<p>Absolutely, zoos! I’m out the door myself in a few minutes.</p>
<p>One problem Obama has is that it’s difficult to make some of the off-setting criticisms of McCain without looking too cruel. For example, the obvious rejoinder to “inexerienced” is “too old.” Obama’s camp will have to use stand-ins for that, such as “doesn’t know how to use the Internet.”</p>
<p>One tiny thing: Can you link to Senator McCain or his campaign attacking the patriotism of Senator Obama, rather than Senator Obama’s word for it?</p>
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I think that’s a legitimate criticism. Maybe a different perspective, but I don’t see that as a personal attack. What I did think was a personal attack (not by the Obama campaign in any way) was Jacques Pepin making fun of Senator McCain’s teeth.</p>
<p>My mother is concerned by the fact that Obama has purple lips.</p>
<p>For starters, saying that Obama would prefer to lose a war to win an election says volumes–that he cares more about his personal ego than anything else, including his country. That was something I never expected to hear from McCain, who I’ve generally respected for many years. It was beneath him.</p>
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Maybe Im just a crass and ballsy New Yorker, because I didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about those things and I disagree that the first really happened that way. The Paris Hilton ad was clever, sharp and made a valid point about Senator Obama and his lack of experience. This is a presidential campaign, not a tea party.</p>
<p>(My meeting has been postponed for a few)</p>
<p>To be honest, the Paris Hilton ad didn’t particularly bother me either–though I much preferred her rebuttal ad. 
You’re a crass and ballsy New Yorker and I’m a redneck hayseed from Kentucky. It’s great that we can have these discussions. Modern technology … ya gotta love it! :D</p>
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Wasn’t the actual quote that Senator McCain, himself, would rather lose an election than lose a war? (Could be wrong about that though) In the context of Obama and many others saying that the war was lost and we should pull out promptly, that was an issues-driven question and timely. I don’t think there’s any question that losing the war would have been politically good for Obama, although I am confident that he wouldn’t wish that, so the point was a legitimate one. Just because an issue is tough and it hurts a candidate and makes him look bad doesn’t mean it’s out of bounds. The attacks on Senator Obama’s wife were and are out of bounds. Calling him a Muslim is out of bounds – but only because he is not. The fight on the right to have the Annenberg documents released is a fair one and it makes Senator Obama look bad. That doesn’t make it out of bounds. Senator Obama’s connections to Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, et al. are legitimate. We need to vet him completely, not just shine a light on him. He has not been anointed. Same for Senator McCain. The slur to his wife thing is out of bounds because never proven. His temper is not out of bounds. The S&L scandal is absolutely inbounds, as is his memory, age, and health. But not his kids. Same for Obama.</p>
<p>Hindoo, I have relatives in Kentucky. Maybe we’re related!</p>
<p>I wasn’t outraged about the Paris Hilton ad, because I thought it was kind of silly, and may have backfired anyway. But the claim that Obama would lose a war to win an election was, in my mind, a low blow and a clear attack on Obama’s patriotism. It would be akin to saying that McCain put U.S. troops in harm’s way for his own political gain when he supported the “surge.” Obama was right to hit back–it was Kerry’s failure to hit back, in my opinion, that cost him the last election.</p>
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<p>Absolutely! As zoosermom said in an earlier post, these guys need gonads to make it through a successful campaign. Kerry didn’t. Obama better get some, fast.</p>
<p>McCain has said it several times, in several ways. His campaign issued a memo that said, in part: “Barack Obama has determined that he would rather lose a war that we are winning than lose an election by alienating his base.”</p>
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How is that statement untrue in the context of the time in which it was said? Other than being ugly, is it really untrue?</p>
<p>It claims that Obama would lose a war for political gain. You can’t really tell whether it’s true or not without looking into Obama’s soul, but it’s a gross insult. Again, it would be like saying that McCain has determined that he would rather have more U.S. soldiers die in a useless war rather than admitting he was wrong about it. That’s “true” in the same way, right?</p>
<p>First of all, some of us … many of us, don’t see Iraq as a “winnable” war, and McCain has yet to define what a “victory” there would be. Obama shared my belief from the outset that we didn’t belong in Iraq (so I don’t feel he’s pandering to his base all these years later). As far as I know, he’s never said: “Now that we’re there, let’s lose this war.” He’d like to get our soldiers out of harm’s way as soon as is reasonably possible, though he’s said he’ll consult closely with military leaders on the ground there before making any decisions. He just doesn’t sound that radical, unpatriotic, or pandering to me. Or is it just me?</p>
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<p>Perhaps McCain is psychic–like Bush was when he looked into Putin’s soul. ;)</p>
<p>In a book McCain wrote back in 2002 he said that the only reason he ran for president was because of ambition.</p>
<p>[McCain’s</a> ambition comes back to bite him](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26301020#26301020]McCain’s”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26301020#26301020)</p>
<p>Also, any other Obama supporters getting frustrated with Obama? Why in the world isn’t he going after McCain? Why has he allowed McCain to continue lying about offshore drilling and say that it will lower gas prices?</p>
<p>Today the Reuters’ poll has McCain winning by 5 points! Can Obama finally go after McCain now that McCain is no longer an underdog?</p>
<p>Lastly, does the Obama campaign know what they are doing? I think seriously think that a lot of us on CC could be doing a better job than they are. I think they are giving the average American too much credit…</p>
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What you CAN say is that the policies he was espousing at that time (for his political gain) would have had that outcome. I don’t think to look in his soul or anyone else’s but I do think that would have been the outcome at that time and Senator McCain called him on the consequences of his own words.</p>
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<p>I think Senator Obama is extremely radical, but I still haven’t seen him called unpatriotic. Just telling everyone that he was and repeating it.</p>