Horserace
August 28, 2008 2:45 PM

McCain Camp Fills Media Void

By
Vaughn Ververs
Topics
Democratic National Convention
(DENVER) With several hours yet before the Democratic convention kicks off, John McCain's campaign is taking advantage of the calm before tonight's big event to find ways to insert itself into the media spotlight.

McCain's campaign announced it will air a new ad tonight in which he will speak on-camera directly to Democratic nominee Barack Obama. The campaign will not comment on the substance of the ad but McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker told MSNBC this morning it is a "historic" ad. "I think this is the first of its kind," Hazelbaker said. "Senator McCain is going to speak direct to camera to Barack Obama. I'm not going to give away many more details than that. But suffice to say it's going to be a very exciting ad, and I think it's going to get a lot of attention."

Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl over the timing of McCain's vice presidential announcement. The campaign indicated that they would not roll out the pick today but the Drudge Report cites sources saying that the news will be leaked this evening. And as the chase begins to pick up, the potential selections are going to ground. Even if McCain's choice remains secret, the flurry of activity has provided McCain an opportunity to become a part of the story in Denver.

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by mediaspy_nv August 28, 2008 7:43 PM EDT
RE: McCain''s upcoming ad:

Guaranteed to be filthy, full of venom, full of lies. What we will see is a pathetic old man grasping desperately at the edge of the cliff as he goes over. I know this is a harsh assessment, but he brought it on with his campaign tactics. Gawd, he reminds me of Gollum crossed with an Orc. Ugh.
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by mediaspy_nv August 28, 2008 7:34 PM EDT
everyone should read the article jfflz posted, it is most excellent!
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by mediaspy_nv August 28, 2008 7:20 PM EDT
jmurrieta1, well said! except for the part about the gullibility of the American sheeple. True, there still are and always will be those sheeple who can''t think for themselves, but there are fewer of them now than ever before, thanks to the internet. The internet, with its boundless supply of information and alternate news sources, has opened the eyes of millions of Americans to the corruption and bias of mainstream media. They know the funding sources of mainstream/corporate media and how these sources influence the news we watch, read and hear, particularly politics. They know mainstream media journalism is biased according to the special interests of the political and corporate sponsors attached to that particular media source. They know that news reports are carefully groomed and edited to comply with those special interests. They know that our government has become the biggest political influence on the media, with strong funding and sponsorship ties. They know that media bias can be and is used to alter the reality of the world around us, covertly shaping our opinions and decisions to fit into the status quo. They know that propaganda, cover-ups, skewed facts and manipulated polls are powerful tools used by corporate media to control and deceive the American public.

Maybe someday these yayhoos will wake up and realize we''re on to them.
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by jefflz-2009 August 28, 2008 7:08 PM EDT
For those who continue to believe in McCain as Marlboro Man like alohaone1: You live in a time warp. The McCain of 2000 is long gone. The Maverick - Straight-Talker is now only a myth. The McCain of 2008 is incoherent and has turned himself over to the Rove/Cheney/Bush managers who now control his campaign with an iron fist. For an excellent description of the actual McCain of 2008 read the piece in Time/CNN

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1836890,00.html

Bring yourselves up to date.
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by heuristic1 August 28, 2008 7:07 PM EDT
anyone who says that Mc Cain is same as Bush is just ignorant or has been away from EARTH for the last 30 years .
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McCain is worse than Bush. He has fallen a long, long ways since his maverick days of old. He has sold his heart and soul to the gutter. Bush, at least, was already damaged goods.
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by alohaone1 August 28, 2008 7:07 PM EDT
alohaone1, the McCain of 2008 is not the McCain of 2000. I voted for McCain in 2000, in part because his image as a straight talking, honest, and independent maverick seemed to be true.

Since his loss in 2000 he''''s flip flopped (over 70 times on virtually EVERY SINGLE ISSUE - you can google around for the list of all his flip flops) and pandered his way to the Republican nomination. A guy who flip flops more than 70 times just to get elected is clearly a man who cares more about getting elected than what''''s good for America. And a man who flip flops more than 70 times is certainly no straight talker.


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Posted by shingles1 at 04:01 PM : Aug 28, 2008

Yes , I am sure , all of a sudden Mc Cain is not the same as 8 years ago. I am sure his acchievements and actions over the years got wiped out because he is up against a Black Democrat called Obama , btw, how about Obama association with the "centrist" Rev. Wright ? one word of advice , quit drinking that Kool-aid while you still can , mate!
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by alohaone1 August 28, 2008 7:02 PM EDT
why is the Afro-President be any different than any president ? are we favor a black because of his skin''s color???why the heck is a first Black president be more special than a white or asian president ??? The black people has cried times and again against descriminations based on skin''s color , yet , they did it against the Clintons and now , with their touting of Obama ''s nomination, they are doing it again ! Why do we elect the president if not for his ability and experience to lead the country in tough situations . If that is the case , why is the skin''s color even relevant ??? are we into affirmative-action election now ? what a joke !
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by shingles1 August 28, 2008 7:01 PM EDT
alohaone1, the McCain of 2008 is not the McCain of 2000. I voted for McCain in 2000, in part because his image as a straight talking, honest, and independent maverick seemed to be true.

Since his loss in 2000 he''s flip flopped (over 70 times on virtually EVERY SINGLE ISSUE - you can google around for the list of all his flip flops) and pandered his way to the Republican nomination. A guy who flip flops more than 70 times just to get elected is clearly a man who cares more about getting elected than what''s good for America. And a man who flip flops more than 70 times is certainly no straight talker.
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by jmurrieta1 August 28, 2008 6:58 PM EDT
"McCain Camp Fills Media Void"


The biggest void in the media is the empty hole between their ears.

The press will spend hours panting over some piece of trivia, while ignoring significant incidents.

And the American Sheeple is well trained to suck up the pablum delivered by the "mainstream media" without demanding real content.

So the McClone media circus fits into this program real well.
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by shingles1 August 28, 2008 6:53 PM EDT
The smart thing for McCain to do in tonight''s ad would be to congratulate Obama. This will immediately make the McCain lovers in the press drool over with "aw shucks, what an honorable guy" pablum. It would simultaneously steal Obama''s thunder and generate enough good will amongst the press corps, that they can continue to give McCain a pass without feeling guilty about it.

Not quite the ''McCain hosting a sumptuous barbecue for the media at his estate'' kind of good will, but good will all the same.
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