Aide: Mac 'Greatest Closer of All Time'

Defends use of same tactic used against him in 2000

(NEWSER) - John McCain defended his use of robocalls on Fox News Sunday, arguing his attacks on Barack Obama are different from the slanderous calls that targeted him during the 2000 primaries, Politico reports. “These are legitimate and truthful and they are far different than the phone calls that were made about my family,” he said. On other talk shows:

• Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told This Week with George Stephanopoulos that Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama “eliminated the experience argument."

GOP candidate once sat on board of far-right group linked to "anti-Semites"

(NEWSER) - With the election campaign in its last month, the Sunday talk shows turned to John McCain’s substantial slide in the polls, Politico reports. The highlights:

• Vice-presidential debate moderator and soon-to-be author Gwen Ifill suggested on Meet the Press that hype over her alleged pro-Obama bias came from a twitchy Sarah Palin camp: “It was also interesting to realize that if changing the subject from the stakes of the vice-presidential debate, then talking about the moderator, instead of talking about the candidate, they would do that.”
• Sarah Palin’s attempt to tie Barack Obama to a radical leftist is a “strategic mistake,” ex-Clintonite Paul Begala told Meet the Press, arguing that McCain himself once sat on the board of a far-right group Begala termed “a point of contact for extremists, racists, and anti-Semites.”

Biden dominates Sunday talk shows

(NEWSER) - The newly announced Obama/Biden ticket predictably dominated the talk shows today. Politico gives the run-down:

• Obama VP adviser Caroline Kennedy told Meet the Press she hoped Joe Biden would prove to be as sage a pick as her father's choice of LBJ.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned Biden's rep for gaffes into a snipe at Bush on NBC, saying Obama "is not just choosing a yes man, but a person that will speak what he believes.”

Dems hit competing morning talk shows

(NEWSER) - Obama likened Hillary's stance on Iran to George Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" on Meet the Press today, while Clinton took to ABC to defend the gas tax and told voters mired in the Jeremiah Wright controversy "We should move on." Tim Russert ignored her advice, however, and devoted his first 18 minutes to the pastor, reports the New York Times. “Obviously, it’s distracted us,” Obama admitted. More»

Obama aide defends Geithner; Graham: country 'screwed' if this is bipartisanship

(NEWSER) - Calling Tim Geithner’s economic rescue plan “a very thoughtful strategy,” David Axelrod said the economic stimulus will be felt soon and defended the treasury secretary today on NBC’s Meet the Press. President Obama’s senior adviser said Wall Street’s expectations were unrealistic and that the White House would listen to “kitchen-table chatter” over Beltway blather “to stay on a truer course.” Elsewhere, the spirit of bipartisanship cratered on the Sunday circuit: More»