Michelle Malkin » Reports: Supporter begs McCain to fight; McCain bungles the ball; Update: Some positive reviews added; plus vid link

Reports: Supporter begs McCain to fight; McCain bungles the ball; Update: Some positive reviews added; plus vid link

By Michelle Malkin • October 9, 2008 02:12 PM

I am away from my office, so haven’t seen the video of this yet. But several readers are reporting on a frustrating exchange John McCain had with a passionate supporter in Waukesha, Wisconsin. McCain gets a softball — and bungles again.

Banging. Head. Against. Wall.

Commenter nyc123me:

CNNlive online covering McCain/Palin event in Wisconsin. A guy just got up and begged McCain to take it to Obama in the next debate regarding all his shady associations. The crowd went for it big time. McCain said ‘yes I will’ and immediately started about something else. I don’t believe he will.

Reader Jeff e-mails:

He did it, but he had to be goaded into it. Called out Barney Frank and Chris Dodd when someone asked if he was going to name names and call for investigations. And people shouting ACORN, until he responded strongly about investigating them before the election

Also some guy was so riled up about McCain doing something to fight the socialists - Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid!

Stephen Hayes at the Weekly Standard reports more details — including something that made me grit my teeth last night when I heard him say it on FNC last night. Quit saying you “don’t care” about Ayers’ terrorist record. Stop that!

In response to a broad question about how Barack Obama “got here” — presumably got his lead — John McCain didn’t name Bill Ayers but spoke of him directly. McCain said “We don’t care about an old washed up terrorist and his wife” who said earlier this decade that he wished they were more successfu. (Several in the crowd chanted: “Yes we do!”)

…The next question came from a black McCain supporter, who reminded McCain of the candidate’s plea at the convention for his supporters to do everything possible to ensure a victory. The supporter said: “I doubt that anyone has taken, pardon me, the ass-whoopin’ I have taken for doing that.” He then implored McCain to go after Barack Obama at the next debate and asked him to raise ACORN and Reverend Wright. “I am begging you, sir,” he said, as the crowd stood and applauded.

McCain, as my readers above noted, said “Yes, I will,” then hurriedly changed the topic.

We’re Screwed ‘08!

***

A commenter below thinks McCain did “fine.” But what does it tell you that the man has to be goaded and prodded and dragged into going on the offensive on ACORN/Ayers/Democrat Fannie-Freddie corruptocrats? It tells you what I’ve been saying out loud for quite some time — that McCain has always had much more of a stomach for taking own his own base than he has had for taking on the radical Left.

If there is a special medicine to cure him of this pathology, get him an IV drip of it, stat.

Question for discussion: Is it too little, too late?

Update: Rush Limbaugh has apparently played a few clips of the event and other readers are giving the answers positive reviews. Feel free to chime in.

Posted in: Bill Ayers, John McCain

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#301

On October 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pm, Dimsdale said:

On October 9th, 2008 at 9:14 pm, chapoutier said:

Sorry to all those who wanted a link. I should have provided it in the beginning and before I took off:

I can’t find the direct source for some reason, but this link does explain the source and differences in figures.

Again, one can draw their own conclusions from this, whether or not they think that director’s contributions are meaningful or not or whatever. But I am curious as to what the board perception of these numbers when compared to say, Tancredo or Thompson, back in January or February when McCain pretty much hated on this board.

It is odd that the NYTimes doesn’t just link to the sources that gave them the figures. And employees are employees. Why the CRP would consider people that work for different companies as non employees is odd, unless their contributions were a sum based on all of their jobs, for which we have zero data.

The relevant paragraphs:

The total listed for Obama is $126,349 — a tiny fraction of the approximately $390 million his campaign has raised, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The list shows McCain has received a total of $21,550 from Fannie and Freddie employees. The list includes donations of at least $200 from those who receive paychecks from Fannie and Freddie. It also includes donations from political action committees — pooled contributions from employees. Obama decided early in his presidential run not to accept PAC contributions, but the Center for Responsive Politics’ list includes all contributions for members of Congress dating back to 1989 — including Obama and McCain’s Senate campaigns.

The New York Times has published a separate list looking at contributions from “directors, officers, and lobbyists for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” for the 2008 campaign cycle. That list — using figures from the Federal Election Commission — shows McCain receiving $169,000, while Obama received only $16,000.

Explaining the difference, the Center for Responsive Politics said on its Web site that it does not include members of the board of directors because they could serve on boards of various companies. Their contributions are listed along with other employees of the companies they work for. And the center says lobbyists usually represent multiple clients as well, so their contributions are listed under their lobbying firms — except in-house lobbyists, who are included in the center’s list.

This last sentence is the most concerning, as they say that “Their contributions are listed along with other employees of the companies they work for.” Well, why not F/F?

On the other hand, given the differences between the candidates on the this issue, both now and in the recent past, it is possible that some of the officers/managers/directors agreed with McCain as they watched their company crash and burn.

I guess we will never really know, although I would be prone to suspect that the NYTimes would present the worst possible scenario for McCain since they are pro Obama. That is purely opinion on my part, though it is reasonably well supported by the NYTimes track record.
#302

On October 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm, reshas1 said:

Here are both vids..

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=796
#303

On October 10th, 2008 at 10:52 pm, Digshot said:

I’m surprised no one has mentioned in retort (at least that I saw) that although what you say about Republicans is true, conservatives have been shut out of government for the past 10 years. Each time a Republican is elected to office, conservatives hope and pray that they will actually implement a conservative agenda. Republicans, at least of late, seem to have no identifiable ideology, except of course retaining office like most hollow politicians. Conservatives have been disappointed countless times over the past decade plus. Hope springs eternal however, that we’ll one day get someone in office to actually govern as a conservative. True conservatism works every time it’s tried

That’s actually a pretty typical retort. ‘Oh, these aren’t the real Republicans. We’re the real Republicans.’ Yeah? Well, why do you real ones keep voting for the fake ones? Why is all of this criticism only coming at the tail end of Bush’s Presidency? Because for awhile there, it really sounded like you guys were pretty cool with everything these allegedly fake Republicans were doing. I’ve been arguing with people like you for years that Bush isn’t conservative at all, only to be told that I have ‘Bush Derangement Syndrome,’ or I hate America, or I support defeat, and on and on. Now you’re telling me I’ve been right about him all along, I guess? Maybe you should just take my advice about who to vote for, since you seem to be admitting that you’re very easily duped.