McCain Campaign Unleashes Misleading Attack On Obama Over Iran
With the news today that Iran's Revolutionary Guards test-fired nine medium and long-range missiles, the campaign battle shifted today over to what to do about Iran. And just moments ago, the McCain campaign misleadingly attacked Obama for allegedly opposing the designation of the Guards as a terrorist organization.
On a conference call with reporters just now, McCain senior foreign policy adviser Kori Schake hit Obama, saying he "opposed calling them a terrorist organization." The basis for the charge? Obama's opposition to the Kyl-Lieberman amendment.
The McCain camp repeatedly labeled Obama as "consistently weak on Iran."
But Obama has in fact supported labeling the guards a terrorist org, and explicitly said at the time of the Kyl-Lieberman vote that he opposed it for other reasons.
As the Obama camp was quick to point out, in October of 2007, Obama co-sponsored the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which called on the Bush Administration to "designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a Foreign Terrorist Organization."
And back in September of 2007, Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Burton explicitly said that his opposition to Kyl-Lieberman was rooted not in the designation of the Guards a terrorist org. Rather, iwas rooted in his opposition to the amendment's claim that the restructuring of America's military commitment to Iraq would have critical long-term consequences for Iran's ability to threaten the region.
Here's how FactCheck.org put it: "McCain's claim that Obama's opposition to the bill was based on an unwillingness to label the IRGC as terrorists is false."
Not that facts matter, of course.
It's like http://thomas.loc.gov is a foreign website to the McCain campaign.
July 9, 2008 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seems to me that the cumulative effect of this daily barrage of McCain attacks on Obama will be "Yawn. McCain attacks Obama for something else. What else is new?" I mean, for political reporters, this has got to get a little old, doesn't it?
Yesterday it was whatever. This morning, hilariously enough, given that Mavericky McSame didn't even vote it was FISA. Now it's Iran. Or rather, at this moment, it's Iran. At 4:30, it will be something else. Is this change we can believe in?
July 9, 2008 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
NO, sadly it will not be yawn, to the average voter.
All of this is going to come across as Obama 'switching' or failing to be 'consistent' or being 'vague' about his positions.
The news media has to play a much bigger role in designating McCain's spins as FALSE or INACCURATe or plain misleading. If the media fails to do this then what we will see is Obama having to repeatedly call press conference to make his position CLEAR.
The toll of repeatedly having to CLARIFY his position is the public sees him as a poorly spoken candidate who switchs up so frequently that no one can keep clear on just where he stands.
Those ultimately without ever having changed or switched a position the media coverage will be responsible for making Obama appear INDECISIVE, and INEXPERIENCED and not ready to lead as President.
I can't STAND how the press abdicates their responsibility and for the sake of ratings they create false and misleading issues just so they can have something to talk about during their 24 hour 'newscycle'.
ugh.
July 9, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the McCain peeps are over-shooting here. They think this missile test is of huge importance to most Americans, but I don't think it is.
Egged on by allies in the media, they are convinced that any national security related issue is going to be a huge boon for them.
But something tells me no one wants to hear that much about it right now, they want the economy to improve.
July 9, 2008 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know what's on the cable news right now (I'm, ahem, "working"), but it's kind of hard to find anything on the missile test on CNN.Com right now...
July 9, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama doesn't even make jokes about killing Iranians. That's what I call weak on Iran.
July 9, 2008 2:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe McCain can lead us all in another chorus of "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" again. Or perhaps we can just airdrop tons of cigarettes on them in hopes that they'll slowly off themselves.
I don't want this trigger-happy crank anywhere near the White House.
July 9, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is outrageous!!! How dare those damn "facts" have such an obvious anti McCain bias!?!
All Republicans must now do our holy GOP yoga move - The Downward Dog Butt Sniff. Go slowly now, bend over at the waist, put your head between your knees and slowly insert your head in your asshole. This should block off all of the negative energy of our arch nemisis; reality. Now we can go on being good little Conservative Fuck wits.
July 9, 2008 2:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is the second time this charge has been leveled at Obama on a McCain conference call. The first was here:
http://republicancandidates.blogspot.com/2008/06/mccain-campaign-conference-call-on_17.html
July 9, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The McCain campaign must be spending a fortune in asbestos-lined pants....
July 9, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm always interested to read about the details of these conference calls. David Corn's report yesterday has got me thinking, though, about how reporters respond to the obvious falsifications. Does anyone ever challenge the McCain camp on their statements? Does anyone tell them to go to factcheck.org? Or are these conference calls one-way conversations in which the Republicans sputter and the reporters silently take notes?
July 9, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've always wondered the same thing.
July 9, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Falsifications? Fact checking? Get with the program, buster! This is Straight-Talking Hero John (call-sign "Maverick") McCain you're talking about. Straight-Shootin' war hero John McCain; If he says it, it's true, period, end of story. He has instant cred that doesn't have to be earned. He was tortured for his country, you know. (But don't ask him because he hates to talk about it.)
July 9, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Because of course, belligerence and saber-rattling have been so effective in containing Iran.
July 9, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm confused. So now we are happy with Obama for supporting the labeling of the Guard? I seem to remember the blogosphere was furious with Clinton for doing so, and Edwards opposed the labeling.
July 9, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think it was about the naming, many people saw the Kyle Lieberman vote as a vote for war with Iran, that was the issue.
July 9, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think there is a value judgment about Obama's stance being proposed here, just demonstrating that the McCain campaign is lying through its collective teeth.
July 9, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
you don't realize that iran is an existential threat, as in, they have the power to destroy the entire united states and kill all 4300 million of us. they're more powerful than the soviet union and nazi germany put together! the so-called "greatest generation" never had to face the challenges that we do. plus iran attacked one of its neighbors in the 19th century (IIRC) so they can't be trusted.
July 9, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
sorry, 300 million. but you get my "point"
July 9, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
oh, yeah, the vietnam generation was likewise a bunch of pampered pussies who never knew any real threats.
July 9, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was the "we need to stay in Iraq so we can use our military might against the Iranians if they don't behave" part that had people up in arms (which is a potentially confusing metaphor in this context, now tht I think about it).
July 9, 2008 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
So McCain's Tobacco Shield is not getting the job done?
July 9, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
BUT BUT BUT...I HAVE TO BE OUTRAGED TODAY ABOUT FISA!!!!! who cares about the media narrative that's in the tank for mcsame???
the librul blogosphere tells me that the govt is going to listen to everything i say!!!! i'm staying home in november!! wahhhhhhh
July 9, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL
July 9, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can I suggest a change in the headline for this article?
Instead of misleading, put in mindless...because mcfuddle's campaign team is utterly mindless...
July 9, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that the Rove protegee has come on board, it's a continuing attack - that's all they have, but they are relentless. And the press conitnues to suck up to McCain. Maybe it is time to go - I really don't think the power elites are going to let anything go. The rest of us are mightly screwed.
July 9, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The constant drumbeat of lies worked for them against Kerry, so why would they change?
Dance with the one that brung you.
July 9, 2008 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why the outrage at Obama from the McCain Campaign over this event? In truth, Kori Schake's take on the Iranians nuclear ambitions is about the same as Barack Obama's views, see Schake's article "Dealing with a Nuclear Iran" from the Hoover Institution's April 2007 issue of Policy Review - http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/6848072.html
July 9, 2008 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink