Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Obama Descends To Scare Tactics

Sometimes a newspaper columnist who leans left - heavily - does the right thing. When Ruth Marcus wrote a column in the Washington Post titled Closing the Whopper Gap, she earned recognition for at least trying to be an honest broker of opinion. No doubt she has thoroughly perplexed her fellow Obama supporters.

Marcus writes about two ads currently running from the Obama campaign against John McCain. One, on immigration, is running on the Spanish language stations. In Spanish, the ad claims that John McCain is in alliance with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and then goes on to quote Limbaugh out of context. Also, the Obama campaign lies about McCain's plan for employer-provided insurance.

So, to scare the Spanish speaking population of voters, Obama wants to spread falsehoods about immigration reform and insurance coverage. Remember the problems John McCain got himself into with almost every Republican on the face of the earth over his bi-partisan leadership on reforming immigration and the path to citizenship of those here illegally? You would have had to have been living under a rock to have missed that. I guess Obama thinks the Hispanic population is stupid.

Remember when Obama said using scare tactics was wrong and that only Republicans did it? Remember when it was called using scare tactics to emphasis the importance of national security and the war on terrorism? I guess Obama thinks it is acceptable, however, to use scare tactics on social policy. I guess it is acceptable to Obama to use scare tactics on the elderly, too.

Obama is running behind in the state of Florida. This is not a shock to most who follow politics, but Obama thought he would not be chastised by those on his side of the aisle if he told the elderly voters in Florida that John McCain would leave them helpless with his policy on Social Security reform. FactCheck.org, a non-partisan web site keeping both sides honest, points out it is not true that McCain would cut benefits and risk Social Security in the stock market. "This is rank misrepresentation." "The Obama campaign stretches the truth beyond recognition when it says that this would cut benefits in half."

Fact checking? Defending Rush Limbaugh? John McCain doesn't want to force senior citizens into living on the streets eating cat food? Wow. That won't get Marcus invites to the swell D.C. soirees.

Marcus writes, "Obama has descended to similarly scurrilous tactics on the stump and on the air." "To Democrats who worry about whether their nominee is willing to do whatever it takes to win: You can calm down."

Indeed. Just another politician from the south side of Chicago.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nobody is "perplexed". Despite your desire to paint us so, we are not idiots.

But still, I'm curious. Does this somehow excuse the constant stream of distortions, outright lies and panderings coming from the McCain camp over the past weeks, up to and including the two new ones yesterday and this morning?

There's a great example of a staunch conservative columnist by the name of George Will doing the right thing, too. I doubt you are perplexed by it, although I'm sure he's now deemed somehow mentally deficient in some quarters.

Anonymous said...

When has McCain lied? Please provide examples. Since Karen was kind enough to do the same...

The only one who lies consistently is Obama - about Rev. Wright, Tony Rezko and William Ayers. His relationship with these men is cause enough to question his ability to lead this country. Race bating hate monger is his mentor. A slick-ass corrupt financier is a close adviser. And an unrepentant terrorist started his career and worked closely with him for years - despite Obama's lies to the contrary.

Karen Townsend said...

Jennifer;
George Will is no supporter of McCain. You might also have pointed to David Brooks - in the sacred NYT - as having written a less than flattering piece about Palin, too. No surprise with either. Still, she's the VP, not the top of the ticket. And, yes, to many she is still a better choice than Obama - the top of his ticket.

Pandering in campaign ads? I'm shocked. Gaffe-o-matic Biden didn't like a recent Palin bash, either. I'm more than ready for the McCain camp to unleash the dogs and combat the Obama slime machine.

Karen Townsend said...

Kris,
There is now an interesting link between David Axelrod, the PR machine out of Chicago and the websites spreading filth about Palin. Interesting reading about that.

Anonymous said...

I'm not talking about Palin's horrific inability to tell the truth. There is clearly ample coverage and consensus on that not-so-hidden reality. I wonder if that has any bearing on her total sequestration from the media. At least Biden's out there, for better or for worse, to be judged on the man he is.

I'm talking about John McCain, the candidate. And seriously? You need examples of his lies? Some can be found in this article by the same columnist cited by Karen here, for a start. And a more comprehensive collection can be found here, here, and here.

There are plenty more where that came from, sadly. My recent favorite has to be his wildly inaccurate and basely false accusation that Obama wants to increase the size of government by 23%. Bringing the truth to the people via the straight talk express? Whatever.

Karen Townsend said...

Jennifer;
To claim McCain lies and what, no problem with Obama's smears? Interesting. I don't see much in ads - we aren't a state in play - and I don't watch them online. Either campaign's. I read.

Karen Townsend said...

And, Jennifer? THe St. Petersburg Times is about the most liberal rag in the country.

Anonymous said...

Oh, please. Politifact is used by FactCheck.org as a resource. They maintain the same data on every candidate, Obama and Biden included. It's a widely known, much cited, and highly respected fact checking tool. And in truth, I could have pulled the same information from fourteen different sites, they just happen to be the most comprehensive.

I'm not justifying anything by any candidate here. Given the lopsidedness, I asked *you* the question: does this post somehow excuse the constant stream of distortions, outright lies and panderings coming from McCain?

Because honestly, the indignant outrage cuts both ways, and sharply.

Karen Townsend said...

Jennifer:
I am a partisan. I flatly don't want Obama to win. Thus, my views in my posts - I try to document and deal in facts. And, the source as the fact checker? Run by Annenberg that tries to be down the middle yet has bent more left the past few years. Kathleen H. Jamison, the director, was a frequent guest on Bill Moyers' NOW show. That brings a big 'yuk' out of my mouth.

I feel, on whole, that the McCain ads have dealt with facts and quotes. I think the Obama ads mislead - 100 yrs in Iraq, etc - when the spirit moves them. McCain is the only of the two to ask a 527 to pull an ad. Obama hasn't. And, Obama was originally selling himself as the post partisan, not politics as usual guy.
Hope that clears it up.

Anonymous said...

Well, not that it matters, but I am disappointed. It's really hard to understand how a person can look at the record and claim McCain has largely dealt in reality and facts, when the truth is out there. I know you are extremely partisan, but you have also claimed quite loudly and proudly to be open minded and cognizant of all sides. I guess that's not quite the case in practice. Party first.

And a minor clarification: it's not just in his ads. It's in the words coming out of his mouth on a regular basis.

Karen Townsend said...

Jennifer;
No, not party first. Country first. I'm funny like that. I could say all the same about you, but I don't chose to. Not on your blog and not here, either.

Peace out.

Chuck said...

Word is that a lot of Hispanics aren't real thrilled with the Obama ad either.

As far as McCain's lies, one of the most widely reported ones is his ad on Obama's sex education bill. People that have actually read the bill instead of getting their talking points from the Obama campaign say that McCain is not misleading on it. I quote:

Each class or course in comprehensive sex education in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV.

Senate bill 99, voted on by Illinois State Senator Barack Obama.

Copy of text here:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=3&GA=93&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=99&GAID=3&LegID=734&SpecSess=&Session

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

jennifer,

You sound as though you are lashing out at karen for her partisanship while promoting yourself as somehow more objective and balanced toward the truth. Yet I'd say you are every bit as partisan and biased in favor of the other side.

But still, I'm curious. Does this somehow excuse the constant stream of distortions, outright lies and panderings coming from the McCain camp over the past weeks, up to and including the two new ones yesterday and this morning?

Interestingly enough, for all the noise coming from the Obama camp over negative ads, so far the majority of negative ads has been launched by Obama.

The sex ad was a bit over-the-top. How about the Obama ad aimed at Spanish speakers? Do you think that ad was fair?


At least Biden's out there, for better or for worse, to be judged on the man he is.

Oh, yeah. Go Biden! Whoo-hoo! We need more Biden.