Giving McCain too much credit? Here's a good one:

[ProSense]

McCain Says Obama's Word `Cannot Be Trusted'

Edwin Chen 2 hours, 9 minutes ago

June 29 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain, in his sharpest attack yet against rival Barack Obama, said the Democratic presidential candidate's word ``cannot be trusted.''

``This election is about trust -- trust in people's word, McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told several hundred donors at a $2 million GOP fundraiser in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday. ``And unfortunately, apparently on several items, Senator Obama's word cannot be trusted.''

McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, said Obama has gone back on his word by pledging to take public financing during the general election and then deciding not to do so. Obama on June 19 announced he won't accept public financing for his presidential campaign, calculating that he can raise far more than the $84.1 million he would get in government funds.

Obama's decision was a turnaround from a signed pledge to pursue an agreement with McCain to accept public funds and the spending limits that go with them. That was before Obama began hauling in record amounts of donations, and doing so would have meant surrendering a significant advantage over McCain. Negotiations between Obama and McCain never took place.

<...>

``I'll keep my word to the American people. You can trust me,'' McCain said.

more

(emphasis added)

McCain's word?

McBush's http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/14/133837/512/16/535937">double-talk express.


On edit: McCain doesn't need our help hyping his pathetic campaign. So let's not.

[helderheid]

1. rec 2

[ProSense]

2. The networks will do their part to make McCain competitive

Josh Marshall exposes CNN giving McBush a pass on Iraq, War on Terror (updated)

Democrats should be exposing McCain BS and tearing down the media's veneer, not lending credibility to it by finger-wagging that we shouldn't underestimate McCain.

My advice to the GOP: Don't underestimate Obama.



Edited for clarity.

[helderheid]

3. kick

[ProSense]

4. Thanks. Guess this isn't a popular philosophy.

Every time people gave Bush the benefit of the doubt and claimed he was being shrewd, when it was actually arrogance and callousness, they gave the impression to the inattentive public that there was something there that wasn't.

Calling Bush out and portraying him as the worst president ever, supported by the consequences of his actions, made the public aware that he isn't a leader, just a self-serving asshole. McCain isn't a leader either.



Edited for clarity.

[helderheid]

15. edited for me?

;P

[Cha]

11. The mainstream media is john mccain's

base.

[ProSense]

5. Does McCain Think He's Already President?

Does McCain Think He's Already President?

By Craig Crawford | June 29, 2008

John McCain's "campaign" as the presumptive Republican nominee looks more like someone practicing to be president than for someone who understands the hard realities of winning battleground states. Seemingly more interested in meeting with foreign leaders and traveling abroad, the Arizona senator might figure that he can't win anyway and will just pretend for a while.

Today's Los Angeles Times labels McCain's strategy "unorthodox." His advisers explain that it helps voters envision their man as a strong leader if they seem him doing presidential stuff.

But things are slipping away for McCain as his team gears up for battle against Barack Obama's tactically brilliant operatives. Not only are pivotal states like Michigan and Pennsylvania moving toward Obama, but voters show far more interest in pocketbook issues than the weighty matters of national security and international relations that McCain prefers to emphasize.

Hillary Rodham Clinton tried the "I'm-already-president" routine against Obama, and she ended up Saturday on a stage paying homage to the man who beat her.

[vixengrl]

8. If the President he thinks he is is Bush--

he's going to have a serious problem--because not many people still like Bush.


And if he thinks the President he is is someone better than Bush, he's going to have to get a whole new set of policies, de-gaffe himself, and lose the lobbyists in order to prove that to the electorate--

Which he can't do because then he'd lose the Republican base (the die-hard, what is it now, 23%-er's?), actually show up awake and aware and put in some hard listening time, and lose more than a little $$$upport where it counts.

Either way, he can lose by a little, or a lot. Lose by a little means being the best national candidate this guy can be--a person not entirely strenuously vetted before being the default "moderate" Republican standing after a weak primary in an off year for the party, who has gotten some beneficent neglect from an adoring press, who, with the patience of scrupulous wives, overlook the poor dear's foibles. Or lose a lot by continuing to crap on his elusive "maverick" brand with inconsistencies and awkwardly-handled campaigning (the green screen showing opposite Obama's big night is hands-down one of the most ill-planned things I have witnessed. He has earned his Youtube wings--I hope with his "awareness of the Internet" he recognizes that he is in "Leave Britney Alone" territory"--if not "Numa Numa"-level spoofosity.)

But I'd guess it's too little too late, since Brave New films and a lot of net-savvy people have already exposed his general lameness--those memes just need to get to the mainstream. And since McCain is the candidate with a longer "history" and a thus-far bigger public profile: could happen.

McCain's playing checkers as a king. Obama's playing chess, where the king better be protected.

Or something like that--it's been one of those weekends and I might just be rambling.

[grantcart]

9. maybe he is faking an insanity defense?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6427881&mesg_id=6427881

[grantcart]

13. Or maybe he is just mailing it in and wants to get as many trips out of it as he can.

[ProSense]

6. AZ GOP: "...McCain is mentally unstable and out of control..."

AZ GOP: "...McCain is mentally unstable and out of control..."

by Bo Jangles
Sun Jun 29, 2008 at 07:55:55 AM PDT

This November, for the first time, McCain's name will appear on a national ballot. While Arizona residents know a lot about McCain's political history, the nation, as a whole, knows relatively little. His national image is largely a fantasy created by his public relations machine. It is time now that the nation learns the facts about McCain. What better place to begin than in his home state with his fellow Republicans?

Many Arizona Republicans are upset with McCain because they feel that he is not sufficiently conservative. This is particularly true about McCain's statements and positions regarding illegal immigration and illegal immigrants.

Bob Haney, the Republican state committee chairman in Arizona's 11th District, has described the situation to Max Blumenthal this way:

"People would be calling in to (state committee) headquarters every week, absolutely enraged, threatening to leave the party because of some comments McCain made," Haney told me. "The guy has no core, his only principle is winning the presidency. He likes to call his campaign the 'straight talk express.' Well, down here we call it the 'forked tongue express.'"

In response to complaints by Republicans in his district, Haney introduced a resolution to censure Mccain for "dereliction of his duties and responsibilities as a representative of the citizens of Arizona." The resolution easily passed in the 11th District and was then brought before the county GOP. What was McCain's response to this?

Not content to let the purely symbolic resolution stand, McCain recruited a slate of candidates to oust Haney and his allies in last November's state committee elections. McCain supporters formed a political action committee, Grassroots Arizona PAC, to bankroll this effort. Forty percent of Grassroots Arizona's funds were provided by two Democratic donors from San Francisco apparently enraptured with McCain and his "maverick" image, Gregory and Lisa Wendt, which added fuel to the flames of Haney's revolt. McCain's slate was formidable, including Fife Symington, a former Arizona governor coaxed out of retirement to come to the rescue of his old friend. So worried was McCain about being rebuked by his own party that he threw his own hat into the race, announcing that he would run for state committeeman. When the votes were counted, McCain and his entire slate were resoundingly defeated.

What do Arizona Republicans think of how McCain handled this situation? According to
Max Blumenthal:

McCain's botched revenge has solidified his reputation in Arizona's Republican circles as a divisive, untrustworthy and even dangerous figure. Haney hopes the general public meets this side of McCain before his penchant for angry reprisals is invested with the powers of the presidency. "This just shows that McCain is mentally unstable and out of control and vindictive," Haney told me. "If he is determined to go through that much trouble to attack a district committee chairman, what does that say about his ability to handle real political problems?"

Points well taken, Mr. Haney! Now let's see if we can make the entire electorate of this nation aware of how Senator McCain has operated in his home state of Arizona!

And now a word from the Governor of Arizona.

[grantcart]

10. So good it needs to be a seperate thread

I was so curious about the BCR poll that I checked them out and even called them out.

They are a well established non political poll that is also known as the Rocky Mountain Poll and have 30 years of polling, mostly for government and institutional clients. They also said based on material they were getting on other polls - faith of the economy etc. that Arizona could well be in play in November.

[RNdaSilva]

16. Might Obama carry Arizona?

That would be a kick in McCain's hemorrhoid rear.

[FrenchieCat]

7. Wow! McCain is such fertile grounds when it comes to his bullshit

it is hard to select a focus.

That guy is a disaster that's already happened; to the Republican party......

[grantcart]

12. kick for the best post of the day

[ProSense]

14. Thanks, grantcart. n/t