Politico also has a statement from the former director of Ramstein who had this to say:

"John McCain's new ad is dishonest and shameful, and I say that as the former Chief of Medical Operations.

Link: "McCain is dishonest and shameful"

Dare to dream, Greg.

Why would McCain pull those ads?

And even if he did, they've gone viral.

For every one Mediawhore who might debunk them there
are ten who will happily give them credence or at least airtime.

Obama's campaign screwed up with their announcement of his
canceling that visit. From the get-go it should have been
"Pentagon Rescinds Permission For Obama To Visit Troops".

It obvious this was going to happen from the second it was
announced.

And it seems Obama's camp isn't going to be bothered to counter this in any meaningful way.

on hardball andrea AGAIN stood up and said that ad was false and she spoke up for obama.... i am shocked that she did it 2 times in one day......

HusseinTenaX -

You think he will regret this ad? What do you cite as evidence?

- The USA Today Poll?
- The Rasmussen Poll (from +6 to +3 in 3 days, which means it will be even lower tomorrow)
- The Gallup Tracker, whose last day was +4, whereas the previous days had been +11?

I would love to believe that sentiment. The facts are not bearing it out right now.

Obama's numbers were WAY down on Sunday, in every single poll.

We need every bit of help to get this story done and over with...

See, this is the first attack that feels like 1988. We got sucker-punched here because we allowed ourselves to with incompetence.

The Republicans will always take a mile of mistruths if you give them an inch of plausibility. We have seen this.

Camp Obama needs to be more careful. A few more torpedoes like this will not serve us well.

Let their be......CONCERN.

McCain only made small media buys in three states for this ad. His campaign will not even respond with actual numbers. The whole point of the ad was so the MSM could talk about it and play it non stop for the week. Why should he pay for running the ad, when the MSM is doing it for free?

I don't see the damage. Obama's visits to the troops got plenty of coverage. Those were the images on the TV screen. Unless you are totally brainwashed you wouldn't expect him to visit every troop in every base we've got overseas.

CT -- I think the difference between us partly stems from the fact that you watch cable news, and I don't.

I might be more upset over this if I watched CNN talk about it all day.

I just perused the latest political headlines at google news - and this story isn't on the page. The stories on the page are: McLame had some more skin removed from his face the other day, and Obama is back to talking about the economy.

dswx -

You cannot just brand any poll you do not like a "Republican-based" poll.

When he was +6, I was feeling good myself, it was above the RCP average.

It is also the poll that nailed 2004 and proved highly accurate, on average, thoughout the primaries. I hate to say it, but Rasmussen is more accurate than Zogby.

Just go to fivethirtyeight.com and see which polls have proven the most accurate. Rasmussen is near the top. Zogby is lost, unfortunately.

I am not trying to be a downer, just a realist. Rasmussen is easily as good as any other poll out there. Ignore the data at your peril....

I have to laugh at all the acritical types here who heap scorn on anyone who shows "CONCERN"...as if there was a single election ever won out of sheer unbridled optimism. Ask McGovern how that worked out...

Trust me, campaigns hire professionals to show "CONCERN" for how Independent voters might perceive certain issues. If we choose to engage in a little of that here, more power to us.

...a little critical thinking and realism should not be punished with ad hominem attacks.

If you want to be relentlessly optimistic, that is your prerogative, I actually applaud that. I too am optimistic, but I am willing to admit there are hurdles to overcome between now and November...they are not all tiny, though many are...

I see way too many on here who take the opportunity to heap personal attacks on anyone who is both a realist and wants to win. My guess is that most of them are in their first, second, maybe the third election cycle of any real participation. Don't get overconfident...and don't take your eye off of the prize. Those two truisms often conflict with each other.

I find it odd that so many strike out against anyone questioning prevailing monolithic viewpoint with some well-reasoned logic.

Aren't we here to discuss issues and CONCERNS? Can we do that without HATE SPEECH?

Let's give it a try...

I personally think the Obama campaign ought to consider some self-reflection over the whole Nagourney affair.

Part of this is the media wanting to appear unbiased, but part of it is real. Nagourney is not making everything up, and he is not the first to complain of what some might call "arrogance" on the part of the staff.

I really want to see some evidence of a modulated approach here. Having the media wanting to love Obama so badly, yet printing unflattering stories to get back at his staff is not a way to win.

McCain gets so much traction for simply sucking up like a car salesman. I think a show of humility on the part of some Obama staffers who have nearly burned some bridges would go a long way.

Having Nagourney print stories like this until November hardly seems like a winning strategy. I think a peace offering should be made and then move on....

Peace offering...

It seems to work for McCain...they kiss his butt these days.

OK, fine let's send Nagourney some more HATE MAIL and see what his next column looks like. Let's remind him who reviled he is, how unfair and warped he is. Let's proclaim him a stooge for the GOP and maybe that will work!!!

Yeah! Let's do that!

Are you nuts? When was the last time this strategy worked...I am listening.

Is this really your strategy?

This is not about Obama. It is about the so called press taking talking points from the Administration and treating them as fact.
This is about the meadia just xeroxing the press releases and passing them on as news.
I would have no problem with the attacks on Obama, if they met the same scrutiny vis a vis McCain.
No my friend don't blame Obama's staff, look at he MSM.
They are fat, dumb and happy. Little work to do, in the past 7 years they have watched almost every organ of Government get evicerated.
Where is the acrimony about Katrina, the incompetence, the manipulation of facts.
No my friend, the Obama campaign didn't do this; the fourth estate did it. They have turned into an effete mob, looking for their next handout. Why don't you channel your well found argument against the rightful culprit.

I think Obama will win if he gets some of his staffers thinking straight again.

He pays them to prevent things like this story right here, and they failed him.

He should make it clear that he expects that they will not fail him again...

He also needs to tamp down this growing narrative that he is too presumptuous and pompous. That is what the press is currently saying.

This did not help Al Gore at all...and Gore lost after 8 of the most peaceful years with the strongest economic growth in a generation.

If Al Gore can lose on the back of a great incumbent, McCain can still win on the heels of a terrible one...

But Obama has everything going in his favor, and so yes, I think he will win.

And by the way, don't be surprised if an House or Senate Committe, has hearing with the Defense Department and Stae Department RE:Congressional visits.

kawika49 -

You do have one thing in common with the Republicans...you spend a lot of energy blaming the MSM.

All the MSM cares about is printing a good story. At heart, I think they are more liberal than conservative...but they love the buzz of a good story more than anything else.

I also think they love to expose the faintest hint of hypocrisy.

Given the "Golden Child" portrayal of Obama among some quarters, he is now a ripe target for them.

The Obama staff were hired to manage the MSM.

Do you think they are doing a good job? After all, it is their job to keep the good stories in and the bad stories out...

Based on your comments, it sounds like maybe that they are not doing a good job, as the MSM is clearly out of control.

So, I think we agree that the staff could do better, no?

The main difference between the Kerry and previous campaigns is that we did not control the house.
Look to the Democratic Party in the last 90 days to query the administration and the opposition candidate in ways they have never conceived.

The polls I believe will remain static unitl after the Conventions (Deom and Repub).
We are confusing Strategy with tactics. The Obama Strategy is to have McCaine react to Obama. The Tactics are to go to Europe, show yourself as more Presidential and then have them react.
The strategy is to have the MSM, show themselves for who they are.
The tactic is to allow them to scrutinize Obama and give Ace McCain a pass. Then call them on it.
The pivot point will be the execution of the Convention strategy. Can Obama, be reconciled with the divergent factions within the party and energize them into the final phase of the campaign. The point is, the focus must now shift to the convention and the post convention phase of the campaign.

How about hire Rachel Maddow as Press liason/Communication Director for the Obama Campaign!

We can handle the truth! For those keeping score, Jim Miklaszewski at NBC straightened the Landstuhl story out on Friday and Jeff Zeleny at the NYT did a good job with it this morning.

Day late, dollar short.

I'm sure all the "low-information" (ahem, simple-minded, cough) voters that McCain was targeting are just rushing to the Internets to see what FactCheck.org has to say. Sheesh.