is: "It's only mid-June and we're already desparately flailing!" Their campaign strategy sessions must be some kind of horror show.
June 18, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm looking forward to the response. Something along the lines of the McCain campaign using Cindy McCain as a human shield to avoid answering valid questions about whether McCain is violating the same campaign finance laws that he helped write. I have complete confidence in the Obama campaign.
June 18, 2008 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like that phrasing Cindy McCain as a human shield. That would be the perfect way for Obama to put it!
June 18, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, exactly. There's a clear pattern emerging of hiding anything they don't want to come out on Cindy McCain's side of things, and then equating any investigation with the wingnut smears of Michelle Obama. It started with the financial disclosure -- McCain has for years put nearly all of the family finances in Cindy's name (not just her income) so he can pretend to be a "regular guy" while living the multimillionaire lifestyle.
June 18, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
"to avoid answering valid questions about whether McCain is violating the same campaign finance laws that he helped write"
Obama-Feingold 2008! Obama-gold!!!
June 18, 2008 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe the McCain campaign got advance word of that Alaska poll, and it threw them into disarray?
Obama only down by 4, when Bush won by, what, 30?
Heh.
And he hasn't even campaigned there.
June 18, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder how the DNC is going to respond?
June 18, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama campaigned in Alaska during the primary season.
June 18, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama did not campaign in Alaska during the primary season. He only promised progressive orgs to make a stop during the fall.
June 18, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama did not campaign in Alaska during the primary season. He only promised progressive orgs to make a stop during the fall.
June 18, 2008 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reminds me of how Theresa Heinz Kerry caught shit for being so rich. Now more people know Cindy McCain is as well.....
June 18, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Odds are good that they really don't want Cindy looked at too closely so I guess they are laying down a pre-emptive "we won't stand for it!" position.
Perhaps.
June 18, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if John McCain hired Mark Penn? Seriously, only from the mind of Penn will you pull shit out of your ass and feed it to the media like it's filet mignon.
If John McCain continues campaigning like this, Obama can spend the next five months in the V.I. soaking in the rays before delivering his victory speech.
June 18, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
My read on this is that McGoo and his henchmen are planning to roll out some attack on Michelle and is throwing up this monkey dust as cover.
This would make sense as it coincides with Michelle's recent reappearance in the news. McGoo can't risk having the public see Michelle in any sort of positive light when sliming her is one of the few arrows he has left in his quiver.
We'll see if I was right.
June 18, 2008 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mrs. McCain is not interesting enough to invite discussion.
Other than:
She should stop her staff from posting false family recipes and just keep staring at her husband as he tries to give speeches.
June 18, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
You all believe Obama represents you. Your atitudes. Your goals. Your politics.
Look at your comments regarding Cindy McCain.
If Obama represents you then he also represents those sentiments.
Carry on.
June 18, 2008 5:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are being ridiculous. Obama respresents us politically, not personally. No one can "represent' the personal views of millions of people. He represents our political views and attitudes, that's it.
Neither McCain nor Obama should be held accountable for everything their supporters write, say or believe. Supporters represent themselves.
If your point was only that Obama would disagree with some of the views expressed here, then I apologize for jumping to conclusions.
June 18, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
are we certain the media isn't being unfair in its treatment of poor Cindy McCain?
I eagerly await Greg's run-down of this important issue.
June 18, 2008 11:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least they didn't call her a c***. :)
June 19, 2008 8:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
The TM has so much to say about Michelle Obama - and does very little digging into Cindy McCain's background. Interestingly, much of the background detail was published years ago - in her home state.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1994-09-08/news/opiate-for-the-mrs/full
A very interesting read, without the current spin.
June 19, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
The media should not let McCain get away with hiding behind his wife like this. It's so low and he needs to be called out on it.
June 29, 2008 1:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
The folks who are saying that this is a prelude to attacking Michelle Obama are on the right track. It's the only explanation for this ridiculous move.
June 29, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink