McCain accuses Obama of getting ‘testy’ over patriotism charges

August 20, 2008

Yesterday, speaking to the VFW’s national convention, Barack Obama explained, “I have never suggested that Senator McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America’s national interest. Now, it’s time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same.”

At an event in New Mexico today

Our cost raises that the judgment might be the condition. Koop Akabar zonder Recept, Kopen Brand Viagra Online I need that it would even treat an illegitimate medicine. I have to sell pets and drugs.

, McCain responded by accusing Obama of getting “testy.”

“Yesterday, Senator Obama got a little testy on this issue. He said that I am questioning his patriotism. Let me be clear: I am not questioning his patriotism; I am questioning his judgment. Senator Obama has made it clear that he values withdrawal from Iraq above victory in Iraq, even today with victory in sight…. He has made these decisions not because he doesn’t love America, but because he doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of an American defeat in Iraq, how it would risk a wider war and threaten the security of American families.”

McCain has to realize how disingenuous this is. McCain and his campaign have been going after Obama’s patriotism, rather blatantly, for quite a while now. It’s ugly and pathetic, and I’m not surprised McCain would prefer to deny it publicly, but that doesn’t change the reality.

This is pretty well-tread ground , but let’s quickly review some of the evidence:

* In July, and in multiple instances since, McCain has said Obama “would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” (Joe Klein responded: “This is the ninth presidential campaign I’ve covered. I can’t remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency.”)

* In June, McCain was asked directly, “Do you question at all [Obama’s] patriotism?” McCain was evasive, didn’t answer the question, and would only praise Obama’s “success story.”

* Last week, Joe Lieberman said McCain “has always put the country first

online-pharmacy-uk.com

,” while Obama “has not.” The McCain campaign not only declined to repudiate this, McCain staffers actually sent the quote around to reporters to make sure it got a lot of play in the media.

* And this week, McCain said Obama wants the U.S. to fail in Iraq because of his personal “ambition.”

This isn’t about “judgment,” it’s about arguing that Obama is against America’s interests. That, by definition, is an attack on his patriotism, and even McCain, as confused as he is, knows it.

Greg Sargent recommends the media start calling McCain on it.

These facts deserve to be mentioned in every story about McCain’s remarks today. But they will get scattered mention, if that. […]

The McCain campaign’s double-talk on Obama’s patriotism is a key feature of this campaign. That this should have entered the media narrative of this campaign at this point is undeniable. And it just hasn’t in any meaningful sense. Where are the Times political memos about this? How about a “news analysis” or two on this topic?

If it were Obama going after McCain’s patriotism

ohne-rezeptkaufen.com
https://buy-stromectol.online

, it stands to reason we’d hear about little else.

I have a limited amount of hatred and like troops levels I’m having to switch some of my hatred for Bush over to McCain to maintain proper levels of contempt and anger.

  • Another one for your flip-flop list. McCain was for questioning Obama’s patriotism before he was against it (and before he’ll be for it again, I’m sure).

  • The Obama crew really needs someone who can cut through the bullshit with authority. Joe Biden can do that better than anyone.

  • If no one calls him on it, it never happened.

    If a Republic falls in the forest, and there’s no press there to cover it, does it make a sound?

  • The NY Times elicited a raised eyebrow from me with a piece that, with surprising objectivity, reports on McCain’s bullshit advertising: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/us/politics/20ads.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

    By the standards of McCain’s “base”, this is tantamount to a massive smackdown. I suppose McCain has angered his “base” by shutting them out of the Straight Talk Express. Hell hath no such fury as the Media Scorned ™.

  • I’m bored of this entire line of conversation.

    I don’t give a rat’s ass what John McCain thinks of anybody’s patriotism, including Senator Obama’s.

    This is just another distraction orchestrated by the McCain campaign.

    What will they think of next.

  • Er… the piece I’m linking to is mostly about Obama’s undercover local attack ads, but the paragraph I was referring to is this:

    “[McCain] has consistently misrepresented the particulars of Mr. Obama’s tax and energy policies, claiming, for instance, that he will raise taxes on families making $42,000 a year — a nonbinding resolution he voted for would amount to a $15 increase on individuals with such income — and that Mr. Obama opposes nuclear energy (he does not).”

  • @ 9:

    Gramps grew up in a world were colored people were invisible, and he liked it. I don’t think it makes a bit of difference what AARP says.

  • “He has made these decisions not because he doesn’t love America, but because he doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of an American defeat in Iraq, how it would risk a wider war and threaten the security of American families.”

    And if you believe that, McCain has a couple of bridges over the Grand Canyon he’d like to sell ya.

  • AmericaBlog is flagging an AP story on the Dems “patriotism problem.”
    “AP has a huge new story out about the Democrats’ “patriotism problem.” And AP is correct. Our party lets the Republicans impugn our patriotism with, well, impunity, and then we wonder why every election, and on practically every issue, we have to deal with attacks on our patriotism. Why? Because they work. ”
    http://www.americablog.com/2008/08/here-we-go-again.html

    It is a big problem, because it is CW in the beltway and we know how they cling pretty bitterly to their beliefs.

  • “Patriotic” is, for the foreseeable future, synonymous with “likely to blow shit up” and maybe “meticulously observant of outward meaningless rituals’, and until the definitions changes, the Democratic candidate will never win this point.

    The voter on one side of you when you vote for president isn’t voting for president, they’re hiring a contract killer, and on the other, they’re picking a king for them to worshipfully obey.

  • McSame has opened the door. Now, we should be able to say anything that before might have implied questioning his patriotism to which we can now respond by saying “I am not questioning his patriotism; I am questioning his judgment.”

  • Define “victory” McCain.

    Listen, if you’re a working-class American and you care about keeping a roof over your head, you’ll vote for Obama.

  • When is someone from the MSM going to ask Mr. McCain what the heck he means by “Obama wants defeat” in Iraq, when what Obama proposes is the same thing that the democratic Iraqi government is asking us to do (withdrawal on a timetable)? Oh, and that’s the very same Iraqi government which we set up with our invasion and occupation … and which is supposedly the friendly democracy in the middle east that Mr. McCain says is the definition of victory?

    When will the MSM hold the feet of these clowns to the fire over this “victory” and “defeat” BS?

  • I think it is time to call McCain’s patriotism into question. POW is BS. There was a recent article about another POW who was captured and imprisoned 2.5 years before McC, and who called his bluff. Where is he? I don’t recall his name, but it was mentioned on this blog a few days ago.
    McCain is not a patriot or a hero; he is a failure as a diplomat and a representative of the majority of the people of this country. When one changes the behavior and characteristics that earned the distinction as hero and patriot, he loses the right to be known for that characteristic.
    I consider McCain a traitor and despot. He is also anti-woman and has no compassion for those who are different from him.

    I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
    peace,
    st john

  • John McCain is so desparately ambitious to be the dominator in chief that he would rather start a war with Russia than lose this election. He doesn’t care how much it costs or how many people gets killed. He made lots of money from Georgia, as did his campaign chairman, Randy Scheunemann. These guys urged their pal Saakashvilli to attack Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia against the State departments urging. The State department told the Georgians not to act precipitiously, but they did it anyway cuz McCain said he would have their back. Randy Scheunemann is telling other countries things that are going to get us into a war with Russia or at the very least destroy our relations.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-creamer/crisis-in-georgia-beginni_b_119552.html

    This fucking campaign is filled up with Project For The New American Century directors and signatories.

  • I’m waiting for some public figure to make the claim…McCAIN WOULD RATHER START A WAR THAN LOSE AN ELECTION.

    We are all Georgians my ass. If we were Georgians we never would have attacked Russia and destroyed one of our claimed cities before the Russians ever moved in. McCain is trying to start a cold war with Russia and thousands of Georgians and Russians lost their lives so he could beat his chest in this election. McCain needs to shut his mouth he has not been elected to speak for me or the majority of Americans.

    Obama pays him too much respect for someone running around trying to form a lynch mob and sending his twin neocons to go meddle in Russian/Georgian affairs. Just how far does the Georgian’s lobbyist money go to get the right results from his pet senator on a leash.

    McCain: The Lobbyist’s best friend…would rather start a war than lose an election. The difference in patriotism with McCain and Obama is that McCain thinks it is HIS America no matter what the people want…here or in Iraq.

  • So, the playground bully taunts the kid with big ears, and when the kid with big ears fights back, the bully calls the playground monitor. How presidential.

  • So people clearly understand. When McSHAME says that Obama would rather have an orderly withdrawal rather than victory, he is also insulting the 60+%(?) who also want the US out of Iraq within 2 years.

    Why is it that only McSHAME is right, and any other opinion is wrong?

  • Yes, it’s McCain’s fault that Obama is testy. Right. Obama is testy because he knows the pressures are weighing down on him now, he’s falling behind in the polls, he’s not being taken seriously, and he’s constantly having to re-assert his positions because he’s so vague.

    This is a campaign, if you can’t take a couple jabs now and then, you don’t deserve to be president. What’s Obama going to do if we’re attacked again, give a nice speech about how hurt his feelings are?

  • This was just another case of soundbite where McCain can was able to showcase a new word to dig at Obama. Not only is Obama unpatriotic, now he’s also “testy”. This is the type of psychological queue that sticks in a person’s mind. Obama could say something brilliant and insightful and inspire Americans to be engaged citizens, but it won’t matter if he becomes a – vapid celebrity, unpatriotic, empty suit, arugula eating, testy limosine liberal who’s in the pocket of big oil – right before your very eyes, while McCain is able to solve all your problems.

    Calling the McCain campaign “ignorant” just doesn’t stick. It doesn’t have the subsconscious glue, than the word “testy” has. McCain’s speech writers seem very attune to this facet of the human mind. It’s very shrewd and manipulative to say the least.

  • Joey:

    That is a very good slogan. I hope alot of people take it up.

    MCCAIN WOULD RATHER START A WAR THAN LOSE AN ELECTION

  • John McCain is a testy old man. If you ask him anything that he is not prepared for he gets angry and the press gets afraid that he won’t like them anymore or treat them to barbeque. Don’t make the testy old man angry. There is no telling what he might do. He might even try to start a new war rather than lose an election.

  • I hate to admit it, but this is a pretty great ploy by McCain. By calling Obama “testy” he gets out the image of either the angry black man or the complaining black man. (depending on who hears it)

    Both of which are mighty powerful stereotypes amongst the ill-informed.

    n.b. I’m pretty sure there’s some diminishing returns with this kind of response. There’s only so many times you can respond to a response with charges of testiness before it looks like you’re just dodging the issue.

  • McCain is on record saying: “We are winning, we are!” “We are succeeding in Iraq.” “We have succeeded.”

    So why all of the present tense rhetoric about winning and losing?

    If we’ve won, if the surge has worked, not the troops – they were only part of a broader strategy called the surge – though the troops get credit for making the surge possible, as the senator has insisted, then the conversation should be near complete – Bringing them home is all that is left. Only John McCain supported the surge so he gets all of the credit.

  • I think it’s a pity Mr Obama pulled the rug out from under Gen. Wesley Clarke who was doing an excellent job of debunking JSMcC*nt’s POW and military credentials.
    You can’t afford to make mistakes like that in a tooth and claw election like this.

  • John McCain “[Obama] has made these decisions not because he doesn’t love America, but because he doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of an American defeat in Iraq, how it would risk a wider war and threaten the security of American families.”

    Nice. Could we talk about how having our military quagmired in Iraq has weakened it, made us much less popular in the Islamic world, strenghtened Iran and Al Qaeda, and has only given us corrupt allies who oppose democratic elections in 2008 and 2009 that will throw them out of office?

    No, are you going back to screaming “Support the Troops!” and “I’m a ex-POW and you hate America” again?

    Well, we tried.

    John “Zinger” McC*nt, not right for America but really, isn’t better than that other guy?

    CNN is quoting McC*nt right now.

  • Goldilocks, could not agree with you more on Clark. When I saw that unfold, I knew we were in trouble. Ask Kerry about the high road to victory?

  • To Denise: I clicked on your link to read the article about the five questions someone needs to ask McCain. I almost blew a mouth full of coffee out my nose when I got to the part about McCain beating someone with the $500 loafters…
    Thanks for the laugh!

  • This attack on Obama’s patriotism is coordinated with the slimy email campaign McCain is also running. I keep being shown these stupid things by an officemate who actually weighs the info seriously. Not just the “he’s a Muslim,” but Obama isn’t really an American citizen with a bunch of nonsense about non-existent laws about his mother’s age and when she left the country. Complete rubbish but it’s really clear that the crap McCain is also saying is directly echoing it. Totally Rovian, and the Obama people better find a way to counter it.

  • Mommy, Mommy, Johnny won’t stop calling me names. I’m supposed to be pwesident of the playground and he’s calling me names. Pwease make him stop or I’ll cwy.

  • The Obama campaign had better come up with a plan to counter this bullshit, and fast. Because right now it’s slipping away. The election is Obama’s to lose, and he’s losing it.

  • Mommy, Mommy, Johnny won’t stop calling me names. I’m supposed to be pwesident of the playground and he’s calling me names. Pwease make him stop or I’ll cwy. -Chad

    Wait, John McCain was at a playground when Obama was a child?

    What is a 30 year old doing at a playground with 5 year olds? Oh, right, he’s a Republican. He’s touching the children in bad ways.

    Chad, you truly are one astounding idiot.

  • Yes doubtful, I am an idiot, I should have explained that I was mocking Obama’s whining. But then again, an idiot would have figured that out, so what does that make you?

  • I think it’s a pity Mr Obama pulled the rug out from under Gen. Wesley Clarke who was doing an excellent job of debunking JSMcC*nt’s POW and military credentials.

    Now that’s straight talk.
    And the fact that Clark is out of the loop for VP is the worst possible mistake.

    Russia is laughing at USA’s empty lip…
    You can almost read Putin’s mind: What do they got? A broken army in Iraq?
    It really is a comedy. Now imagine a China-Russia partnership….
    They could kick Cheney’s and Chad’s and Limbaugh’s USA ass into conservative-shit rubble…

    Barack needs Clark’s military expertise like you and I need oxygen.
    Too bad he’s not keen enough to see that blind spot.
    It makes him a likely loser in November.

  • Yes doubtful, I am an idiot, I should have explained that I was mocking Obama’s whining. But then again, an idiot would have figured that out, so what does that make you? -Chad

    I did know that, so…it makes me not an idiot? That is correct! Besides, I was mocking your mocking of Obama’s supposed whining, because your mocking was so mind numbingly stupid that it deserved a healthy mocking. And I’d mock you further, but you finally spoke the truth, emphasis mine.

    It’s like you’re not even trying anymore. You’re just not going to get any McPoints for phoning it in like that.

    Are you following us all when we move? I would truly hate to lose such a grand punching bag. You keep taking the hits like a champ, I’ll give you that, but the fact remains you are still a troll without a bridge and woefully out of your league.

  • St. John:

    The ex-POW – who had also been at the Naval Academy with McCain — is Dr. Stephen Butler “a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.” The article — and it is one of the two everybody here should bookmark (and, where feasible, print out and hand to their friends) is from Military.com and the url is
    http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html

    The other ‘must-have’ (and distributable) is by Rex Nutting, the Washinton Editor of Market Watch and is at
    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/why-mccain-would-mediocre-president/story.aspx?guid=%7B4914192B%2D12AF%2D4623%2DAB18%2D5EFE91204B04%7D&dist=msr_3

    (I think the only error — except for a grammatical one — is in the title. “Mediocre” gives McCain far too much credit.)

  • #17 WaryTale said…
    “When is someone from the MSM going to ask Mr. McCain what the heck he means by “Obama wants defeat” in Iraq, when what Obama proposes is the same thing that the democratic Iraqi government is asking us to do (withdrawal on a timetable)? Oh, and that’s the very same Iraqi government which we set up with our invasion and occupation … and which is supposedly the friendly democracy in the middle east that Mr. McCain says is the definition of victory?

    When will the MSM hold the feet of these clowns to the fire over this “victory” and “defeat” BS?”

    Why is it so hard to point this baloney out? Why do we keep letting them get away with this juvenile, simplistic BS without taking them to task? Why can’t this very point be in hundreds of TV ads daily? Surely the American people can see the falacy of this if it were put in front of them plainly and succinctly.

    Anyway, well stated WT.

  • Besides questioning Obama’s patriotism, the other thing McCain does is patronize him. My opponent is confused, he’s a young man, he doesn’t know these things, etc.

    I guess McCain doesn’t know that taunting your opponent, especially a “counter puncher” as Obama calls himself, is a dangerous game.

  • On my list of issues this election, “patriotism” ranks at John McCains graduation position # 794. It’s a hooey issue.

    Is the american electorate really THIS stupid?

    Heaven help us.

  • Mccain and the republicans have no accomplishments to run on so all
    they can do is attack.
    How anyone can support this fraud is beyond me. It was so obvious
    at the so called non biased religious interview Mccain was aware of
    the questions ahead of time. He answered some before they were
    totally asked and wondered when some were going to be asked.
    His lack of intelligence messed him up while cheating.

    Our country is in many crucial turmoils. Mccain/Bush/republicans
    have done a real number on the American people.
    Let them know how intelligent we are by voting them all out of
    office.

  • I am questioning his judgment. Senator Obama has made it clear that he values withdrawal from Iraq above victory in Iraq, even today with victory in sight….

    Is President Maliki comfortable with John McCain questioning HIS judgment about the fate of a country that is supposedly under his democratic rule?

    • Comments are closed.