home

Obama Attacks on Health Care, McCain Campaign Goes Dirty

Forcing John McCain to play defense on a second front, Barack Obama shifted his attack today from the economy to health care, giving a crowd in Newport News, Virginia a detailed comparison between his health care plan and McCain's. Perhaps too detailed.

Obama's speech was more loaded with policy than most, and he seemed to realize that many in the crowd wanted a pep rally more than a detailed examination of health care practices. "You still with me?" he said halfway through.

McCain's campaign responded by trying to associate Obama with the actions of William Ayers, a distraction that Obama defused long ago.

"On a day when new reports have surfaced about Barack Obama's long association with a domestic terrorist, our Democratic opponent had the audacity to call John McCain's health care plan 'radical.' The American people know radical when they hear it, and John McCain is not the candidate in this election they should be concerned about," [McCain spokesman Tucker] Bounds said.

Another example of John McCain's "respectful" campaigning.

< Palin Attacks Obama's Character | Appeal Grounds for O.J. Simpson >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Obama has a great ad up in FL (5.00 / 0) (#1)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:10:45 PM EST
    about McCain's health insurance benefit tax.  Form personal experience talking to friends and neighbors, I think will be be more effective than anything else he can possibly do.

    Get ahead of it (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by lynnebrad on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:17:22 PM EST
    Barack needs to get ahead of the negative campaign about to be unveiled. He needs to have all his surrogates hammering the new channels and media about how desparate McCain has become and how the "maverick" is about to show he is just another Nixonian politician. They need to set the table so that the media discusses how low McCain has gone and doesn't start to discuss the substance of these unethical attacks.

    I pray that the our citizens see through this desparate attack of a conerned politician.

    But the real question is.... (none / 0) (#10)
    by robert72 on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 07:31:44 PM EST
    why didn't McCain go dirty long before this? It's a puzzle! Do the Republican back rooms all want Obama to win? Why? Why wait until the last month? Is there an October surprise?

    Parent
    What has he said that is positive (none / 0) (#17)
    by samtaylor2 on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:33:49 PM EST
    What policy proposal is he putting forward?  What change, other then getting rid of corrupt CEOs is he talking about?  There is nothing positive he has put forth.

    Parent
    For the first time this election, I really feel (5.00 / 0) (#4)
    by steviez314 on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:34:19 PM EST
    that there's a chance of an Obama blowout (10+%).

    McCain going negative now, with this old stuff, is just such the wrong strategery with the economy tanking and 2 wars going on.

    Going negative worked during the summer, but not now.  I think, with a few well timed remarks from Obama during the next 2 debates, he can (in a positive way) make McCain look desperate and bankrupt of ideas.

    I admit that I was not pleased that the primary season went its full length, but boy was I wrong.  Those extra few months and contests have really prepared the ground for Obama to respond to the smear attacks and go on offense.

    We'll see what they do (none / 0) (#21)
    by lilburro on Sun Oct 05, 2008 at 05:48:32 AM EST
    I imagine we'll get a lot of juxtapositions of McCain the war hero and Ayers the terrorist or whatever.  


    Parent
    Good to see someone staying on topic, (5.00 / 0) (#9)
    by KeysDan on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 06:48:44 PM EST
    that being: "McCain Campaign Goes Dirty".

    Not quite sure (5.00 / 0) (#13)
    by TChris on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 08:44:18 PM EST
    Not quite sure whether I would call the deleted comment to which this responds "on topic," but it violated site rules by expressly advocating McCain's election and linking to several anti-Obama websites.

    Parent
    TChris- do these people work for the McCain (none / 0) (#18)
    by samtaylor2 on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:37:04 PM EST
    Campaign?  What is their goal?  Is the use of "fake: usernames to create descent something that Blogs talk about internally?

    Parent
    I sometimes wonder. (none / 0) (#19)
    by TChris on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:52:31 PM EST
    But I an outsider to any internal dicussions that bloggers might be having.

    Parent
    from his speech: (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by coigue on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:01:58 PM EST
    In the end, none of this will be easy.  We're up against a powerful, entrenched status quo in Washington that will say anything and do anything and fight with everything they've got to keep things the way they are.  

    But I know that if we come together, and work together, we can do this.  So many people are counting on us.

    A woman named Robyn who I met in Florida, is one of those people.  Back in May, her 16 year old son Devon came to one of our events, and I got to meet him at the airport in Fort Lauderdale.  Later that day, Devon became seriously ill.  His heart started racing, and his lips turned white.  He was rushed to the hospital and almost went into cardiac arrest.  He was later diagnosed with a heart condition and told he needed a procedure that would cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Robyn's insurance company refused to pay -- they said it was a pre-existing condition - and Robyn's family doesn't have that kind of money.  

    But until Devon has that procedure, he has to take medication and stop all physical activity.  No more gym classes.  No more football at school.  No more basketball at the park with his friends.  

    After we met, Robyn sent me an email in which she wrote, "My son deserves all that life has to offer.  Money should NEVER determine the quality of a child's life.  I can't help but feel as if somehow we failed Devon.  Why couldn't we be the rich family that has the great insurance or could whip out 50 grand like it is nothing?"  

    She ended her email with these words, "I ask only this of you - on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us.  On the days when you are playing basketball, think of Devon, who can't.  When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder."

    Today, I want to say to Robyn and Devon and everyone like them across America, you have my word that I will never back down, I will never give up, I will never stop fighting until we have fixed our health care system and no family ever has to go through what you're going through, and my mother went through, and so many people go through every day in this country. That is my promise to you.  
    And if all of you here today will stand with me in this work - if you'll talk to your friends and neighbors, get people to the polls, and give me your vote, then together, we won't just win this election, we will transform this nation.  Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.



    Good news... (5.00 / 0) (#20)
    by lynnebrad on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 11:35:11 PM EST
    Obama is taking my advice :-). He is preempting the negative ad campaign of McCain with his own ads (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14283.html)

    He should also prepare some good comments to toss in for the debate.

    is william ayers advising (none / 0) (#3)
    by cpinva on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:33:13 PM EST
    sen. obama on health care policy now, and i just missed it? if not, that doesn't even qualify as a good "attack" ad, it just sounds stupid. lol

    how to do negative advertising when you're winning (none / 0) (#5)
    by max penny on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:52:12 PM EST
    McCain's ad strategy is all about desperation.  He'll wreck his own campaign for a long-shot chance at winning.  We Dems face a different challenge.  We're gonna win (yes, it's true).  But we need to win by a LOT and we need to DESTROY the republican brand... without resorting to the kind of viciousness McCain has sunk to.  

    How to square the circle?  Try funny:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz4Z6L4u8E4

    I think this little spot is kinda dumb but pretty brilliant too...

    Obama has been running nearly as many (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 06:10:07 PM EST
    negative ads as McCain.  Is funny more effective than scary?  I have no idea.

    I was kind of looking forward to the "new kind of politics".  Maybe next time.

    Parent

    the media lumps all (5.00 / 0) (#15)
    by coigue on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:05:15 PM EST
    ads about one's opponents as attack ads. That's a broad characterization, and includes fair and unfair attacks.

    IMO attack ads that are fair are just fine and can even be informative.

    Parent

    Corrected the link (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 06:12:26 PM EST
    Obama's attacks (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by WS on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 08:01:43 PM EST
    have been issue oriented.  McCain's attacks have been ridiculous character attacks and outright lies about the Democratic agenda.  

    Parent
    Yes. (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by coigue on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 10:06:27 PM EST
     DESTROY the republican brand

    We need to progress toward an enlightened society. For everyone.

    Parent

    howsabout (none / 0) (#11)
    by connecticut yankee on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 07:44:05 PM EST
    In the time since McCain came to congress the national debt has risen from $1 trillion to $10 trillion.

    John McCain, big spender with your money.

    John McCain, did he really keep all that money? Who knows. Maybe he did!  Come to think of it, I think he did.