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McCain Campaign Again Blames Obama For Bailout Collapse While Calling For End To Fingerpointing

For the third day in a row, the McCain campaign has directly faulted Barack Obama for the bailout implosion -- even as it continued to decry partisanship and finger-pointing amid the crisis.

On a McCain campaign conference call this afternoon, leading McCain surrogate Rudy Giuliani hailed McCain's supposed leadership on the bailout solution while faulting Obama for "retreating from the problem."

"He's working now to put a new one together," Giuliani said, in reference to McCain. "He'll be in Washington tonight. He'll be working at this until it gets done. That's leadership. On the other hand, Barack Obama's first reaction to this was, `Call me if you need me,' which indicates a quality of leadership that says, `I'm gonna lead by retreating from the problem, so I don't get blamed for it.'"

That McCain campaign conference call featuring Rudy blaming Obama for his lack of leadership amid the meltdown ended a little before 3:30 today. At 3:38, the McCain campaign released a new ad decrying all the partisanship and finger-pointing and calling on everyone to come together and solve the crisis.

So let's try to recap.

On Monday, McCain blamed Obama and Dems for the bailout collapse -- and then decried finger-pointing in the very next sentence. On Tuesday, McCain denied he'd ever blamed them, even as his campaign released an ad blaming them.

And today, the McCain campaign released an ad calling for an end to the fingerpointing only a few minutes after his campaign got done pointing a finger directly at Obama.

I'm a bit lost in the funhouse at this point, but I'm reasonably sure this is how it went down.


Late Update: Here's audio of Rudy...



120 Comments

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SYBIL!!!

SALLY FIELD!!!

SYBIL!!!

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And I thought nothing could rival last Wed! But now we have serial showings of comedy routines and actual videos and past histories and herstories and .... well it's getting surreal again.

Paging Salvador Dali.....

ROTFLMAO

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Um, I'm thinking a timeline might be very useful in keeping this all straight.

And btw, comments are wiggy. AGAIN.

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As quickly as we make a time line, time and events are marching on.... ahead of us... too fast to keep up.. as mcShame rewrites whatever we're trying to put on the line.

When all else fails and your campaign is teetering at the thinning ledge of certain doom, who else do you call to save you...LITHPING RUDY???

"With my ONE delegate of power earned in the primaries, I'll be theen ath Mothes parting the Red Thee!"

McMessage is McLosing this McCampaign before his McGlazed eyes. The polls today are just devastating.

Oh well, with McCain's campaign keeping Rudy busy these days, there's one less beady-eyed rat roaming the alleys of New York City.

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As for this:

He's working now to put a new one together,"

I bet the truthiness of that depends on the meaning of he's, working, now, new, and together.

LOL - good one!

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You forgot "to". "To" can have multiple meanings, some too subtle for two of us together to decode.

Isn't about time for McCain to suspend his campaign?

For most people in his condition, it's called "retirement."

The rules of succession between now and January are murky as far as the GOP goes. They may dump them both.

Or far, far worse: flip the ticket!

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O/T: Pollster.com now has West Virginia as "leaning" Republican.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's awesome. McCain's insanity / Palin's stupidity is becoming more powerful than racism.

How many people per day fall into shaking their heads tsk-tsk? Why are they permitted to do it? No narrative. Rather, the narrative the media writes absent Palin or facts from McMuleFritters.

More crashing and burning, please. 34 days left, much can happen. I'd like to see those 60 votes in the Senate.

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LOL - in spades! Ay dios mio!

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Holy shit!

Holy crap!! W VA? What's next? TX? GA? MI?

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Actually, the democratic challenger to the incumbent senator in GA is within striking distance. Check out electoral-vote.com.

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One more try. Too many beers tonite, I guess: electoral-vote.com

Is any of the MSM networks picking up on this game he's playing?

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I know Michael Scherer of Time is. IT's not the same as the networks, but at least it's a start.

You mean the bailout plan that McCain said, that because of his--McCain's--leadership, was going to pass, the one where he couldn't even get
congress members from his home state to vote yes on, that bail out plan? Yes, it must be Obama's fault.

The Double-Talk Express is back!

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Forked Tongue Express.

Just curious, did any reporter call them on this? Or were they silently lapping it up?

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Have you been watching CNN at all? They've been doing some devastating pieces on Palin. Last night, for example, Gary Tuchman went up to that island where you can see Russia from, and reported that Palin had never visited, and, some of the residents didn't even know who she was.

Furthermore, in the shots of the island, it looked mired in poverty, and he mentioned that there's no sewage system and that people routinely dump their trash into the ocean.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't attacking Palin, at all, just pointing out reality, and I don't think it's going to leave a positive impression in people's minds about Palin. Much like the first Tina "I can see Russia!" Fey impression. Not on the surface all that devastating, but when it starts to sink in, the damage grows.

CNN played the same piece again this morning.

And they're pretty non-stop showing Fey's interview skit -- Situation Room, Larry King, Anderson Cooper 360 -- I think they really like the part when they put up the split screen and sync their two voices together to show that Fey was saying exactly what Palin was saying at times.

And can I say here that I freaking hate Lou Dobbs.

Utterly damning, hence the Obama Hockey Stick in the polls.

I thought we would get a honest debate this season. Vishnu knows we need it. But all three rings came out for McCircus.

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Vishnu... I love it!

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O thank you for telling me this. I don't watch CNN - for political and news programming, I hit Keith, Rachel, John and Stephen (with whom I am totally in love just cause that boy is brilliant!)

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I've been skimming them ever since Campbell Brown had her meltdown over the sexist treatment of Palin. I've been pleasantly surprised.

I admit, however, that I flip channels whenever Candy Crowley or Dana Bash report on anything. Still can't quite stomach either of them.

But Anderson Cooper's had a couple of negative pieces on Palin. The Bridge to Nowhere the morphed into the Road to Nowhere, with some great pictures of the reporter walking down this paved empty road in, you can predict, the middle of nowhere. This piece on that island. Good stuff.

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I love it. I know way too many people who watch CNN way too much.

This is really good news.

Nice to hear that CNN is doing some real journalism. Unfortunately, MSNBC has not been the same since the Republican convention. They've muzzled Chris, for one thing.

I would think that GE, et alia would be rethinking their position on being pro McCain right about now. Bush has left this country in tatters and the most responsible, and thoughtful candidate to get us out of this mess, is clearly Obama.

Any media corporation who tries to spin the news to favor McCain, is cutting off their nose to spite their face. Going by the way he has run his campaign, this country will go down tubes if he's elected. Tax cut or no tax cut, McCain is a bad bet for corporate America.


Don't give CNN too much credit. They're just pissed. Brown, Blitzer and Anderson, the whole bunch are just pissed they didn't have access to Palin, while ABC and CBS- especially Katie is having a wild ride. Imagine the CBS ratings? Palin poured new life into a dying news organization.

In the office and as a general rule I avoid CNN.

"Shocker: McCain Lies!"

Other breaking news:

"Dog Bites Man"
"Researchers: Butter Buttery"
"Sun Rises In East"

Is it me or is Rudy an annoying dumbass?

Can't he go take a nice swim off the coast of Australia holding a bloody seal carcass??!

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It's not you. It really isn't.

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Mos definitely not just you.

Rudi is one of the more annoying figures in American politics. And he gets worse as time goes by, too. He's like a cartoon villain sometimes to me - so over the top.

Thank Joe Biden for not having to worry that Rudy's Snidely Whiplash ass isn't one fluke away from the White House. He killed Rudy's campaign off with the noun-verb-9/11 quip and that devestating 28 second critique while he walked to his car.

Why in the world would anyone listen to Rudy about anything except wasting a lot of money on a campaign where the more people get to know you, the less they like you?

I think that this merely shows that the Obama campaign, and Democrats in general, have a hang-up on consistency. Senator McCain isn't about to kowtow to the elite obsession over "consistency" - the fact is that the average American holds positions that are blatantly inconsistent. Obama might try to hold himself to a higher standard than Joe Six-Pack, but McCain isn't ashamed to hold contradictory views.

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Democrats are irritating in that they just have this thing for reality.


Tasked with defending John McCain for his leadership on the financial market bailout -- and criticizing Barack Obama on the same topic -- Rudy Giuliani was fed a steady diet of surreal softball questions during a conference call on Wednesday.
Only three people were called upon. All, it seemed, came from conservative outlets.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/01/giuliani-fed-surreal-soft_n_130970.html

Check out the questions these bozos were asking.

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Does this suggest that mcShame is losing people who will speak on his behalf? And he's reduced to Rudy?

I haven't Pawlenty lately, and Mitt on a rare (and dwindling) occassion. Haven't even seen Fred Thompson. Soon it will be just McCain and Palin traveling together trying to avoid a blow out.

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Palin stays in the convent and only gives radio interviews... supervised by Mother Superior.

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"Mr. America's Mayor, why do you think John McCain is the bestest most heroic former POW EVAH and why do you think Obama hates America so much, with a follow up of were you very afraid on 9/11?"

LOL.

McCain is working on putting a new bailout plan together?

That's a mistake for a couple of reasons.

1) It's too late. The Senate vote is tonight.

2) McCain probably doesn't have the ability to get more than a few dozen votes for his plan. He will only make himself and the Republicans that vote along with him, look foolish and obstructionist.

McCain's leadership style makes George Bush look like George effing Washington. God help us all, if somehow he manages to get elected.

The polls are indicating there are quite a few people who feel the way you do. (Thank God).

You know things are bad when George Bush comes off all statesman-like.

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God help us all, if somehow he manages to get elected

Indeed. That's why, no matter how pitiable his campaign appears, how dysfunctional, you never feel sorry for him. Ever.

For you golf nuts out there: Obama needs to be like Tiger Woods in the match play between Woods and Stephen Ames. Woods stepped on his neck, early, and never let up.

Woods won, 10 and 8. Ouch.

Double ouch, what with those spiky shoes and all.

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Yeah, it's damned hard to know where to run to if that happens - no one's economy isn't hurting.

*sigh*

I mean, with McLame-Painful running America, my friends, Canada and Mexico are too damn close - I want much further away.


Australia, we're not doing too bad even with the tanked global economy.

And we have a reasonably liberal government.

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The problem with me and Australia is that you have some of the biggest damn ugliest, meanest spiders on the planet.

They don't fool around - they're huge and deadly and not uncommon I understand. I'm having a hard enough time just dealing with spiders I'm very familiar with - starting on a whole new different bunch of varieties - o I dunno -

;)

Reason #12,768 John McCain's campaign is fucked: Rudy is stumping for it.

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Word.


After the debate one of Obama's spinster's said "well as you know we have had a busy week working on the economy and he didn't have much time to prepare".
Is it me or wasn't BO in the same room and make the same trip to DC. Is it me or wasn't McCain in New York meeting wealthy donors and Katie C. Is it me or didn't the MSM not say, "well so was BO".
As my mom used to say McCain doesn't pass the full of bologna test!

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Um - Have y'all forgotten that Bush called Obama to DC?

Remember that? Before that meeting?

Every time McLame's ass in stamped with the imprints of 9/11 Rudy, Lil Joe and Lousy Lindsey it reminds people Palin is useless.

Idiots, I tell you.

Have you noticed how McCain lacks a broad base of spokespersons to cover the airwaves for him? Who else is out there willing to trash their own reputations besides Rudy, Mitt, Joe and Lindsay?

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This is also I think part and parcel of the Repug Party's splintering.

They're all over the place - no one is in charge. By rights, McLame should be in charge - remember how Obama waltzed in the day after the primary was over and claimed control of the DNC? I do. I loved it. That's how it's supposed to happen.

Did McLame do that? No - but then, the incumbent president is a Repug and by rights in charge of the party. Obviously that isn't operative.


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And if you look at the "Night at the races" that Eric just posted, some Republican congress critter in Illinois is saying, after being a vocal Palin supporter, "I wouldn't have picked her".

(The apparent contradiction went unnoticed).

In any event, I demand headlines about "Republicans in utter dissarray with recent McCain campaign tactics"

and I'm going to hold my breath until I see them.

Good points, both of ya.

You certainly don't see any prominent Republican women, such as Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe out there.

Oh, they are helping Frau Palin prep for her debates, each a crucial crutch she will not enojoy tomorrow evening.

Thyaaanksm, but no thyaaanks, for that debate to nowhere.

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Nothing these assholes do surprises me anymore. That's why I'll be working the phones tomorrow night instead of wasting my time with that debate.

A little topical mental health break:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjomYMe6t_U

That's fantastic! Most ingenious! Terrif!

It's just missing Obama at the end saying "While I can't say that I approve of this cartoon, I found it very funny."

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Stupendous!

Thank you--that made my day!

Speaking of surrogates - Where's Mentum????

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Dude - it's Rosh Hoshana. Droopy is orthodox, I believe.

I KNOW that...some of my best friends are...But he hasn't been around much since Mpls

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Sorry - I was using the Rudi timeframe for a reference. Didn't mean to imply anything - honest.

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That's a good question. I would expect that Rosh Hashannah has something to do with his absence today. And Yom Kippur next Wednesday, presumably.

But I don't believe he was on any of the Sunday chat shows, was he?

I haven't seen him since the convention, but they had dinner on Saturday (when McCain was saving D.C.)

Tutoring Palin. I'm serious.

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I believe it. Just not today.

Rudy 9/11 Guiliani 9/11 doesn't 9/11 know 9/11 what 9/11 he's 9/11 talking 9/11 about 9/11.

http://thepajamapundit.com/

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Poll porn:

With the first presidential debate completed and both candidates grappling with the turmoil on Wall Street in Washington, Senator Barack Obama is showing signs of gaining significant support among voters with less than five weeks left until Election Day, while Senator John McCainโ€™s image has been damaged by his response to the economic meltdown.

Shorter: Obama 49, McCain 40.

Dang. Why can't he break 50?

I like this nugget from the Quin poll

Sen. Obama clearly won the debate, voters say. Their opinion of Gov. Sarah Palin has gone south and the Wall Street meltdown has been a dagger to McCain's political heart.
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"Obama is showing signs of gaining significant support among voters with less than five weeks left..."

Is it just me or is the wording of this a little disturbing? God, what a horrible demographic to be in. I hope they all vote before they kick the bucket.

Or in other words, he is winning the "those about to meet their Maker" demographic.

For a fabulous Obama video, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjomYMe6t_U

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Go straight to NY Times front page. New poll data from Times/CBS puts Obama 9 points over mcShame and bush at 22%:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/us/politics/02poll.html?hp

McCain's camp was saying this morning that the Quin polls couldn't be true because the national polls showed a close race. That theory is being blown out of the water.

And to put this in perspective, at this time last election it was: Kerry +3, Tie, Bush +1, B +1, K +1, B +5, B +3.

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Are they trying to spin the polls again? O too funny and too sad at the same time.

So anybody catch Palin and Biden on CBS Evening News? Palin might have stepped in it and not even know it.

Couric: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution? Palin: I do. Yeah, I do. Couric: The cornerstone of Roe v. Wade. Palin: I do. And I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that.

Here's the transcript (no vid's available yet) - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/01/eveningnews/main4493062.shtml

(Her Supreme court question filibuster is a doozie as well)

I lied - here is a vid of her "What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with" non-answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRuBdW0yBUY

Here was a vid of Jeffrey Toobin talking about a McCain Supreme Court that was on the side selections.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PS0BvkoVvA&feature=related

Of course, Couric would never ask that question to Obama, Biden or McCain. Still, Palin could have hit that out of the ballpark--alas, it was another swing and another miss.

The ump needs to call the game.

Actually in the transcipt Jonze links to, she asks Biden the same question.

cool--thanks!

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Thank you so very much for that - that made my entire life almost - I am so in love with Joe Biden - he fucking brought up the Interstate Commerce Clause.

Damn Joe, you really get it. Thank you so much.

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What is really astounding is the utter brazenness of the BS this woman spouts... while meandering and contradicting herself or ... whatever it comes out to be.

But the brazen BS is astounding!

I guess, according to right wing radio host/spin doctor, Hugh Hewitt, the media is proving their bias by asking tough questions.
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/g/7d38e91d-8b4c-44d7-8934-9ebbfb27f8ea


Wow. Thanks for the link.

The most stunning number is McCain's high negative rating, 42%! That's going to be tough to turn around. Yipee!

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And by tying mcShame to bush with his 22% approval and what... 76% disapproval... well, we might be able to jack up mcShame's disapproval even higher!

Plus, how people became more and more upset with mcShame's tendency to act too quickly, rashly... over the 3 days.. and more impressed with Obama's cool, calm manner under pressure.

Put that together with that lovely cartoon. And even low information voters might get it!

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Pretend-suspending his campaign was about the 2d worse political decision of this century so far (ha ha - cuts Bush right out). Just after Sarah.

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I was thinking all those terrible political mistakes made about letting Bush run and Cheney picking Cheney were in '99, but I could be wrong - if I am those still stand as the worst political decisions ever since they managed to break the country.

Gwen Ifill suffers no fools -

"I've got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I'm not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation," Ifill said. "The proof is in the pudding. They can watch the debate tomorrow night and make their own decisions about whether or not I've done my job."

and

Ifill questions why people assume that her book will be favorable toward Obama.

"Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?" said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, "I don't know what it is. I find it curious."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/01/ifill-on-race-and-rightwi_n_131041.html

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I didn't think she'd back down. She's not like that.

Thanks for the info -

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And of course, she's a woman. But it doesn't occur to anyone to accuse her of potentially being soft on Palin.

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Surreal. Just surreal.

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Regarding Lieberman's absence. Heard from one of Hillary Clinton's advisors on the radio that Hillary has been actively campaigning in swing states for Obama, and yet that isn't being given much coverage. Could be the same holds true for Lieberman. I can well imagine he'd like any campaign work he is doing for McCain kept as quiet as possible so as not to become even more unpopular in Connecticut.

Yes, it would really help to have a full timeline of McCain's bat-crazy zig zagging (with links) from the start of the economic mess. Starting with "the fundamentals of the economy are strong."

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That reminds me - Hey Greg - good work putting this together. It must have been tedious. Or perhaps hilarious - I hope the latter.

Gees... these folks' hypocrisy and lies increasingly feel surreal.

Back to the main topic,"McCain blames Obama for bailout collapse." Isn't it politic (at least for current republicans) to blame the enemy for exactly the same thing they are doing now? Bush claimed Sadam had weapons of mass destruction, meanwhile depleted uranium weapons are used extensively in Iraq. They are harmless unless dust is produced which can be ingested or inhaled. Unfortunately, that happens.

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This all goes to comments I had made previously reflecting upon the psychological stability of McCain. He is at least schizophrenic and who knows what all else. I'm quite convined whatever goes on in his head could conceiveably lead to erratic behaviors that are not desirable traits for whomever occupies the oval office.

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I've said this bafore and I'll say it again. This is McCain's one big chance. He the nominee of his party, and even though he's behind in the polls, this is the farthest he's ever gotten. He's never been this close to being president before. It's his last chance.

Forget all this psychobabble about how he has to keep himself psyched up by demonizing his opponent. What we're witnessing is a man of desperation having trouble controlling his contempt for the man who stands in the way of McCain fulfilling an ambition he has probably harboured for at least thirty years.

This is my opinion.

Being a Maverick means never having to say you're sorry.

Hello

When ever I see Mccain And Rudy G. Together I say to myself now there is a photo to remember two wife cheaters together. Thats why they are such good friends

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