McCain
McCain Camp Mum on Iraq Timeline (Updated)
Up at his ranch near Sedona, Sen. John McCain must be fuming. After everything he's done for President George W. Bush's campaign efforts -- the endorsement through clenched teeth after the bruising 20000 primary, stumping in 2004, etc. -- Bush couldn't even do McCain the simple courtesy of not completely undermining the Arizona senator's entire Iraq policy as he makes his bid for the presidency.
McCain Crisis Strategy: Go All In
The McCain campaign's responses to the events of the last two days have revealed much about its strategy for dealing with crises. This strategy can be easily summed up: "At the first sign of trouble, go all in."
Ad: McCain Is Just One of Us
In its newest TV ad, titled "Higher," the McCain campaign once again hits Sen. Barack Obama on taxes and his "celebrity" status -- and seeks to link Sen. John McCain with average Americans. Here's the ad:
McCain Almost Certain He Has Ten Toes
McCain Drops Rezko Ad
We all knew it was coming -- it was just a matter of when. In response to an ad released by the Obama campaign feeding off the so-called "Housegate" controversy and portraying Sen. John McCain as out of touch with ordinary Americans on the housing crisis, the McCain campaign yesterday "went nuclear" and released its own spot blasting Sen. Barack Obama for his ties to his long-time friend and fund-raiser, Tony Rezko. Rezko, a Chicago real estate developer, was convicted in June on fraud and bribery charges. Here's the McCain ad:
Battleground Zero
Reports from tight districts by The Washington Independent's sister sites around the country help explain Sen. John McCain's recent uptick in national polling.
McCain Flack: Rezko Is 'Fair Game' Now
Responding to the Obama campaign's attacks on Sen. John McCain's inability to say how many homes he owns, McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers basically said "it's on," according to The Washington Post:
Political Groups Rake in Funds
Even though the presumed presidential candidates have encouraged supporters to give directly to their campaigns, donations to independent political groups are up this cycle.
DNC Slams McCain as 'Sen. Hothead'
Who said Democratic campaigns don't launch personal attacks? The Democratic National Committee just hit a huge personal weakness of Sen. John McCain -- his anger-management problem.
In a research document blasted to campaign reporters, the Democrats are teeing off McCain's recent complaint that Obama is "testy." After asking whether McCain "Really Want[s] to go Down This Road," the DNC runs through reports of McCain's infamous temper -- from his own Republican colleagues:
Obama Hammers McCain on Homes
The Obama campaign wasted no time in jumping all over Sen. John McCain's admission in an interview with Politico that the doesn't know how many homes he and his wife own. In one of its sharpest attacks to date on the presumed Republican nominee, the Obama rapid response team quickly put together a video that portrays McCain as out of touch on the housing crisis -- and reminds him that he owns seven homes, worth $13 million.
President McCain Would Hold 'Question Time'
The Politico interview with Sen. John McCain yesterday in Las Cruces, N.M., was chock full of goodies. In addition to not being able to say how many homes he and his wife own, McCain "flatly" stated that he is not considering a one-term pledge, as many had speculated. He also promised to hold weekly press conferences as president -- the current traveling press corps should be so lucky! -- and to appear on C-SPAN "all the time."
It's a Daddy Thing -- Campaign '08 Edition
This year's presidential nominees have both penned autobiographies exploring their family roots. Sen. John McCain coauthored "Faith of My Fathers," tracing his initial rebellion and ultimate embrace of his dad's military traditions, while Sen. Barack Obama meditated on the role of an absent parent in "Dreams From My Father." The books' emphasis reveals that both politicians have "father issues," argues my friend Eli Sanders in a new essay, that gamely plays the father card on the presidential contenders.
Starting with the Obama side, Sanders plucks a striking quote from "Dreams," when the young Obama wrestles with his feelings on a visit to Kenya in search of information about his father's side of the family:
What Do You Mean He's Out of Touch With Working-Class Americans?
Is it fair expect Sen. John McCain to pay attention to trifling details -- like how many homes he owns? He is a busy man after all. I'm sure it's hard to keep track of such things when you're running for president. In an interview with Politico yesterday in Las Cruces, N.M., McCain could not give a definitive answer when asked how many properties he and his wife, Cindy, own. From Politico:
Surprise! Town Hall Attendees Want to Know About McCain's Veep
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Following an interview this morning with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham -- during which Ingraham humbly "implored" McCain not to "turn his back on" the GOP's pro-life base by selecting a pro-choice vice presidential candidate -- McCain heard from that base at a town hall meeting here. Once McCain opened it up to questions, he promptly faced two questions about his veep pick.
Hostile Questioner Disconnected on McCain Call
EL PASO, Tex. -- A McCain campaign conference call went bad this afternoon when Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency aggressively pressed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and McCain senior foreign-policy adviser Randy Scheunemann on their lobbying activities. The call was supposed to focus on a New York Sun report that Daniel Kurtzer, a foreign-policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, recently met in Damascus with representatives of the Syrian government. After asking Giuliani about his work on behalf Citgo, a Venezuelan-owned oil company incorporated in the United States, he started to challenge Scheunemann on his ties to the Georgian government, before his line mysteriously went dead. Here's a transcript of the exchange:
Obama Personally Slams McCain's Millionaire Mindset
Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP nominee, is still catching hell for his estimate that it takes an income of $5 million to be rich in the U.S.
McCain's Answer to Nation's Economic Woes
Is McCain Helping Al Qaeda?
John Harper, of the libertarian Cato Institute thinks so. In a post on the think tank's "Cato @ Liberty" blog, Harper argues that Sen. John McCain's frequent statements that radical Islamic terrorism is the "transcendent' challenge of our times -- which the likely GOP nominee often follows with a vow to chase Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, if that's what it takes to capture the Al Qaeda leader -- sends precisely the wrong message to potential terrorist recruits:
Poll: McCain Pulls Ahead Nationally
Usually, it's wise to avoid putting too much stock in national polls. After all, the reality of American electoral politics is that the vast majority of states will predictably vote one way or the other, and every election is really decided in a handful of swing states. The only polls that matter, the conventional wisdom goes, are the ones focused on voters in those battleground states.
However, few would argue that the results of a new Reuters/Zogby survey of U.S. voters released today are insignificant. The poll found that Sen. John McCain has opened up a five percentage point lead nationally -- a stunning reversal of Sen. Barack Obama's 7-point lead in the same poll just last month. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. From Reuters:
McCain All Wet on Water Issue in Colorado
Judging from the headlines in Colorado newspapers, Sen. John McCain opened up a can of worms when he suggested last week to The Pueblo [Colo.] Chieftain that the 1922 agreement that divides up the water from the Colorado River among seven Western states needs to be renegotiated in favor of states experiencing rapid growth -- like his home state of Arizona, as well as California and Nevada. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming also share the river's water. Here's what McCain told The Chieftain:
