Horserace
October 13, 2008 4:22 PM

McCain Strategist Knocks Coverage Of Extreme Rhetoric At Rallies

In an interview with National Public Radio this morning, Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s chief strategist, suggested that the media have been unfair in their coverage of the extreme rhetoric that has surfaced at some recent McCain-Palin rallies.

"Now, both campaigns have thousands of people in their crowds, and we had one person yell something inappropriate at ours, and of course we condemn it," Schmidt told Renee Montagne. "You see that happen at Obama rallies. The difference is, it seems that when it happens at a McCain rally it gets covered on television. When it happens at an Obama rally, it doesn't get covered."

Schmidt also reaffirmed McCain's vow that Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, is (officially) off limits for the campaign. (Sarah Palin has discussed the relationship, saying, "I don’t know why that association isn’t discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country...")

"Yeah, there are certainly millions of Americans who have deep concern about that relationship," Schmidt said. "But Senator McCain has been clear from the earliest days of the campaign when the story first entered the American consciousness that he would not use this issue in the campaign, and that remains his position."

He also identified the states that he considers most important to a McCain victory.

"When you look at the states, we need to win Florida, we need to win Ohio, and we feel great about our chances to do that," Schmidt said. "We feel good about our chances to win in North Carolina, our chances to win in Virginia. We look out across the Midwest at a number of blue states that we need to pick up and we feel that we’re competitive in those states. We understand that, you know, the day of the beginning of the financial crisis, we were ahead in this race. With the financial crisis, we have fallen slightly behind in this race, and we have some ground to make up. The election isn't today, the election is in three weeks, and we feel good about our chances to come out on top."
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Steve Schmidt
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John McCain
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by arochotech October 13, 2008 4:44 PM PDT
for then first time in American history a prez and vise prez hopeful are running for office with both of them having been charged with abuse of powers strapped to their backs. i t is like *** cheney part two and three. it is a sad day for all Americans two see that this is the best the republicans can offer Americans.I bet john mccain is wishing he picked Mitt Romney.
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by dnsallday October 13, 2008 5:19 PM PDT
Of course JOhn McCAIN is a bit hesitant to bring up Rev. Wright. That would open the door for all of us to jump on the bandwagon and go after all the nutcase white pastors and the extremely vile things they have said. (you know the ones that John McCain kissed up to in order to get their endorsements)
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by dennis-101 October 13, 2008 5:24 PM PDT
I''ve been to McCain rallies in the primaries. A gathering of haters. It''s nothing new but finally someone is shining the light on it. It''s not the same across the board. McCain should be embarrassed that this is his base. Check youtube.
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by hangelle October 13, 2008 5:25 PM PDT
False polls? What in the world is that about?
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by shingles1 October 13, 2008 5:31 PM PDT
When the crowds at Obama rallies start tossing out words like ''terrorist'', ''treason'', and ''kill him'', when talking about McCain, THEN all these whines about ''liberal bias'' might make sense. As it stands, when the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party compares Obama to bin Laden, you know that elements of the party are out of control. This is why McCain is at risk of losing the election, not because of ''liberal bias''.

So stop pointing the finger of blame and constantly making excuses, OneAmerican - if McCain loses this election he has only himself and his actions (or lack thereof) to blame.
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by cariboubarbi October 13, 2008 5:37 PM PDT



Another day and more proof that modern conservatism is a mental illness.



Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 October 13, 2008 5:38 PM PDT
Republicans are haters, that''s why they continue to vote against their own better interests.

Rush Limbaugh who is the single most responsible for spreading hate, is attempting to clain that all hateful rally goers are Obama plants.
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by kight67i October 13, 2008 5:51 PM PDT
Try this math:
Obamas plan is going to run by all accounts 1,000,000,000,000. (trillion) dollars. He plans to pass that onto the incomes over 250K. Here is the PROBLEM: ONLY 1.5% OF AMERICANS MAKE OVER 250K. There are a little over 305,000,000 (million) Americans. Multiply 1.5 x 305,000,000. STAY TUNED. 458,000 thousand Americans, some only making 250K a year will carry Obamas 1,000,000,000,000.(trillion) plan. That is 2,139,037 (million) a piece. REALLY? He is going to TAX the rest of us when he gets into office, use your heads, this doesn''t make any sense. Do your math!! It can''t be done.
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by beap3 October 13, 2008 5:58 PM PDT
denial? Schmidt, I don''t believe a word you say.
Reply to this comment
by element51 October 13, 2008 6:14 PM PDT
OneAmerican7.....When you get all your news from Faux News and your marching orders from Rush Limbaugh it is no wonder that you are delusional. You people are a bunch of whiners. Unless everything goes exactly the way you want it is someone elses fault. The truth is that you are running a disgraceful campaign and spend all your time whining and making up lies. You are going to LOSE so get yourself a box of crying towels and get ready. But the ironic thing is that we will still include you as Americans and hope you will join us to help solve the problems that America faces today. We know that you hate us but we will be to busy working to solve our problems to waste time hating you. We are better than that.
Reply to this comment
by cdfoxtrot4 October 13, 2008 6:22 PM PDT
Try this math:
Obamas plan is going to run by all accounts 1,000,000,000,000. (trillion) dollars. He plans to pass that onto the incomes over 250K. Here is the PROBLEM: ONLY 1.5% OF AMERICANS MAKE OVER 250K. There are a little over 305,000,000 (million) Americans. Multiply 1.5 x 305,000,000. STAY TUNED. 458,000 thousand Americans, some only making 250K a year will carry Obamas 1,000,000,000,000.(trillion) plan. That is 2,139,037 (million) a piece. REALLY? He is going to TAX the rest of us when he gets into office, use your heads, this doesn''''t make any sense. Do your math!! It can''''t be done.

Posted by kight67i

Einstein, your calculations and data are completely wrong. Leave the thinking to the grownups.
Go back to Faux News.
Reply to this comment
by rdepontb October 13, 2008 6:40 PM PDT
Those of you yahoos who thought you could latch on to Sen. McCain, and use him as a battering ram to kill the democratic party (literally, the party ''of the people,'' so get out and vote and make your voice heard that way, at the very least): Senator John McCain has had enough of your tricks, your vitriol, your whining. None of that befits a war hero, a great American, one of our best and bravest Senators.

Sen. Senator has had enough of those who sneaked under the tent, got in for free, and are looking for him to cook their meal as well. He''s not helping you out any longer, so go peddle your small-minded ideas somewhere else. Let him serve out his years as the nation needs him to, as a hero and outstanding American.
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by cdfoxtrot4 October 13, 2008 6:43 PM PDT
It''s not the media''s fault that McBush''s campaign decided to exclusively focus on negative attacks on Obama. Americans want to hear what McSame would do for them, not some lunatic rantings about Obama''s alleged associations. The McBush campaign have no one to blame for their fall in the polls but themselves.


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by ofbyfor3 October 13, 2008 6:44 PM PDT
Somehow, Mr. Schmidt, I don''t think there have been any Obama supporters yelling ''Kill him!'' against McCain.
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by david1752 October 13, 2008 6:46 PM PDT
All you repubs trying to jump on the
Acorn story;Obama only worked with them in the primary election, not this one.
Reply to this comment
by misha128-2009 October 13, 2008 6:54 PM PDT
Complaining to the press about your supporters after trying to bar the press from talking to your supporters. Clearly you knew you had something to hide and failed miserably. Steve.
Reply to this comment
by oldwhiteguy1 October 13, 2008 6:56 PM PDT
Dear John...
So you were going to release you NEW economic plan today, you didn''t.
Instead, the news coming out of your camp was comparing Obama to bin Laden.
Rove and that guy who smeared you so bad in 2000, that you lost the election, now work FOR YOU.
One is driving your bus the other is deflating your tires.
There may be ONE thing they both have in common...



You, and your party, can''t CATCH either one !

Sincerly
A Thankful American
Reply to this comment
by anillafield October 13, 2008 6:58 PM PDT
You know, we have G.W. as the president for a reason; large number of morons voted for him, twice. And examination of the comments posted in the forums like this reveal the mentality of the Bush voters. They, like their hero Bush, are not very bright. And, like their hero Bush, they chant the provocative but shallow lies to promote their mindless cause. The lies about WMD got us into the war against Iraq. The lies about economy (they claimed it%u2019s %u2018sound%u2019 for 8 years even when gas price doubled) destroyed the entire financial stability and doubled the national debt to over $10 trillion. And now they are lying about Obama. Palin identified them as the %u201CJoe-6-pack%u201D and openly panders to them. The news media identified them as the %u201Cuneducated, low-income, white, conservatives living in the rural-areas%u201D and McCain calls them %u201Cmy friends%u201D. They often call themselves as %u201Crednecks%u201D and the archaic term for them is %u201Cwhite trash%u201D.

Whatever they are called the problem is that there is large number of them in the US.
Reply to this comment
by dburfears October 13, 2008 7:03 PM PDT
McCain CLAIMS about Annenberg "BOARD", OBAMA, and AYERS are a COMPLETE LIE

McCain''s campaign is LYING about the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), set up by the Annenberg Foundation to reform public schools. Walter Annenberg is a well-known philanthropist and CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN.

%u201CThe idea that the Annenberg Challenge was somehow the extension of the Weather Underground of the 1960%u2019s, that is just one of the most LUNATIC CONTENTIONS I can imagine,%u201D says Mike Flannery, political editor at the CBS Chicago affiliate WBBM who covered Chicago politics for 35 years. "Those of us who have covered politics in Chicago... simply don''t recognize the caricatures and the RIDICULOUS descriptions of this group."

Flannery says the other people on involved in the CAC with Obama and Ayers were "BUSINESS TYPES AND REPUBLCANS."

Obama chaired the board of the CAC but he DID NOT SERVE ON THE BOARD WITH AYERS. Ayers served on a SEPARATE advisory board.

%u201CThis was NOT the Bill Ayers and Barack Obama show,%u201D says Ken Rolling who was the Executive Director of the CAC and ran the organization, %u201CIt was created by a hundred people.%u201D

Rolling says that the CAC funded programs with the following purpose:

teacher training
music education
initiatives to strengthen parental involvement in public schools.
after school programs
improvements for literacy
arts programs
support for new school council candidates
education research

MCCAIN knows he LIES

MCCAIN HAS LOST ALL HONOR


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by ixoye_02 October 13, 2008 7:39 PM PDT
Give me a break!! If McCain''s rallies are showing angry people shouting things like "kill him" and "terrorist" while referring to Obama, then coverage of those actions are warranted, especially when there are multiple rallies where people are doing the same thing. While one might think that this type of coverage is unfair, I am sure that the media would show Obama rallies where folks are calling McCain terrible things too. Republicans feel that they are entitled to respect even though they trash all other folks. It''s time to see republicans for who they really represent.
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by ranjit71-2009 October 13, 2008 7:55 PM PDT
Give me a break. Obama would not even keep his hand on the chest for the national anthem and you guys want to make him the president?

If there is no problem, why don''t he go ahead and say the middle name "Hussein" and let people decide. According to you guys, his middle name is funny and exotic.

What about Fannie mae and freddie mac? What about Obama''s connection to those CEO''S? What about his connection to ACORN which demanded or threatened bankers to give loans to low income people?

Wait and watch the election night. In the rallies of palin, I see the excitement and the number keeps swelling. That means more motivation, more contact with RNC and they will be motivated to the poll.
Reply to this comment
by ranjit71-2009 October 13, 2008 8:00 PM PDT
Most of this country is made up of conservatives. Because of liberal main stream media, there is a perception of support for Obama.

Recently, there was a march by McCain supporters in Manhattan. You want to see the response of your liberal friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQalRPQ8stI

Enjoy the decent liberals of new york
Reply to this comment
by kansas1946 October 13, 2008 8:11 PM PDT
Gosh, I have been to Obama rallies and I have never heard anything extreme, especially extreme slime being thrown at McCain. I don''t think it is the media''s fault that a lot of Republicans have lost their every lovin'' minds.
Reply to this comment
by sasidechick October 13, 2008 9:33 PM PDT
"Now, both campaigns have thousands of people in their crowds, and we had one person yell something inappropriate at ours, and of course we condemn it," Schmidt told Renee Montagne

ONE?????????????
Reply to this comment
by anillafield October 13, 2008 9:44 PM PDT
Ranjit71 at 07:55 PM

%u201CGive me a break. Obama would not even keep his hand on the chest for the national anthem and you guys want to make him the president?%u201D

Brilliant!! The presidential qualification based on the hand placement during the national anthem. The depth of logic and the level of intelligence revealed in the above comment can only be matched by the G.W.Bush%u2019s speeches. Of course, with such logic we can understand why Sarah Palin has experience in the international diplomacy because Alaska is so close to Russia.

There was a time when I had to look up the KKK forums to find such an example of extreme stupidity. But 8 years of Bush presidency and McCain-Palin campaign have dug up the single digit IQ people from the bottom of the US population pool. If McCain-Palin wins we will see the decline of the US from the world super power down to a third world country.
Reply to this comment
by wiccantexan October 13, 2008 11:28 PM PDT
%u201CGive me a break. Obama would not even keep his hand on the chest for the national anthem and you guys want to make him the president?%u201D

Give US a break from old urban legends. A simple Snopes search will give you the facts about this and your other assertations. I''m astonished that these debunked rumors are still flying around, and still a factor for some folks.
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by dts222 October 13, 2008 11:30 PM PDT
This is really scary. I am afraid these folks at the McCain rallies are going to hurt someone. They are really angry and are shouting and saying some really threatening and scary things. I am really afraid of what these people will do if McCain does not win. it is obvious that McCain can''t or doesn''t want to control these people. So this is what happens when a maverick is losing a battle. McCain is stoking anger and intolerance among his supporters. I am truly saddened, disappointed and afraid. May God help the angry MOB.
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by element51 October 13, 2008 11:36 PM PDT
Ranjit71....For your information, there is no requirement or law that requires a person to place their hand over their heart during the playing of the National Anthem. Some people do and some don''t. Some people may delay doing it for a few seconds and if they are photographed during that time it''s easy to say what you are implying. As for the name Hussein, there are millions of people who have that name. I had a great uncle named Oswald but he didn''t have anything to do with Lee Harvey. All this ***** you keep dragging up is like an old dog I had who kept dragging up dead animals. It didn''t do him or me any good. And in all my life I have yet to see anyone FORCE a bank to make a loan they didn''t want to make. As for your rallys, the only thing I see there are a bunch of redneck arsholes who wouldn''t know the truth if it bit them and are fascinated with an idiot evangelical nut job who believes in witches. Watch the youtube video of the monkey man at one of your rallys. I''ve never seen a bigger coward. What a joke.
Reply to this comment
by element51 October 13, 2008 11:48 PM PDT
dts222....I agree with you. These people are dangerous, not so much as a mob but one or two of them might decide that their leaders, Palin, McCain, Limbaugh, Hannity, would annoint them if they did kill Senator Obama. I know he has good security but there are rifles out there that can kill at a half mile away and most of these fanatic types are gun nuts. It is indeed frightening. It should be obvious by now that Palins job is to keep the crowds whipped up into a hateful frenzy while McCain tries to make himself look like a good guy by telling the crowds to back off. Then he does absolutely nothing to reign Palin in. This smacks of a Rove plan. I have attended three Obama rallys and have never heard anyone say anything about harming McCane.
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by leighg1 October 14, 2008 12:27 AM PDT
Give me a break! Listen to Palin''s hate speech! Listen to McCain''s instigating remarks and ad! Then you''ll know people get alarmed!

Reply to this comment
by leighg1 October 14, 2008 12:34 AM PDT
Give me a break! Listen to Palin''''s hate speech! Listen to McCain''''s instigating remarks and ad! Then you''''ll know why people got alarmed!

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by lynn6301 October 14, 2008 12:45 AM PDT
McCain/Palin rock! Of course, the crowd is angry.....if Obama wins...he will follow through on his campaign promise...there WILL be change...the America we now know will be no more!
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by nursehope October 14, 2008 4:01 AM PDT
Whenever the media doesn''t make ''em look purdy..the pubs don''t like it. If they are inciting violence it should be reported...if it was a group of college students doing they would have been dragged off to jail. They should be arrested for hate crimes.
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by surf4aware October 14, 2008 4:08 AM PDT
CBS News: Please ask McCain & Palin "Do you repudiate the KKK as a terrorist organization?

"When is McCain and Palin going to repudiate the hate speech from the audience at republican rallies?"
Reply to this comment
by chuckieinlove October 14, 2008 4:16 AM PDT
Obama is cleaver at playing the race card - he''s the only one who has made an issue of his being black. Main stream media, meanwhile, gets a tingle up its leg over him and ignores hateful comments made by his surrogates (never blaming him - he''s so above it all). I''d like to see Obama condemn the hate speech that has been spewed against McCain and (particularly) Palin. I''d also like to see him disavow support from Progressives for Obama (co-founded by a leader of the Maoist Freedom Road Socialist Organization) as well as members of other far left groups like the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (very prominent in Progressives for Obama).
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by alicerea1 October 14, 2008 7:07 AM PDT
The Media Better get "With it"


The media is not being honest about our candidates. Actually they haven%u2019t been honest about Obama since day one.

Why is anyone pushing Obama and Biden?

Obama has no experience.
He%u2019s risky.
He is scary.
His friends, his associates and his background should be questioned daily.

Rev. Wright, Farrakhan, Rezko, William Ayers, Father Plaeger and now ACORN.
We have a racist, an Islamic leader, a criminal, a terrorist and a fraudulent grass root community group.

Obama is running for President of our country, not for American Idol or for a %u201Cpublic speaking%u201D position.

If the media doesn''t do it''s job. Obama and his group of %u201Cobama girl%u201D followers might end up in our living rooms.

Obama is embarrassing.
McCain is experienced and a true patriot.

Reply to this comment
by karela33 October 14, 2008 7:13 AM PDT
It wasn''t necessary for the news media to say anything at all. All they had to do was run the video. People were yelling hateful, violent things and McCain and Palin just went on with their speeches. Palin particularly was inciting violence. That isn''t the kind of leadership that we need in the world. It''s like striking matches near an oil spill. Poppy Bush didn''t know that he was on live radio when he said to Rush Limbaugh, "How''s our man Ailes?" Ailes controls Fox News and Fox News operates as a propaganda machine for the republican party. George H. Bush confirmed it on live radio. If McCain and Palin say inflamitory and hate filled things and if their audiences react with violent words, then they have responsibility. No one has ever behaved like that at an Obama/Biden event. And if they did, the issue would be addressed. John Lewis was being honorable when he warned McCain of what he was doing. It was a brave thing done by a good man and John McCain should be grateful for the warning. McCain has been losing himself in his frenetic need to win.
Reply to this comment
by irmcvet97 October 14, 2008 7:18 AM PDT
Obama is running for President of our country, not for American Idol or for a %u201Cpublic speaking%u201D position.

If the media doesn''''t do it''''s job. Obama and his group of %u201Cobama girl%u201D followers might end up in our living rooms.

Obama is embarrassing.
McCain is experienced and a true patriot.


Posted by alicerea1 at 07:07 AM : Oct 14, 2008

The Financial Crisis gave us all a chance to see BOTH Men in a Crisis Situation and there WAS a Clear Leader and it was NOT John McSame. NO ONE wants a leader who will continue the Policies of George W. Bush and NO ONE wants another leader who''s response to a VERY bad situation is "Stay the Course". McSame has shown that his is THAT leader thus he''s being rejected by the American People.
Reply to this comment
by realcomments October 14, 2008 7:30 AM PDT
some of you morons want to be led by a junior senator with no understanding of foreign policy or economics, and this nitwit says we should attack Pakistan , a nuclear ally. And then he wants to go to Iran and make peace with a terrorist who says he''s going to destroy us. While he''s doing that, he wants to give Iraq to al Qaeda, Afghanistan to the Taliban, Israel to the Palestinians, and your money to the IRS so the government can give welfare to illegal aliens, who he will make into citizens, so they can vote to re-elect him. He also thinks it''s okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and we should stop our foreign aid to Israel. Did you sleep through high school?
Reply to this comment
by irmcvet97 October 14, 2008 8:10 AM PDT
Did you sleep through high school?

Posted by realcomments at 07:30 AM : Oct 14, 2008

I think the proper question is did YOU finish the 6th grade? ANYONE watching the two of these men during this crisis should be able to SEE with their own eyes which is the better one in a crisis and it ain''t McSame. I noticed you did NOTHING but attack Obama too. Is that something in the Neocon DNA?
Reply to this comment
by icewinds-2009 October 14, 2008 9:03 AM PDT
Is this McLame''s new strategy? Everthing else has failed (of course that is NOT his fault). Let''s try WHINING about how UNFAIR everyone is treating him, maybe we can pick up the sympathy vote. Have you watched ANY of McLame''s ads? No doubt he thinks those are all FAIR and HONEST. How can I trust a person who made such a SORRY choice for VP and decided to run a smear campaign instead of talking issues?? If McLame''s campaign is any hint of what his presidency would be like.......
Reply to this comment
by usclimey October 14, 2008 9:05 AM PDT
Posted by commonsence1

The media simply goes after whoever''s in power at the time because that''s where the sales are. I don''t recall any of you GOPers all up in arms when the media was covering Clinton''s BJ 24/7
Reply to this comment
by msvoltaire October 14, 2008 9:06 AM PDT
The dime a dozen hired republican trolls on this site and their ilk have minds that are lower than the regurgitated filth of vultures ...

For a person who makes less than 200K per year to vote Republican is for the slave to vote for the Slaveholder.
Reply to this comment
by usclimey October 14, 2008 9:07 AM PDT
Why is anyone pushing Obama and Biden?
Posted by alicerea1

With Mc.Failin you get a 100% chance of four more Bush years. With Obama/Biden you get a 75% chance of something better and a 25% chance of something truly historic.
Reply to this comment
by msvoltaire October 14, 2008 9:08 AM PDT
The dime a dozen hired republican trolls on this site and their ilk have minds that are lower than the regurgitated filth of vultures ...

For a person who makes less than 200K per year to vote Republican is for the slave to vote for the Slaveholder.
Reply to this comment
by icewinds-2009 October 14, 2008 9:10 AM PDT
Why is anyone pushing Obama and Biden?
Posted by alicerea1

With Mc.Failin you get a 100% chance of four more Bush years. With Obama/Biden you get a 75% chance of something better and a 25% chance of something truly historic.

Nicely Stated!! I agree 200%.
Reply to this comment
by usclimey October 14, 2008 9:10 AM PDT
Did you sleep through high school?

Posted by realcomments

No, but you obviously slept through the last three months during which Obama has refuted every point you mention here.
Reply to this comment
by mkbjon October 14, 2008 9:15 AM PDT
As election day draws nearer, and Obama continues to lead in the polls, it''s to be expected that the more outspoken racists are coming front and center. These are the supporters McCain would rather keep hidden. They are the tip of the iceberg---racism runs deeper, but most bigots are closeted, and don''t want to be publicly perceived in that way. I can only imagine what the few black republicans must feel like being at a rally next to some of these people, because they have to know that white supremacists and aryans would naturally flock to the GOP.
Reply to this comment
by mkbjon October 14, 2008 9:19 AM PDT
For a person who makes less than 200K per year to vote Republican is for the slave to vote for the Slaveholder.
Posted by MsVoltaire

THANK YOU!
Reply to this comment
by augustman195 October 14, 2008 9:48 AM PDT
Can anyone quote what has been said at an Obama ralley that is remotely similar to the "scary" things said at McCain/Pahlins? And further, I think it''s a wise move on Sen. McCains part not to go after Obama''s former pastor as he lives in (7) glass houses himself. I''ve been associated with pastors who have their opinions that I do not share, everyone is entitled to their own. But that didn''t cause me to dis-associate myself from that place of worship. You see I didn''t attend because of anyones opinion, I attended for the sole purpose of hearing the "Word" as I''m certain Mr. Obama did. One has to have a capable mind to "sift" through the rantings of other people. Mr. Obama has that ability.
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