McCain Aide Suspended for Circulating Obama-Wright

[Pirate Smile]

McCain Aide Suspended for Circulating Obama-Wright VideoThursday, March 20th, 2008

Campaign says Soren Dayton has been suspended for pushing racially-charged video that uses controversial words of Obama’s pastor to portray candidate as unpatriotic.

http://thepage.time.com/2008/03/20/mccain-aide-suspended-for-circulating-obama-wright-video/

McCain aide circulates Obama/Wright video, is suspended


An aide to John McCain was suspended from the campaign today for blasting out an inflammatory video that raises questions about Barack Obama's patriotism.

Soren Dayton, who works in McCain's political department, sent out the YouTube link of "Is Obama Wright?" on twitter at 12:31 today with the tag, "Good video on Obama and Wright." It has since been taken down.

Twitter is an online device that allows users to send out short messages and links en masse through computers or PDAs.

McCain and his campaign have repeatedly said that they would stay away from personal attacks on Obama, but the temptation has increased as Wright's words have dominated the race in recent days.

Last week, they included an op-ed that hammered Wright and Obama in their morning clip package emailed to reporters. The same day, a campaign aide they regretted doing so.

Informed that Dayton was circulating the video, McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said he had been suspended and "reprimanded by campaign leadership."

"We have been very clear on the type of campaign we intend to run and this staffer acted in violation of our policy," she said.

She declined to say for how long he was suspended.

Previously an independent blogger, Dayton drew the attention and favor of McCain's campaign with his frequent attacks on Mitt Romney. He was brought onto the campaign earlier this year to help in the political department. An aide said he was doing "low-level political work for John Yob."

The video Dayton sent, which includes images of Malcolm X, the black Olympians raising their hands in the black power salute and the rap song "Fight the Power," has been rapidly spreading in political circles this week.

As I reported yesterday, it was crafted by a conservative talk radio producer.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0308/McCain_aide_circulates_ObamaWright_video_is_suspended.html

[wndycty]

1. Meanwhile at the Clinton camp, they push the story. . .

. . .damn who would have thought?

[Texas Hill Country]

2. because he can.

[KittyWampus]

3. Clinton is going to get stung, IMO.

[napi21]

4. I don't want him to be presidernt, but I give him credit for not doing a

Rove like campaign. I honestly hope both candidates run their campaign like that in the GE! It sure would be a pleasant change!!!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. It's a smokescreen.

Put it out there. Pull it back.

Akin to teasing a wild animal.

[napi21]

11. Maybe, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's done

this at least twice now, and is insisting that he will not tolerate meaness & hatred in his campaign. Until he changes from that position, I will still give him credit for trying play fair.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Let me put it in other words:

Put x out there by meaningless staffer.

Summon umbrage.

Fire meaningless staffer.

Bask in the glow of straight-talkedness.

Snicker about it later, among staff.

[LSparkle]

5. Looks more and more like a McCain/Clinton deal was cut for '08

He can win this time and she thinks she can come back and "rescue" the Dems in 2012.
She's foolishly burned bridges with too much of the party, though, and I think her
scheme will totally backfire.

[bicentennial_baby]

6. Very interesting...

[BeyondGeography]

8. Hillary? Hillary?

[slinkerwink]

9. it's really sad when McCain sounds better than Hillary when it comes

to race-baiting.

[truebrit71]

10. It's a sad state of affairs when the GOP candidate runs a more dignified campaign than HRC....

...shame on her..

[zulchzulu]

12. You can bet they will still be circulating that crap through surrogates and 527s

That's how they ride...