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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: smear campaign

smear campaign stories: 24 news summaries

1 - 20 of 24 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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ANALYSIS

'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy' Returns With Same Cast 

But Clinton thinks forces aren't as strong as those he faced

Oct 5, 09 10:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans may be "less receptive" to right-wing messages than they were in the days of Bill Clinton, but as the former president put it last week on Meet the Press, the “vast right-wing conspiracy” that threatened to destroy his presidency is making an encore appearance—and it's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Bill Clinton • smear campaign • political advertising • President Obama • birther • Newsmax • National Republican Trust PAC • Scott Wheeler • Christopher Ruddy • Vince Foster

Meet the Man Calling Obama
a Muslim

Lawsuit-loving, anti-Semitic eccentric behind false rumors

Oct 13, 08 8:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The pernicious rumors that Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim can be traced to one man, the New York Times reports: Andy Martin, a failed lawyer and politician known for his anti-Semitic comments and frivolous lawsuits. In 2004 Martin released a press release calling Obama a Muslim, and he... More »

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Barack Obama • Muslim • smear campaign • anti-Semitism • Election 2008 • Andy Martin

OPINION

McCain Resorts to Atwater's Bag of Dirty Tricks

They're trying to turn Obama into Willie Horton, Dowd writes

Oct 8, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Before Karl Rove, Maureen Dowd reminds us, it was Lee Atwater who masterminded the Republican smear campaign, and his demolition of Michael Dukakis was his greatest, dirtiest success. Atwater painted the 1988 candidate as a weak Harvard-educated elitist with a weird last name, a man who supported "the Scary... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • race • smear campaign • Maureen Dowd • Michael Dukakis • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin • Willie Horton • Lee Atwater

ANALYSIS

Race's Sharper Attacks Run Economic Risk

Knife-fight tactics are out of place in crisis, strategists say

Oct 7, 08 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain continue to sharpen their verbal barrage on each other ahead of tonight's debate, with Sarah Palin even going so far yesterday as to denounce Obama as "not one of us." But in economic upheaval, both candidates risk sounding off-message or even irrelevant, writes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • smear campaign • character • Election 2008 • economy • Sarah Palin • Keating Five

OPINION

 In '08, It's the Issues, Stupid 

For once, 'superficialities' won't win this election

Oct 6, 08 9:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Despite the accepted wisdom that “superficialities” win American elections, “substance is in this year,” writes Michael Tomasky in the Guardian. Just look at the public response to the debates and the financial crisis: Without zingers or folksy winks, Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the debates in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • smear campaign • campaign issues • Election 2008 • campaign tactics

 Fake Polls Smear 
 'Muslim' Obama 

Callers link candidate to Hamas, imply he is a Muslim in calls

Oct 3, 08 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - The ugly tactic of “push polling” has resurfaced in key swing states, as fake pollsters seek to influence voters with scam questions that present an unfavorable view of Barack Obama, the Guardian reports. On one call, a Jewish voter in Pennsylvania says, she was asked if she would vote... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Barack Obama • Ohio • poll • Muslim • smear campaign • political activism • Jeremiah Wright • Election 2008

OPINION

 McCain's Lies Cross the Line 

Senator has run a dirty campaign

Sep 18, 08 12:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Politicians often stretch the truth, but John McCain has taken things to a new level, writes Joe Klein in Time. Journalists usually play softball when criticizing candidates’ falsehoods, but now even the restrained New York Times editorial board is calling McCain a liar. McCain’s campaign has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • smear campaign • lying • negative campaigning • McCain 2008

Obama Blasts Mac's 'Phony Outrage' in Lipstick Flap

GOP distracting from issues with 'Swift Boat politics,' Dem charges

Sep 10, 08 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama fired back today at a McCain campaign ad claiming he smeared Sarah Palin, calling the tactic "phony outrage and Swift Boat politics," the Washington Post reports. Obama used the phrase "lipstick on a pig" to describe John McCain's policies during a campaign stop yesterday, which... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • presidential campaign • smear campaign • lipstick • attack ad • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin

McCain Hires Strategist Who Smeared Him

Tucker Eskew, part of party's 'darker side,'  attacked Mac in 2000

Sep 2, 08 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Republican strategist Tucker Eskew, who helped smear John McCain in the 2000 primaries, is now on board the GOP candidate’s campaign and will prep Sarah Palin for her role, reports Jake Tapper on ABC News. “He's one of the best and most collaborative talents in Republican politics,”... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • campaign adviser • smear campaign • Republican strategist • Election 2008 • political strategists

Kerry Fights Back on Obama 'Swift Boating'

Launches site to refute Corsi book, urges prompt rebuttal

Aug 14, 08 11:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Jerome Corsi is back, and this time John Kerry wants to confront him head on. Kerry has launched a website to refute the attacks in Corsi’s new book, Obama Nation, which aims to dismantle Obama's reputation the same way 2004’s Unfit for Command helped destroy Kerry’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John Kerry • smear campaign • Swift Boating • Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

Republicans Scold McCain; Obama Camp Pounces

Negative turn generates anger toward candidate

Aug 1, 08 5:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - A new Obama campaign memo obtained by Time documents Republican disapproval of the McCain camp’s recent tactics. Some highlights:
  • Pat Buchanan on the commercial juxtaposing Obama, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton: "Look, this is not an effective ad.”
  • Ed Rollins: “John needs to be
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • Britney Spears • Paris Hilton • celebrity • smear campaign • negative campaigning

analysis

McCain Was Going to Pounce On Obama
Either Way

His staff had two ads ready after Europe trip

Jul 31, 08 6:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's common knowledge by now that a John McCain campaign ad took Barack Obama to task for not visiting wounded US troops in Germany. But David Kiley in BusinessWeek reports that the McCain camp had another ad ready, this one if Obama had visited the troops. It would have charged... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • Germany • smear campaign • publicity • negative campaigning

ANALYSIS

McCain's Rip on Obama's Soldier Visit Lacks Facts

But Mac insists that his rival skipped over media coverage

Jul 30, 08 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is standing by his accusation that Barack Obama skipped a military hospital trip in Germany because he couldn't bring the press—even though the facts don't support it, the Washington Post reports. Firsthand accounts agree that Obama never intended to take reporters to the hospital. McCain's charge,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • smear campaign • attack ad

McCain Ad
Links Obama
to Castro

'Guilt by endorsement' ad runs on South Florida websites

Jul 24, 08 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The McCain campaign is running an Internet ad composed of photos of Barack Obama and Fidel Castro side by side, with the caption “Fidel Castro thinks he is 'the most advanced candidate,'" the Huffington Post reports. The ad is running on websites catering to South Florida, home to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Barack Obama • John McCain • Fidel Castro • Cuba • smear campaign • political advertising • campaign advertising • swing states • political strategy

GOP Goes on Attack Against 'Mrs. Grievance'

Obama's 'bitter half'
is fair game,
Republicans say

Jun 11, 08 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - They didn’t like Hillary Clinton or Teresa Heinz Kerry, and conservatives aren't hesitating to pile on Michelle Obama, either, the Los Angeles Times reports. Conservatives have seized on several statements from the Democratic candidate's wife, calling her angry and unpatriotic. The National Review recently ran a cover dubbing her... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Michelle Obama • Obama 2008 • smear campaign

Opinion

Expect GOP
to Turn Venom on Michelle

Dowd: Right will paint would-be first lady as angry black woman

Jun 11, 08 9:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Now that Hillary Clinton is out of the White House picture, it’s Michelle Obama’s turn to be the object of that “sulfurous national game of ‘Kill the witch,’” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. The fairer Obama can be more prickly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama • race relations • smear campaign • opinion

ANALYSIS

Web, Key in Obama's Rise, Twists Public Views of Him

Viral campaigns spread lies about Democrat's past, and he's fighting

May 22, 08 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama built his candidacy on the internet, but now the wild web is his biggest problem, Politico reports. A nigh-unstoppable wave of viral e-mails continue to spread false information about the candidate—and it’s working. One in 10 voters still believes Obama is a Muslim, and many quote... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • email • Muslim • smear campaign

 Tenn. GOP Rips
 'Anti-American'
 Mrs. O on Web 

Obama camp blasts 'shameful' tactic

May 16, 08 5:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Tennessee GOP has produced a controversial internet video attack on Michelle Obama, blasting her recent remarks that she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life." The four-minute video, released yesterday to coincide with her campaign visit to the state, features Tennessee residents... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Michelle Obama • Tennessee • Republican Party • smear campaign • patriotism • loyalty • national pride

 Obama Gears Up
 for GOP Smears 

Camp McCain is seeking ways to attack without seeming racist

May 11, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is prepping for a smear campaign this summer while camp Obama, ever cool and controlled, awaits the first strike. "It's going to be Swift Boat times five on both sides," said one McCain adviser who expects Obama to return fire. McCain's challenge is to hit above... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • campaign adviser • voters • smear campaign • campaign • advertising campaign • David Axelrod • campaign etiquette

Maddy's Parents Ignored Her Crying: Police

McCanns angry over leak as they promote EU Amber Alert system

Apr 11, 08 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Maddy McCann scolded her parents on the morning she vanished for ignoring her sobs the previous night, and her parents promised to keep a better eye on her, the London Times reports. The leaked transcripts of police interviews with Kate and Gerry McCann surfaced as the McCanns visited Brussels to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Madeleine McCann • Portugal • smear campaign • Gerry McCann • Kate McCann • Amber Alert • European Parliament

1 - 20 of 24 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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