October 11, 2008 1:33:32 AM CDT
(Newser) – John McCain took full aim at Barack Obama tonight, now that "pundits and party elders" have declared him to be the Democratic nominee, Politico reports. He ridiculed Obama for repeatedly trying to link him to President Bush's policies and trumpeted his independent credentials. Obama has bought into "so many failed ideas," he said, including the current Bush-backed energy bill. Before the stump speech, though, he lavished praise on Hillary Clinton.
"The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans, and she deserves a lot more appreciation than she sometimes received," McCain said. "As the father of three daughters, I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond their reach. I am proud to call her my friend."
Source Politico
Oct 10, 08 5:16 PM CDT Going so far as to call him a “pig,” Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has launched a full-on war of words with Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh called Mitchell a "racist nutball" and ridiculed her and other “drive-by journalists” for saying Sarah Palin and John McCain should restrain supporters at their rallies, some of whom have shouted "kill him" and "terrorist." More »
Oct 10, 08 3:27 PM CDT We did have an October surprise, after all, in the form of an economic collapse, and it "all but certainly decided the race," writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal. But as she watches Democrats' 'smug triumphalism" and angry Republicans' finger-pointing, Noonan can't help but think that "both campaigns, in the closing stretch, seem not fully worthy of the moment." More »
Oct 10, 08 2:01 PM CDT Wall Street is reeling, but the real depression has set in among Republicans who seem resigned to losing the White House. "Yet for all the gloom, there are several reasons why this race is by no means over," Victor David Hanson writes for the National Review. The neocon Democrat sees "certain deer-in-the-headlights moments among Obama’s handlers." More »
Oct 10, 08 1:42 PM CDT With a record of immigration reform, John McCain once appeared a near-lock for the Hispanic vote—but the bloc is instead turning to Barack Obama, Politico reports. McCain is hovering around 26%, nowhere near Bush's historic 40% in the last election. Not only is McCain not getting credit for his prior support of reform, he's being associated with the GOP's general anti-immigration sentiment, thanks in part to Democratic ads. More »
Oct 10, 08 12:56 PM CDT Raising the specter of Barack Obama’s ties with the likes of Bill Ayers is perfectly legitimate, and John McCain's only fault is that he didn't start sooner, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post. These associations “provide a significant insight into character” and “are particularly relevant” for a candidate “as new, unknown, opaque, and self-contained as Obama,” he writes. But mention the links and the media bemoans “dirty campaigning tinged with racism and McCarthyite guilt by association.” More »
Barack Obama • John McCain • Election 2008
