Booman Tribune

Question and Poll (Debate ed.)

by Steven D
Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:10:36 PM EST

Will John McCain bring up William Ayers tonight and how should Obama respond if he does?

Click on comments to vote in the poll, and/or leave a comment.



Poll
Will John McCain bring up William Ayers tonight and how should Obama respond if he does?
. No. McCain's a coward at heart. 6%
. Yes, and Obama will do that wipe off the shoulders move after laughing in his face. 9%
. Yes, and Obama wiill explain the stupidity of guilt by asociation 6%
. Yes and Obama will ask him if I'm the terrorist what does that make you because one of your advisers lobbied for Saddam Hussein. 9%
. Yes, and Obama will look over at him and say "There you go again." 3%
. Yes, and Obama will say: "Is that all you got?" 6%
. No. McCain will forget, just like he forgot to take questions at his last "town hall" event. 6%
. No, but Bob Schieffer, the moderator will ask McCain about it. 31%
. Who gives a damn besides the punditocracy, Sarah Palin and the nutjobs who want to bring back lynching? 15%
. Yes. No. Maybe. None of the above. 6%

Votes: 32
Results | Other Polls
Display:
It's the best possible way for Obama to get a national audience to refute it, show how negative McCain is, and simply say: "Times are too rough; I won't stoop to that" Debate done!

Michaela
by michaelmt (MrMichael_t@yahoo.com) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:14:46 PM EST

a re-post, you'll be glad I did.

go take a read of Ben Smith's email from a GOP consultant on a focus group in upper midwestern state:

Voting for Obama anyway - Reagan Dems and Independents. Call them blue-collar plus. Slightly more Target than Walmart.

BTW, Obama is moving staff from Michigan to Indiana.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:19:59 PM EST
"The notion that I'm guilty by association with a guy who committed reprehensible acts when I was 8 years old is beneath you, and shows America that 4 more years of divisive politics is all that you're capable of offering America when we are in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression..."  Then launch into middle class solutions, and then mention the middle class some more.

John McCain hates children
by magster on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:21:28 PM EST
and don't forget the middle class, and people losing jobs, and homes, and pension plans....

You want to talk about the Vietnam war?

"We reported back to hearts what we had seen, and told our footsteps all about where we had been."

by Frank Schnittger (Frankschnittger at hotmail dotty communists) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 02:09:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
If he does bring it up, McCain will demonstrate clearly his lack of leadership skills.  He will have learned nothing from the results of his past negative attacks.  

Fear will keep the local systems in line. -Grand Moff Tarkin -SLB-
by boran2 (blogistan@yahoo.com) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:23:48 PM EST

Mayor Mike Bloomberg on tonight's debate

"Nobody wants to see McCain slug him," Bloomberg said.

"People want somebody to solve our problems. Terri Schiavo isn't the issue, burning flags isn't the issue, that other guy [Bill Ayers] isn't the issue. It's who can govern the country and come up with ideas."

Asked if talking about issues was a realistic path to victory given McCain's urgent need to shake up the race, Bloomberg suggested the Arizona senator look in the mirror.

"The question is, Who is he and what is he?" the mayor said. "If his whole strategy is, 'What's it take to win' then he shouldn't win and maybe he won't win because the public is a lot smarter than that."

other than rabid rednecks, is there a sane adult out there who is proud of McPalin's campaign?

I have a hunch this election will surprise way to the upside.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
First, I'd give the cliff's notes version of what my relationship with Ayers was. He is a college professor, I served with him and a bunch of Republicans on a Republican-financed education board, I was eight years old when this other stuff happened.

But THEN...I would tell the story of South Carolina in 2000. About how, when Bush was in danger of losing, he unleashed Rove to destroy McCain's character.  They went after McCain's war record, they they went after his wife, they went after his children. The same people who swift-boated war hero John Kerry in 2004.

And now, instead of repudiating such attacks, John McCain has hired these same people to deploy these same baseless characters attacks against me. Americans are tired of this stuff. And John, one day you're gonna look back and wish you'd run on the issues, not on these distractions.

by existenz on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:35:59 PM EST
I really can't venture a guess as to whether McCain himself will bring it up.  My gut tells me "NO". But I do think Bob Schieffer will touch on it.

But one thing that I have learned as a spectator during this whole crazy campaign, it is this.  If circumstances allow an appropriate response by Obama on this issue he will absolutely and unequivocally hit it out of the park.  His ability to strike the perfect tone, intensity and reassurance when answering almost any question is truly a marvel to behold.  That's not to say he cannot potentially stumble and fumble or be tripped up.  He is merely a human being.  It's just that I haven't really seen any sign that he will allow this to happen.  In my lifetime I don't think I have ever seen a more focused and disciplined candidate for public office.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

by MikeInOhio (miken45054@yahoo.com) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:48:36 PM EST
I'm not going to speculate because McCain is so erratic I have no clue as to what he's going to do tonight - I suspect that he doesn't know yet either.

Additionally, I'm not going to pontificate on what I think Obama should do because he seems to have mad political skillz that outclass little ol' me in every way.  So whatever he comes up with as a response is almost guaranteed to be much better than anything I might suggest.

by nonynony on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:52:09 PM EST

The economic pain back drops the debate.

Dow down over 500 points as

Bernanke says U.S. economy facing big threat.

U.S. mood plummets to 89.7

Americans are feeling dramatically more gloomy about the direction of the country and their personal finances.

We're in for 2-3 years of severe recession.

Good for Obama the implosion happened on Bush's watch.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 02:14:23 PM EST
I voted, by the way that the moderator of the debate will ask McCain about it.

John McCain hates my wife because she's a "gook."
by Steven D on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:11:34 PM EST
when Gibson and Stephanapoulous ambushed Obama with William Ayers and flag pins and all that stuff. He'd be treading in dangerous waters by injecting that into the debate, rather than let McCain himself bring it up.

Americans don't care about this issue. Only the rabid right wing. It's not Schieffer's job to bring up Republican smear attacks. I mean, is he gonna bring up AIP, Troopergate, Keating 5? He should, but I doubt it. Wouldn't want to see "biased" for Obama.

So I have a hard time seeing Schieffer bring it up, but then again his brother has Bush ties so who knows...

by existenz on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:41:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Me too, McCain's killer base is asking for too much red meat with it and McCain takes the risk that Obama slams an answer out of the ballpark that leaves the the base scratching their heads and the surrogates with a diminshed attack card.
McCain uses Ayers to ask 'who is Obama really?'
If Obama can use an Ayers question to lay that one away McCain has lost use of 100% of his campaign ads.


by mainsailset on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:55:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
if he brings it up, Obama should ask him about William Timmons, and why McKKKain employs a known terrortist sympathiser.
he could frame it like this: "mr. McKKKain has made a big deal about Bil Ayers, who was indeed committing crimes when I was all of 8 years old.  However, Ayers has been throughly rehabilitated for years..."

Here he brings up al the factoids I haven't paid attention to, Annenberg etc.  Then he closes with "i don't understand why my opponent is so obsessed with attempted terrorist attacks committed nearly 50 years, when his own campaign advisor narrowly avoided jail time for illegally lobbying to do busienss wioth Saddam Hussein himself!  John, why did you hire a man who lobbyed on behalf of a bloodthirsty dictator who gassed his own people and who we recently deposed?"

so by all means, bring that shit on.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 01:44:11 PM EST
Ummmmmm - Saddam Hussein was not a terrorist, so that is not a terrorist connection.
by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 05:01:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
yeah well, william ayers' crimes took place when obama was 8, so that shouldn't matter either but apparently it does.

If they want to play hardball gutter politics, they shoudl get it right back. Did you miss Greenwald's excellent post in which Robert Gibbs (Obama's Communications Director) responded to Sean Hannity's attempts to play the guilt-by-association game with Obama/Ayers by playing the same game linking Hannity to anti-semite Andy Martin?  If not, you should, and then you wouldn't be nitpicking over whether Saddam Hussein is a terrorist or not.  For better or worse, the right wing base believes SH was a terrorist: so take their perception and epoxy it to their candidate.


John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 06:23:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Negative campaigning i an issue in US politics so Obama should seize the opportunity (if McCain offers it) to inform low information voters what really is the truth behind the attacks.

"We reported back to hearts what we had seen, and told our footsteps all about where we had been."
by Frank Schnittger (Frankschnittger at hotmail dotty communists) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 02:15:37 PM EST
pharmacologicals, really. Bet on it.

IF:

1-McPain can remember what he is and is not supposed to do.

2-He can control himself while he does what is supposed to do.

3-He is not too worn out to function well enough to make a fight of it.

4-And if his time-release uppers do not leave stranded high and dry in mid-debate.

Then maybe he has a shot at using that Ayers weapon semi-effectively.

_______________________

The facts in this regard are as follows:

Obama is a defensive specialist.

McCain is all almost all offense.

and

Between the two of them, only one is in his prime.

Obama wins.

Odds? About 10 to 1.

And that's being kind.

Watch.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Wed Oct 15th, 2008 at 03:44:57 PM EST


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