2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign Discussion Thread 13: Victory Lap

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YouTube - ABC airs McCain's unused Rev. Wright attack


Watch: Rev. Wright TV Ad That McCain Would Not Run
30-second Spot on Obama's Pastor Was Ready to Air, Would It Have Made a Difference?
By ANNA SCHECTER, ERIC LONGABARDI, and BRIAN ROSS

December 8, 2008—

Even as his campaign fell far behind in the polls, Sen. John McCain refused to authorize the use of a fully-produced 30-second television commercial that criticized Barack Obama for his relationship with the controversial pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

A copy of the spot, obtained by ABC News, indicates the campaign spent the time and money necessary to produce a polished final tape, even after McCain publicly said the pastor should not be made a campaign issue and that he wanted to run a "respectful" campaign. His aides told ABC News that McCain simply decided "he did not want to touch" the Rev. Wright issue.

But the commercial even includes the tag line: "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."

"McCain never saw the ad and it was never considered for air, period," said McCain's top campaign strategist Steve Schmidt. Schmidt told ABC News he recalls seeing the commercial but did not push McCain to approve it.

The commercial, produced by GOP media strategist Fred Davis, contrasts McCain and Obama "long before anyone" knew who they were and seeks to frame the issue as one of "character, especially when no one is looking."

Over black and white footage of McCain, the announcer says, "One chose to honor his fellow soldiers by refusing to walk out of a prisoner of war camp."

Over footage of Obama and Reverend Wright's church in Chicago, the announcer says, "the other chose not to even walk out of a church where a pastor was spewing hatred."

A brief clip of Rev. Wright's now well-known sound bite follows, "Not God Bless America, but God Damn America."

The commercial's producer, Davis, highly regarded in political media circles, told ABC News he believed the issue was not one of race but "character."

"The contrast of characters (of McCain and Obama) could have been an important part of the campaign if raised early on," Davis said.

In the final month of his campaign, many in the GOP, including his vice-presidential running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, urged the campaign to raise Rev. Wright as an issue.

In apparent frustration, a number of GOP-connected campaign groups produced their own Rev. Wright commercials and paid for their broadcast in the final weeks of the campaign.

The Debate Rages on in GOP Circles

But McCain still refused to give his campaign the authority to run its commercial and it stayed on the shelf, according to former campaign staff members.

"You have to give John McCain credit that he stuck to his guns like that and he did not pull the trigger on an ad like that," said GOP consultant Matthew Dowd, also an ABC News consultant.

But the debate still rages in GOP circles.

"I think it was a mistake," said GOP campaign strategist Mark Corallo of McCain's decision to steer clear of the Rev. Wright issue.

"As the Rev. Wright controversy developed, had they used an ad like that and then built on it and done more ads and developed more information, forced the media for instance to ask more questions about Barack Obama's association with the Rev. Wright and others, it would have had an impact," he said. Corallo is a former Bush administration official who now owns Corallo Comstock, a public relations firm in Alexandria, Virginia.

Political consultants say it is not unusual for campaigns to prepare rough first-draft versions of television commercials that are never put through final production steps and broadcast, for a variety of reasons.

The Rev. Wright commercial, however, was in final form.

"Someone took this pretty far along the way," said ABC News consultant Dowd.
 
If Blagojevich is convicted, he'll be the fifth governor of Illinois in a century to be convicted of felonies for bribery, fraud, etc. :der: (2 Democrats and 2 Republicans thus far, in case anyone's counting.) In fact, one of them, George Ryan, is still serving his sentence now--imagine having two former governors of your state in federal prison at the same time.

Durbin (the other IL Senator) has called for a special election to replace both Obama and Rahm Emanuel, rather than risking Blagojevich doing it. Apparently Durbin had himself complained that Blagojevich kept postponing the conversation when Durbin attempted to discuss possible replacements for Obama with him--perhaps because Blagojevich had no interest in any other criteria than $$ for himself. The federal prosecutor in this case (Fitzgerald, I think?) explicitly said that Obama wasn't involved in any of the allegations they were investigating.
 
What is it about Chicago pols, anyway?


Will David Axelrod be testifying before a grand jury soon?
 
That can't reallly be that guy's real hair, can it?

President-elect Obama's efforts on behalf of an ethics bill in Illinois "indirectly" led to yesterday's dramatic arrest of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, reports the New York Times:


In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama's rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law's restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich's efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama. One official whose name has long been mentioned in Chicago political circles as a potential successor is Mr. Jones, a machine politician who was viewed as a roadblock to ethics reform but is friendly with Mr. Obama.
 
(CNN) – With the dust still settling from the 2008 presidential race, one of its biggest celebrities lashed out Tuesday at the man who made him famous.

Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, the Ohio voter who challenged President-elect Barack Obama on his tax plan and later became a hero of John McCain's presidential bid, said Tuesday he felt "appalled" at some of his interactions with the Arizona senator, and soon felt the need to ditch his campaign.

Speaking with conservative talk-radio host Glenn Beck, Wurzelbacher said he was specifically at odds with McCain's support over the massive $700 billion bailout, a measure many conservatives opposed despite McCain's attempts to shepherd the bill on Capitol Hill.

“When I was on the bus with him, I asked him a lot of questions about the bailout because most Americans did not want that to happen,” Wurzelbacher told Beck. “I asked him some pretty direct questions,” he continued. “Some of the answers…they appalled me, absolutely. I was angry.

"In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."
 
(CNN) – With the dust still settling from the 2008 presidential race, one of its biggest celebrities lashed out Tuesday at the man who made him famous.

Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, the Ohio voter who challenged President-elect Barack Obama on his tax plan and later became a hero of John McCain's presidential bid, said Tuesday he felt "appalled" at some of his interactions with the Arizona senator, and soon felt the need to ditch his campaign.

Speaking with conservative talk-radio host Glenn Beck, Wurzelbacher said he was specifically at odds with McCain's support over the massive $700 billion bailout, a measure many conservatives opposed despite McCain's attempts to shepherd the bill on Capitol Hill.

“When I was on the bus with him, I asked him a lot of questions about the bailout because most Americans did not want that to happen,” Wurzelbacher told Beck. “I asked him some pretty direct questions,” he continued. “Some of the answers…they appalled me, absolutely. I was angry.

"In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."

I love how in the rest of the article, he calls Sarah Queen of the North the real deal, and actually tried to insinuate that she would be a good president.I guess he's trying his hand at comedy now because, Joe, my friend, I lol'ed something fierce at that statement. :lol: Joe also says that the only reason he campaigned is that the idea of the black guy, *erm*, I mean Obama becoming president scared him more. Joe then put his white hood back on and swept out of the room in a huff. The toilet in that Cleveland McDonald's right off the highway is still out of order. That's not quite how it went, but I took a few liberties.:wink:
 
President-elect Barack Obama will journey to the nation's capital for his historic inauguration by train, his inaugural committee announced today.

The trip on Jan. 17 -- three days before his swearing-in -- is designed to highlight the inaugural theme of "Renewing America's Promise" by reviving a tradition of presidential whistlestop tours and by stopping in cities crucial to the American story: starting in Philadelphia, where independence was declared in 1776, and Baltimore, where the national anthem was penned to honor the War of 1812. In between, Obama will pick up Vice President-elect Joe Biden in Wilmington, Del.

"As part of the most open and accessible Inauguration in history, we hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can't be in Washington," Emmett S. Beliveau, the inaugural committee's executive director, said in a statement. "These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys."
 
These old Obama photos are so awesome

obama_youth_04.jpg


More here

Obama: The College Years - Photo Essays - TIME
 
if that were pot, it would be even more awesome.

It was, by his own admission. :shrug:


It does make a mockery of his Law Degree. and the fact that he was a Constitutional Law professor. Most likely he would not have been elected to the Harvard Law Review if they knew he had so little respect for the law at that time.
 
Yes I'm sure all past and present members of the Harvard Law Review are as pure as the driven snow. As are all people with law degrees and all law professors.
 
In the 1970s and 1980s many people were doing hard time for use and especially repeated use of pot.

Yes, there are decriminalization laws now.

When people take an oath to uphold the laws they really can not pick and choose.
 
In the 1970s and 1980s many people were doing hard time for use and especially repeated use of pot.

Yes, there are decriminalization laws now.

When people take an oath to uphold the laws they really can not pick and choose.

What oath had Obama taken as a high school or college student? I highly doubt the guy was planning a run for POTUS at 18.
 
I already threw a vote at him.

and I may do it again in 2012.

I lived through the 70s and 80s and remember what would have ended careers (in certain fields) if the information got out.
Most of my friends that were users knew they were forfeiting jobs in law enforcement, government, and other fields.

Unless they lied about their activities, and were not found out.
 
Anti-gay bigot religious leader to give invocation.

politcs, as usual :yawn:

( I guess it is a good move )

Pro-Life Rick Warren to Give Invocation at Obama Inauguration
December 17, 2008


Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues. This move is also classic Obama because it is a signal to religious conservatives that he’s willing to bring in both sides to the faith discussion in this country. Obama has never shied away from that.
 
:lol:

How many law students do you know?

I know quite a few attorneys and some judges that are in Obama's and my age group, that is the point here,
not to mention that cocaine use, also admitted, was a very serious crime with mandatory jail time. (in the 70s and 80s).


So please explain what law students in 2008, have to do with this?
 
I just think it's hilarious that you're setting up the law degree as some paragon of virtue. As if law students don't do drugs, don't cheat on exams, don't hand in plagiarized papers, don't apply for jobs with fake grades and degrees, etc?

If Obama is making a mockery of his law degree, then he's fitting right in with how things have always been. And I bet you anything that I still know more lawyers of his era than you do and I don't think he's unique among them either.

But I suppose it's nice that suddenly the law degree seems to imply some kind of special morality that the public has NEVER afforded the profession, LOL!
 
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