McCain Camp gets into it with Politico

[EV_Ares]

By BEN SMITH | 9/22/08 3:58 PM EDT

Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record.

But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy.

The errors in McCain strategist Steve Schmidt’s charges against Obama and Sen. Joe Biden were particularly notable because they seemed unnecessary. Schmidt repeatedly gilded the lily: He exaggerated the Biden family's already problematic ties to the credit card industry; Obama’s embarrassing relationship with a 1960s radical; and an Obama supporter’s over-the-top attack on Sarah Palin when — in each case — the truth would have been damaging enough.

“Any time the Obama campaign is criticized at any level, the critics are immediately derided as liars,” Schmidt told reporters.

But as he went on to list a series of stories he thought reporters should be writing about Obama and Biden, in almost every instance he got the details wrong.

rest of the article @ the link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13747.html

[babylonsister]

1. Is that...sniff, sniff...desperation I smell? nt

[torbird]

6. Well, it ain't confidence!

[alsame]

2. Then they should stop lying. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

3. They are lying their asses off and then complaining about being called liars..

:wtf:

[1corona4u]

7. LOL, I think at this point, they believe their own lies...

kind of funny really....I hope the media doesn't back down...

[SIMPLYB1980]

4. They just can't help themselves can they.

[JStatus330]

5. SLAM REPUKES IN THIS FORUM PLEASE!

HELP ME DU THIS FORUM I GO TO! REPUKES ANNOYING IN THERE!

http://howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=448

[truthisfreedom]

10. Patient: Doc, it hurts when I put my arm like this. Doctor: Don't put your arm like that.

[Redstone]

12. You fucking moron. You'll have to do better than THIS to win accolades from your

similarly tiny-dicked "warrior" friends.

You are just about the lamest troll I've ever seen here.

Redstone

[vaberella]

13. Then don't go there and stay here. This is why you don't catch me on the freeper boards. n/t

[arKansasJHawk]

8. Something's happening here ...

It's almost like a switch has been flipped in the media. It really became noticable last week with the pig lipstick and sex ed controversies. For the first time that I can remember, the media is actually REPORTING when Republican talking points are lies.

If anything remotely like this environment had existed in 2004, I wonder if the Swift Boating of Kerry might have been derailed. I have to wonder what's changed, and the only thing I can think of is the internet.

Dedicated bloggers and independent media are on the ground within minutes of the latest b.s. coming out of the McCain campaign, blasting the lies to high heaven in a way that's difficult for the media to ignore.

It isn't working perfectly, of course, not when at least 12 percent and maybe 33 percent (???!!!???!!!) of people still think Obama might be a Muslim, but it's working a lot better than it has in my lifetime.

[FightingIrish]

9. The theme for this week is "meltdown"

I am really looking forward to Friday.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. THIS STARTED WITH MICKA vs MCCAIN ON THE MORNING JOE SHOW

We know this anger comes from McCain himself, this isn't purely tactical Political move
because it is a very bad idea, he's pissing off right leaning news reporters now.

[Median Democrat]

11. God Forbid That The Media Cover The Melt Down In The Economy! More Fluff Please!

Wow! Demanding that the media stop paying attention to economy, and instead really attenuated BS. That is amazing even for a Karl Rove protege to simply command the press to stop covering the issues, and instead focus on character attacks.

[Willo]

15. One McCain aide, Michael Goldfarb, said Politico was

“quibbling with ridiculously small details when the basic things are completely right.”

Those darn facts keeping getting in their way.:rofl:

[daa]

16. What about Palin and the witch doctor? nt

[FightingIrish]

17. Here's another good account of another MCain bad hairless day

Edited to correct hair status

McCain aide blows gasket, rips New York Times

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/09/22/mccain-aide-blows-gasket-rips-new-york-times/

[applegrove]

18. Using the tools of a sociopaths. All day long. McCain should be ashamed

of himself.