McCain Ad: Obama’s a ‘Hypocritical’ Liar

By
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 at 12:27 pm

In its newest TV ad, titled “Hypo,” the McCain campaign labels Sen. Barack Obama a “hypocritical” liar.

I’ll pause a moment to allow the irony — some might call it hypocrisy — of that sentence to sink in.

PRODUCTION NOTES: Oh, where to begin?

The spot begins with a story that was reported a couple of weeks ago in Missouri. The story was about Obama’s Missouri “truth squad,” which is composed of numerous Missouri public officials, including some prosecutors and sheriffs. The squad’s purpose is to rapidly respond to false or misleading anti-Obama ads in the state.

Missouri Republicans quickly pointed to the presence of law enforcement officials on the squad as evidence that the Obama campaign intended to intimidate, or even lock up, people who criticized its candidate — and the story linked above appeared to confirm that.

Matt Blunt, the Republican governor, issued a statement condemning the truth squad as “scandalous beyond words.”

However, as ABC’s Jake Tapper reported,  John Mills, the reporter, subsequently clarified his story, saying that the truth squad would hold a news conference to call out misleading ads.

As for the rest of the McCain ad, it’s all fair game. There is no question that both candidates have made false claims about each other.

For McCain, however, to try to lay claim to the high road, at this late date, is more than a little absurd — especially after FactCheck.org called a McCain attack ad released yesterday “dishonorable” because of its distortions.

The real kicker is that McCain comes right out and says Obama “lied,” when he “promised better.”

Don’t forget that McCain daily promised through early summer to run an honorable campaign. So perhaps Obama did lie when he promised better, but so did McCain. Neither candidate has lived up to their early promises to run a different kind of campaign — and that’s a real shame.

It’s also the point of the ad. If McCain can convince voters that he hasn’t been the only candidate dragging the presidential campaign into the ditch, he might be able to gin up some sympathy for playing by the old rules.

But McCain’s operation developed a reputation for dishonesty early on, and such labels are hard to shake. By making William Ayers a campaign issue, and reviving Obama’s association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as Gov. Sarah Palin has done, the McCain campaign risks resurrecting its rep for dishonesty.

Obama immediately hit back with Charles Keating. It may have been a smart move, politically, but it also played right into McCain’s hands by showing that Obama is willing to play that game too.

Comments

6 Comments

votetheday.com
Comment posted October 7, 2008 @ 1:21 pm

Looks like this year we are able to choose our candidate not only by his policies, but by thinking, is he a lesser liar. So, voters, defend your choice – who is competing honorably, and who is a bigger liar – Obama or McCain? http://www.votetheday.com/americas-20/president…


Jack Kennedy
Comment posted October 7, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

There was only one candidate pontificating about being above the fray. It was the change, change, change candidate – friend of radicals and terrorists.

Yes, obama is the change, change, change. Just what Real Americans want – radicals


Jack
Comment posted October 7, 2008 @ 2:58 pm

I hate Obama hes wrong for america. McCain has EXPERIENCE!!!
OBAMA SUCKSS!
McCain-Palin '08


liz987
Comment posted October 9, 2008 @ 8:58 am

No one is required to sit back and let people attack you without the RIGHT to attack back. McPain started all the attacks and supporters of Obama have pretty much demanded he (or someone) respond. Self-defense is a RIGHT.

McCain's lies go back decades when he first, according to Cindy McCain “followed” her around the room. When they finally got face-to-face McCain told the lie that he was 4 years younger and she told the lie that she was 4 years older. He was also MARRIED at the time. The cheating on his first wife (who was crippled in an auto accident) did not begin with Cindy but she was a rich beauty queen so he realized he had hit the “jackpot”.


davboz
Comment posted October 31, 2008 @ 4:40 pm

What do you mean, “Oh, where to begin?” Good God, man.
I can just see you – whoever you are – with forearm to forehead, eyes skyward, a drawn out groan leading into the…”Ooooh”.]
This is exactly what we see from one end of the public landscape to the other. The popular belief is that it is the best effective approach to react in overly dramatic fashion to a claim or statement revealing of Obama in hopes that that statement will be deemed to be preposterous. I mean REALLY! How outlandish the claim must be to illicit such a response! R-I-G-H-T?
In the style of the ugliest, rudest “liberal” blogs, the writer adopts a stance of ethical purity, points to something related to the camp of anyone they hate, then proceed to distort, mis-state, and often directly lie about it in an effort to show how “wrong”, “dishonest”, “ugly”, or “hateful” it is.
In trying to defend activities which are “scandalous” – maybe not “beyond words” – you ridicule the Governor for calling them “scandalous beyond words”.
I'd have to say what you're doing here is pretty scandalous. The McCain ad definitely did NOT appear to confirm that anyone accused the Missouri legal officials of threatening to “lock up” anybody.
The fact that these people made these intimidating statements in the capacity of their professional legal and law enforcement roles is something that should be condemned by everyone no matter their political persuasion. This is EVERYTHING that is AGAINST what America is rooted in. The fact that anyone but those of the most fanatic, extreme element can defend this intimidation is proof of just what the warning bells have been clanging about.
The suppressive intimidation style tactics of Barack Obama supporters, spurred on by the subtle urgings and approvals within the speech of Barack Obama, showed itself in little drips and drops early on. And, right on cue, in a manner most sly, is the reaction to the alarm bells that go off in response to the unfolding thugocracy: = Coming in the form of denials, claims of innocence, even, yes, dramatic exasperation, – while at the same time – delivering the undercurrent of MORE threat of intimidation should one not cease efforts to expose the Messiah.
Too many progressives have now copped the attitude that they are so much more evolved that with psychological ploys they can totally dominate the landscape. I followed the blog comments starting several years ago as the seeds of this mugging were planted in expressions of angry, unified agreement, approving and promoting the ethics of lying, denying, and attacking. Arrogance, displayed in just the right way as the lead intimidation, right away takes out a certain number of the opposition who, when confronted with it, bow down early as their poor self-image tells them their own views are less important, their own thinking processes less developed, their own beliefs irrelevant in the face of such powerful and arrogant blog-style thuggery. The thinking of the victims goes like this:=
Surely, with such passion dressed in pomp, seemingly of a level this elite, …Oh they must be right.
And although I don't quite get what it is they are seeing that I'm not seeing,…well they all seem so much more intelligent ..(that IS why they are so arrogant and pompous, right? …cause they are so evolved?….that HAS to be just a healthy self-image they have, right?…cause they're smarter?..golly,…wish I was smarter,…..)….So I'll ignore reality, join the fantasy and fall for Barack Obama. Because, darn it, I'm just not smart enough.
But those smug ones are. They've psychologically played me just like a fiddle. You know, a dumb, stupid, okie type fiddle. I can't even remember my own name. But..what is it?…oh,yeah,…Obama. …and …Change!.. OK I got it…. Now WHO are we intimidating?…Not me???? whew. Anyone who says anything against Obama? OK Now I'm smarter too!…. After the “Change”..will I still be smarter too?…..Wha….Wait,…I thought I was in the club…..Uh,…No, I don't want to pay higher taxes to give economic stimulus to those freeloaders every year. I just achieved this wealth rewarding the past 20 years of hard work. WAIT. I thought I was smarter like you! Remember? Arrogance? Pomp? Wha happen?


davboz
Comment posted October 31, 2008 @ 11:40 pm

What do you mean, “Oh, where to begin?” Good God, man.
I can just see you – whoever you are – with forearm to forehead, eyes skyward, a drawn out groan leading into the…”Ooooh”.]
This is exactly what we see from one end of the public landscape to the other. The popular belief is that it is the best effective approach to react in overly dramatic fashion to a claim or statement revealing of Obama in hopes that that statement will be deemed to be preposterous. I mean REALLY! How outlandish the claim must be to illicit such a response! R-I-G-H-T?
In the style of the ugliest, rudest “liberal” blogs, the writer adopts a stance of ethical purity, points to something related to the camp of anyone they hate, then proceed to distort, mis-state, and often directly lie about it in an effort to show how “wrong”, “dishonest”, “ugly”, or “hateful” it is.
In trying to defend activities which are “scandalous” – maybe not “beyond words” – you ridicule the Governor for calling them “scandalous beyond words”.
I'd have to say what you're doing here is pretty scandalous. The McCain ad definitely did NOT appear to confirm that anyone accused the Missouri legal officials of threatening to “lock up” anybody.
The fact that these people made these intimidating statements in the capacity of their professional legal and law enforcement roles is something that should be condemned by everyone no matter their political persuasion. This is EVERYTHING that is AGAINST what America is rooted in. The fact that anyone but those of the most fanatic, extreme element can defend this intimidation is proof of just what the warning bells have been clanging about.
The suppressive intimidation style tactics of Barack Obama supporters, spurred on by the subtle urgings and approvals within the speech of Barack Obama, showed itself in little drips and drops early on. And, right on cue, in a manner most sly, is the reaction to the alarm bells that go off in response to the unfolding thugocracy: = Coming in the form of denials, claims of innocence, even, yes, dramatic exasperation, – while at the same time – delivering the undercurrent of MORE threat of intimidation should one not cease efforts to expose the Messiah.
Too many progressives have now copped the attitude that they are so much more evolved that with psychological ploys they can totally dominate the landscape. I followed the blog comments starting several years ago as the seeds of this mugging were planted in expressions of angry, unified agreement, approving and promoting the ethics of lying, denying, and attacking. Arrogance, displayed in just the right way as the lead intimidation, right away takes out a certain number of the opposition who, when confronted with it, bow down early as their poor self-image tells them their own views are less important, their own thinking processes less developed, their own beliefs irrelevant in the face of such powerful and arrogant blog-style thuggery. The thinking of the victims goes like this:=
Surely, with such passion dressed in pomp, seemingly of a level this elite, …Oh they must be right.
And although I don't quite get what it is they are seeing that I'm not seeing,…well they all seem so much more intelligent ..(that IS why they are so arrogant and pompous, right? …cause they are so evolved?….that HAS to be just a healthy self-image they have, right?…cause they're smarter?..golly,…wish I was smarter,…..)….So I'll ignore reality, join the fantasy and fall for Barack Obama. Because, darn it, I'm just not smart enough.
But those smug ones are. They've psychologically played me just like a fiddle. You know, a dumb, stupid, okie type fiddle. I can't even remember my own name. But..what is it?…oh,yeah,…Obama. …and …Change!.. OK I got it…. Now WHO are we intimidating?…Not me???? whew. Anyone who says anything against Obama? OK Now I'm smarter too!…. After the “Change”..will I still be smarter too?…..Wha….Wait,…I thought I was in the club…..Uh,…No, I don't want to pay higher taxes to give economic stimulus to those freeloaders every year. I just achieved this wealth rewarding the past 20 years of hard work. WAIT. I thought I was smarter like you! Remember? Arrogance? Pomp? Wha happen?


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