McCain's "Cone Of Silence" At Saddleback
At Saddleback Church's Saturday evening "civil forum" with the presidential candidates, it was Barack Obama who sat down first with Pastor Rick Warren. Warren asked Obama the same questions he would later ask Obama rival John McCain – though he noted that McCain was in a "cone of silence" and could not hear the questions in advance.
As the New York Times reports, however, McCain was not in a "cone of silence" during Obama's questioning. Instead, he was in his motorcade on his way to the church. McCain's performance at the forum was considered strong, and some Obama supporters speculated that the Arizona senator heard the questions in advance.
McCain spokeperson Nicolle Wallace, a former CBS News consultant, told the Times last night that "[t]he insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous."
Warren's first question for McCain was a joking reference to his comfort level in the "cone of silence." The presumptive GOP nominee quipped that he "was trying to hear through the wall.”
The McCain campaign, meanwhile, is protesting discussing on NBC News about whether or not McCain had access to the questions. As Politico reports, campaign manager Rick Davis sent a letter requesting a meeting with the news network's president. He suggests the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the presidential race."
In the letter, Davis objects to a statement by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Meet The Press." Mitchell said on the program that some in the Obama campaign were suggesting "that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well prepared."
A McCain aide told Politico that "Senator McCain was in a motorcade led by the United States Secret Service and held in a green room with no broadcast feed."
"Andrea Mitchell is repeating, uncritically, a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated in last night's forum at Saddleback Church," Davis wrote in the letter. "Instead of trying to substantiate this blatant falsehood in any way, Andrea Mitchell felt that she needed to repeat it on air to millions of 'Meet the Press' viewers..."
Asked about the criticism, Mitchell said she wasn't expressing an opinion but merely "reporting what they were saying."
UPDATE: Mike Allen writes that "Pastor Rick Warren, in an effort to increase the candidates’ comfort level with his pioneering format, gave each of them a heads-up on several of the hardest questions he asked Saturday night."
"A source close to Warren tells Playbook that the candidates knew in advance they would be asked their own greatest moral failure, America’s greatest moral failure, and the three wisest people in their lives," writes Allen. "The source said Obama also knew he would be asked if he’d be willing to commit to an emergency plan for orphans, like President Bush has for AIDS."
UPDATE #2: Beliefnet had an interview with Warren after the event. Check out this portion:
Full Rick Davis letter, via Politico, below.
August 17, 2008
Mr. Steve Capus
President, NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Steve:
We are extremely disappointed to see that the level of objectivity at NBC News has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain.
Nowhere was this more evident than with NBC chief correspondent Andrea Mitchell's comments on "Meet the Press" this morning. In analyzing last night's presidential forum at Saddleback Church, Mitchell expressed the Obama campaign spin that John McCain could only have done so well last night because he "may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama." Here are Andrea Mitchell's comments in full:
Mitchell: "The Obama people must feel that he didn't do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because what they are putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well-prepared." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/17/08)
Make no mistake: This is a serious charge. Andrea Mitchell is repeating, uncritically, a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated in last night's forum at Saddleback Church. Instead of trying to substantiate this blatant falsehood in any way, Andrea Mitchell felt that she needed to repeat it on air to millions of "Meet the Press" viewers with no indication that 1.) There's not one shred of evidence that it's true; 2.) In his official correspondence to both campaigns, Pastor Rick Warren provided both candidates with information regarding the topic areas to be covered, which Barack Obama acknowledged during the forum when asked about Pastor Warren's idea of an emergency plan for orphans and Obama said, "I cheated a little bit. I actually looked at this idea ahead of time, and I think it is a great idea;" 3.) John McCain actually requested that he and Barack Obama do the forum together on stage at the same time, making these kinds of after-the-fact complaints moot.
Indeed, instead of taking a critical journalistic approach to this spin, Andrea Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating Obama campaign talking points.
This is irresponsible journalism and sadly, indicative of the level of objectivity we have witnessed at NBC News this election cycle. Instead of examining the Obama campaign's spin for truth before reporting it to more than 3 million NBC News viewers, Andrea Mitchell simply passed along Obama campaign conspiracy theories. The fact is that during Senator Obama's segment at Saddleback last night, Senator McCain was in a motorcade to the event and then held in a green room with no broadcast feed. In the forum, John McCain clearly demonstrated to the American people that he is prepared to be our next President.....
We are concerned that your News Division is following MSNBC's lead in abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race. We would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our deep concerns about the news standards and level of objectivity at NBC.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
John McCain 2008
As the New York Times reports, however, McCain was not in a "cone of silence" during Obama's questioning. Instead, he was in his motorcade on his way to the church. McCain's performance at the forum was considered strong, and some Obama supporters speculated that the Arizona senator heard the questions in advance.
McCain spokeperson Nicolle Wallace, a former CBS News consultant, told the Times last night that "[t]he insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous."
Warren's first question for McCain was a joking reference to his comfort level in the "cone of silence." The presumptive GOP nominee quipped that he "was trying to hear through the wall.”
The McCain campaign, meanwhile, is protesting discussing on NBC News about whether or not McCain had access to the questions. As Politico reports, campaign manager Rick Davis sent a letter requesting a meeting with the news network's president. He suggests the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the presidential race."
In the letter, Davis objects to a statement by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Meet The Press." Mitchell said on the program that some in the Obama campaign were suggesting "that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well prepared."
A McCain aide told Politico that "Senator McCain was in a motorcade led by the United States Secret Service and held in a green room with no broadcast feed."
"Andrea Mitchell is repeating, uncritically, a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated in last night's forum at Saddleback Church," Davis wrote in the letter. "Instead of trying to substantiate this blatant falsehood in any way, Andrea Mitchell felt that she needed to repeat it on air to millions of 'Meet the Press' viewers..."
Asked about the criticism, Mitchell said she wasn't expressing an opinion but merely "reporting what they were saying."
UPDATE: Mike Allen writes that "Pastor Rick Warren, in an effort to increase the candidates’ comfort level with his pioneering format, gave each of them a heads-up on several of the hardest questions he asked Saturday night."
"A source close to Warren tells Playbook that the candidates knew in advance they would be asked their own greatest moral failure, America’s greatest moral failure, and the three wisest people in their lives," writes Allen. "The source said Obama also knew he would be asked if he’d be willing to commit to an emergency plan for orphans, like President Bush has for AIDS."
UPDATE #2: Beliefnet had an interview with Warren after the event. Check out this portion:
BELIEFNET: A source at the debate tells me that McCain had access to some communications devices in the few minutes before he went on stage with you and that there was a monitor in his green room, in violation of the debate rules.
WARREN: That's absolutely a lie, absolutely a lie. That room was totally free, with no monitors--a flat out lie.
Full Rick Davis letter, via Politico, below.
August 17, 2008
Mr. Steve Capus
President, NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Steve:
We are extremely disappointed to see that the level of objectivity at NBC News has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain.
Nowhere was this more evident than with NBC chief correspondent Andrea Mitchell's comments on "Meet the Press" this morning. In analyzing last night's presidential forum at Saddleback Church, Mitchell expressed the Obama campaign spin that John McCain could only have done so well last night because he "may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama." Here are Andrea Mitchell's comments in full:
Mitchell: "The Obama people must feel that he didn't do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because what they are putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well-prepared." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/17/08)
Make no mistake: This is a serious charge. Andrea Mitchell is repeating, uncritically, a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated in last night's forum at Saddleback Church. Instead of trying to substantiate this blatant falsehood in any way, Andrea Mitchell felt that she needed to repeat it on air to millions of "Meet the Press" viewers with no indication that 1.) There's not one shred of evidence that it's true; 2.) In his official correspondence to both campaigns, Pastor Rick Warren provided both candidates with information regarding the topic areas to be covered, which Barack Obama acknowledged during the forum when asked about Pastor Warren's idea of an emergency plan for orphans and Obama said, "I cheated a little bit. I actually looked at this idea ahead of time, and I think it is a great idea;" 3.) John McCain actually requested that he and Barack Obama do the forum together on stage at the same time, making these kinds of after-the-fact complaints moot.
Indeed, instead of taking a critical journalistic approach to this spin, Andrea Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating Obama campaign talking points.
This is irresponsible journalism and sadly, indicative of the level of objectivity we have witnessed at NBC News this election cycle. Instead of examining the Obama campaign's spin for truth before reporting it to more than 3 million NBC News viewers, Andrea Mitchell simply passed along Obama campaign conspiracy theories. The fact is that during Senator Obama's segment at Saddleback last night, Senator McCain was in a motorcade to the event and then held in a green room with no broadcast feed. In the forum, John McCain clearly demonstrated to the American people that he is prepared to be our next President.....
We are concerned that your News Division is following MSNBC's lead in abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race. We would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our deep concerns about the news standards and level of objectivity at NBC.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
John McCain 2008
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See all 159 CommentsNow McCain acts like a victim.
Either Warren lied or McCain refused to abide by the rules. Which is it Senator McCain?
Gotta love McCain''s staff using blackberries. Davis knows that text messages get purged quickly, so they were receiving the questions via text. In other words, McCain did not have to "listen" to the questions being asked to Obama.
Whoops. The poor old man got confused by his own cheating!
Pitiful.
In this case, there is some truth to it. Like Bush, McCain has become a cog in a big Republican machine, and their using his POW "brand" just as they used W''s last name, for marketing purposes, but it''s still the GOP machine pulling the levers.
We can''t blame McCain for his campaign, because the campaign is in charge of him.
McCain would never cheat....
on something other than his disabled disfigured First Wife
The bottom line, each were asked questions, It was not a thing that they could look up the answers for a test.
Personal Questions, So what either answered with was their personal choice of answers.
If they did not answer right, that is their own personal fault, no one else. They could of said anything they wanted to.
Obama campaign always has to find something wrong with everything, blame and condemn people.
Time for Obama and his supporters to Grown up. If Obama did not answer the way he wanted to. Let him contact the press and set up and interview and tell the people what he would like to about himself, his convictions and his religion.
No need to attack, condemn someone else for their answers.
wow you sound like such a true Christian...LOL
That is not to say that Obama is bad at non-scripted speaking. But for some reason, when McCain doesn''t have a script he sounds well-rehearsed and put together. Obama often sounds like he doesn''t know how to get his point across.
I hope McCain didn''t hear the questions (it offends my sense of fairness); however, the fact that McCain sounded better isn''t a suprise at all.
When they do their scripted speeches, Obama always sounds better. It''s just presentation style.
judge not lest ye be judged.
GOP = Moral Hypocrisy
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Posted by raflin1
Well, if you want to talk about cheating, I suppose you should look at Edwards, Clinton, and Spitzer. Or the fact that Gore tried to win the election in the Courts. Or that the Dems said they would get the troops out, but the troops are still there. Or that Obama said he would support stronger punishments against sexual offenders, but then voted present.
But the republicans cheat too, as you pointed out. Just be careful when you are pointing at someone else, you still have a lot of fingers pointing at you.
The idea that he somehow is above cheating is unreal! He is a Republican, isn''t he?
The idea that he somehow is above cheating is unreal! He is a Republican, isn''''t he?
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Posted by truthmatterz
List the lies. Baseless accusations mean nothing.
When Johnny M. and his campaign made up lies about Obama not visiting the troops and why, she called them out on their lies on national TV.
She said she was there, it flat out didn''t happen the way the McCain''s were spinning it and putting out phony ads about it.
She said she was there, it flat out didn''''t happen the way the McCain''''s were spinning it and putting out phony ads about it.
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Posted by truthmatterz
Actually, it did happen. He was offered a chance to visit the troops, but was told he couldn''t bring the media. He chose a media rich forum instead. Ask the troops how it happened. Actually Obama''s campaign admits that this is what happened, they just say it in a nicer way.
Suggest an open air Faith Forum (no tickets everyone weklcome) moderated by a progressive clergy person, and have McCHEATER sit in a glass sound proof box for an hour on stage.
If McCain refuses, let Americans make up their own minds WHY.
McCain would never cheat....
on something other than his disabled disfigured FIRST WIFE.
Posted by smiley676
*************************************
I am happy to list a few of John McCain''s lies.
Signing of the GI Bill: Now enthusiastically for it... after it passed. Previously attacked it, said it was too generous for veterans who had only been to Iraq once or twice.. Didn''t even bother to vote on it.
Campaign reform: On political reform, McCain last January opposed a grassroots lobbying bill he once supported. In 2006, the "New York Sun" reported that his presidential ambitions led McCain to reverse his support of a campaign financial bill called McCain/Feingold.
Alien Minors Act/Immigration: Last October he said he would vote against the development, relief and education for Alien Miners Act that he co-sponsored, and then said he would vote against an immigration bill that he introduced.
Gay Marriage: In 2006, he said on "HARDBALL," quote, I think that gay marriage should be allowed. Then after the commercial break he added, I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal.
Abortion: On abortion, 1999, publicly supporting Roe v. Wade, privately opposing it in a letter to the National Right to Life Committee. In the 2000 debates, he would change the GOP platform to permit exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. May 2007, "flipped", ABCNews.com reported.
Nuclear Waste: No Storing Nuclear waste at Yucca mountain earlier..now flipped
When he openends his Mouth.
Posted by smiley676
*****************************
********
a few more of John McCain''''s lies.
Negotiating with Cuba/Castro: With Fidel Castro acceptable in 2000, not 2008.
Negotiating with Hamas/Terrorists: ...with terrorists appropriate when Colin Powell went to Syria and in 2006 when McCain said sooner or later we%u2018ll talk to Hamas, but not appropriate now re: Obama''s willingness to use diplomacy.
Pakistan: Unilateral action against suspected terrorists in Pakistan; "Confused leadership" when Obama suggested it, not when Bush did it.
Warrantless Wire-taps: Six months ago, presidents had to obey the law, not anymore.
Torture: Torture detainees, no way, except for the CIA. Hold them indefinitely, wrong in 2003, the right move in 2008.
Iraq War: The Iraq war, the right course 2004, stay the course 2005. Today, McCain has always been a Rumsfeld critic.
Tax Cuts: In 2001, he could not in good conscious support them. Now he can.
Estate Tax: 2006, "I agree with President Roosevelt who created it". In 2008, "most unfair".
Privatizing Social Security: This month not for privatizing Social Security, never has been. In 2004, he "didn%u2018t see how benefits will last without it".
Balanced Budget: In February, promised a balanced budget in four years by April, make that eight years.
Posted by smiley676
*****************************
a few more of John McCain''''''''s lies.
Windfall Profits Tax: In May, glad to look at the windfall profits tax. By June, that was Jimmy Carter''s big idea.
Offshore Drilling: In 2000, no new off shore drilling. Last month, it would take years to develop. This month, very helpful in the short term.
Coyotes..Bush Big Time Fund Raisers: The Bush fund-raisers McCain called coyotes breaking the law in 2000. By 2006, they were co-chairing McCain fund-raisers.
"Agents of Intolerance": Buddy Jerry Falwell...an "agent of intolerance in 2000". Kissed Falwell''s *** in 2007... The Reverend Hagee and Parsley in, then out this year alone.
Martin Luther King Holiday: In 1983, opposed Martin Luther King Day. Today, all for it.
Confederate Flag: In 2000, defended South Carolina''s confederate flag as a symbol of heritage. Two years later, McCain calling it, quote, an act of political cowardice not to say the flag should come down. Quote, "everybody said, look out. You can''t win in South Carolina if you say that."
Posted by smiley676
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and still a few more of John McCain''s lies.
Evolution in Public Schools: In 2005, McCain said alternatives to evolution should be taught in school. "Evolving" the opposite position he had taken in 2000.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Restoring the Everglades: On June 5, John McCain traveled to the Everglades to win over Floridians and environmentally-minded voters. There he proclaimed, "I am in favor of doing whatever%u2019s necessary to save the Everglades." Sadly, as ThinkProgress documented, McCain not only opposed $2 billion in funding for the restoration of the Everglades national park, he backed President Bush%u2019s veto of the legislation in 2007. "I believe," he said, "that we should be passing a bill that will authorize legitimate, needed projects without sacrificing fiscal responsibility."
http://www.crooksandliars.com/...
Too bad it looked like he was going to puke every time he quoted a scripture or talked about faith.
Posted by mr2258 at 02:55 PM : Aug 18, 2008
****************************************
I am surprised, that coming from a girl like you who clearly does have mental problems that you would try to push that onto somebody else, especially one who has a rare gift of the combination of high intelligence as well as common sense..
I doubt you want to bring up drug addiction,
Cindy McBigBucks...a.k.a "the pillionaire"
is kinda touchy on the subject
Posted by mr2258
************************************* Yes sweetie pie, we already knew that about you, no need to advertise yourself.
Posted by smiley676
************************************
Gee the press who where there got it wrong, but somehow you have the inside scoop? Did you get it from the high school drop out sean hannity?
There was never any plan to bring the media to visit the hospital in Germany, just as he doesn''t bring media when he goes to other VA hospitals.
The pentagon said it would be considered a political trip if he went. He chose not to pull the wounded troops into the middle of a politics.
Of Course, that didn''t bother McCain, who dishonored himself and the troops as well as showing how little respect he has for Americans, by lying about the situation.
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