The McCain Campaign is Genuinely Flustered
McCain stepped in it big time this morning and his campaign knows it. So now, like a cornered wolverine, they're lashing out wildly. First they brought up Rezko. Sensing that wasn't going to be enough, they then played the POW card. But that just resulted in mockery, so now they're pulling out all the stops. According to Marc Ambinder, the McCain campaign is trying several new approaches. First, they're trying to spin this as an attack on Cindy McCain:
Apparently realizing this spin wasn't going to stop the mockery, one McCain official threatened to go nuclear:
It won't work, though. There's no way that the press will see this line of attack as "opening the door" to attacks about Reverend Wright. Moreover, the Obama camp knows that McCain and the Republicans will play the Wright card eventually anyway if it looks like they need to. The fact that they're threatening to do so now is just an indication that they're genuinely afraid that this gaffe will hurt McCain.
It's remarkable how thin-skinned Republicans are. They'll launch negative character attack after negative character attack, but when the Democrats hit back--even mildly--they completely flip out and immediately retaliate with everything they have.
Though McCain is widely perceived to have drawn first blood by attacking Obama's character, the [McCain] official said that the difference between Obama's mocking McCain for his wealth and his shaky answer on the number of homes he owns was that McCain's charge "reflects an existential reality," where Obama's charges "attack Cindy. She owns the homes. I thought he said the wives were off-limits."Nice try, but that doesn't even pass the laugh test. How is mocking McCain for not knowing how many houses he owns an attack on his wife?
Apparently realizing this spin wasn't going to stop the mockery, one McCain official threatened to go nuclear:
[A]n official said that even Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "is now fair game."Go ahead, try to follow that logic. Obama's former pastor is now "fair game" because McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns? The fact that Wright's name is even being mentioned just shows how desperate the McCain camp is to quell the fallout from this gaffe. They're hoping to scare the Obama campaign into backing down by threatening to play the Wright card.
It won't work, though. There's no way that the press will see this line of attack as "opening the door" to attacks about Reverend Wright. Moreover, the Obama camp knows that McCain and the Republicans will play the Wright card eventually anyway if it looks like they need to. The fact that they're threatening to do so now is just an indication that they're genuinely afraid that this gaffe will hurt McCain.
It's remarkable how thin-skinned Republicans are. They'll launch negative character attack after negative character attack, but when the Democrats hit back--even mildly--they completely flip out and immediately retaliate with everything they have.
posted by A.L. at 3:39 PM
5 Comments:
This is actually a fairly common occurrence. I noticed way back in 2004 when I turned the tables on particular conservatives, when I've hit back that they really get huffy and puffy. They don't like a taste of their own medicine.
Digbt has an article called "Appeasement".
I thought it was about the McSHAME campaign response to Obama's new found juevos: Stop saying these mean things, or we might have to bring up your mean buddies. Their response always contains a threat in it.
As sum powerful schmuck once said: Bring it on! Just remember that your glass house(S) is a lot bigger, with a lot more history and sub-par behaviour in it.
Where is the political ad..." if you have 1 house I am like you..if you 8 houses McCain is like you.." r a derivative there of?
Richard
This is too brilliant. I am grinning from ear to ear.
Truth be told, it's about time the Republicans got a taste of their own medicine - except here the Democrats have a genuine case to make and don't have to resort to lies and slander the way the Republicans did when they went for Gore, Kerry, Dukakis, et al.
I'm also sure the sheer, mind-numbing hypocricy of the GOP won't be lost on many. They're happy to dish out but can't take it when they have to take it back - it's typical playground bully behaviour. But then I would expect nothing less from a bunch of people whose personalities patently stopped developing at the age of eight.
"It won't work, though. There's no way that the press will see this line of attack as "opening the door" to attacks about Reverend Wright. Moreover, the Obama camp knows that McCain and the Republicans will play the Wright card eventually anyway if it looks like they need to."
Weeeelll check out this morning's "This Week" w/GS roundtable where Mark Halperin deperately tried to make this point with a straight face. Gawd
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