McCain Can't Catch A Break

Washington Post: GOP Candidate Is Still Waiting For His Turn At Good Luck On The Campaign Trail

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Michael D. Shear.

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It seemed like a great way to counter Obamamania. Sen. John McCain would board a helicopter in New Orleans today, skim quickly over the Gulf of Mexico and land on an oil rig -- a made-for-TV moment to highlight his call for offshore drilling, an issue that Republicans believe will be a big winner in November.

Then came Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm that made a helicopter ride impossible. And then, improbably, a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city's French Quarter. The trip was off.

In this campaign, it seems, McCain just can't catch a break.

Through a series of missteps, gaffes and bad luck, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has endured a difficult week in what has been a choppy campaign. He now has no major event to offset Sen. Barack Obama's speech at Berlin's famed Victory Column, where a huge turnout is expected. Instead, he will be in Columbus, Ohio, speaking at a nighttime cancer event.

"An extra day spent in Ohio is not really a problem," senior aide Mark Salter said, insisting that a bit of bad luck does not make a trend, even as the campaign was scrambling to fill the time.

"There's a hurricane; we had to cancel an event," he said with a shrug after McCain spent a rainy day in northeast Pennsylvania attending a town hall meeting in Wilkes-Barre and a fundraiser, and commiserating with a couple at a grocery store in Bethlehem about the high price of food. "That's not something that's going to happen every day. I'm not going to worry about it."

Before his overseas trip, Obama faced questions about the wisdom of his pledge to remove U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, should he be elected. But as the week began, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared to endorse that timeline, and the Bush administration said that it supports a "time horizon" for withdrawing troops. Suddenly, it was McCain who was forced to explain his opposition to the withdrawal plan.

Meanwhile, Obama's trip to the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, followed by stops in Jordan, Israel and Europe, created a media frenzy, dominating the morning and evening network shows, cable chatter and the front pages of newspapers. The McCain campaign grumbled about the media's "love affair" with Obama, even doling out "Junior Varsity" badges to reporters who were "left behind" to cover the Republican. But it was McCain who invited the situation, after mocking Obama for weeks for not visiting Iraq and Afghanistan as a presidential candidate.

On the other side of the world, Obama seemed blessed with perfect weather and perfect timing.

At one stop, the senator from Illinois was filmed in a Kuwaiti gym shooting a basketball from behind the three-point line. Handing a microphone away, he dribbled a bit, struck a couple of poses for the troops, and warned, "I may not make the first one, but I'll make one eventually." He then let it fly.

Swish.

The competing visual from McCain was the 71-year-old senator riding in a golf cart during his visit to Kennebunkport, Maine, to meet with George H.W. Bush at the former president's retreat.

McCain also made a series of small gaffes this week, referring to the "Iraq-Pakistan border" and later to the country of "Czechoslovakia," neither of which exist. And his mistaken comment yesterday that the troops increase in Iraq began a movement called the Awakening, which started months before the military buildup, forced a day of explanations from his campaign.

McCain's camp attempted to seize the spotlight, and maybe change his luck, this week after columnist Robert D. Novak suggested that an announcement of a vice presidential pick may- be imminent. It wasn't, but aides dragged it out for more than a day -- even after Novak said that the campaign leaked the rumor and that he may have been used to try to grab attention from Obama.

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VP Hot Sheet: McCain
CBSNews.com tracks the veepstakes buzz and ranks the top contenders. See who's number 1!

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McCain, who has been known to carry good-luck talismans -- a pair of L.L. Bean shoes, a feather, a flattened penny -- has had fortune smile on him now and again. The New York Times handed the senator from Arizona a public relations gift this week by rejecting an article he had submitted to the editorial page to counter one the paper ran from Obama last week, making it easy to bash the liberal media.

And on his recent trip to Colombia, McCain was in the right place at the right time as the government there announced a raid in which long-held hostages were released.

Despite his recent problems, McCain remains just six percentage points behind Obama, according to an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released last night, unchanged from the survey's results a month ago.

Still, more pitfalls lie ahead.

As both campaigns look toward their conventions in late August and early September, observers have noted more than once that Obama's speech happens to be scheduled for Aug. 28, the 45th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. McCain's speech, on the other hand, will fall on Sept. 4, the opening night of the NFL season, which features a game between the Washington Redskins and the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Staff writer Robert Barnes contributed to this report.

[ariel133]

The highs of Obama will fall like a led balloon and the lows of MCCAIN will rise above the petty nonsense the Media keeps spewing, they are a disgrace beyond belief and Americans should be ashamed with the blantant biased reporting. If you are seeking perfection and think it is Obama you are sadly mistaken.

[omega39-2009]

Posted by Ariel133

President Barack Obama, get used to it.

[ariel133]

OMEGA- MCCAIN 2008-2012 ~ THE RIGHT CHOICE.

[jtdev1]

Is this some of the WHINING that Gram was talking about?


want some cheese with that whine????

[colvinatch]

Watchign McSame is about as exciting as watching paint dry.... he is PATHETIC.

[realpatriot1]

It''s the Straight Whine Express!

Maybe God is sending a message, the hurricane did wipe out his oil rig photo op.

[superdem]

It''s so funny that McCain was so haughty and condescending, daring Obama to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. Then Obama goes, and looks to all the world like the President of the United States. Obama might not have gone if McCain hadn''t been such a tool. Thanks, Mr. McCain !!! Obama''s people were brilliant to include meetings with the Palestinian President, which McCain did NOT do - that shows Obama is smart and serious, whereas McCain - like Bush - is an ideolog and strict Israeli partisan who will get nothing done on the Middle East''s most serious problem. Then on to Europe, where Bush is hated, and Obama is guaranteed to draw huge crowds. McCain sucks !

[brianbwb-2009]

Swish from the three?!

Is the reporter sure it was from the three, and not the free throw line?

You mean someone who still has some real talent for once?

There are people who get big bux for making threes!

Obama, da man in ''08

Now let us hope the US socio-economic situation gets some help from downtown.

[kman821]

For a candidate that proclaims all of this supposed international experience and knowledge ... the old guy just keeps making an @ss of himself everytime he opens his ego-driven yellow-toothed mouth!

[brianbwb-2009]

"McCain''s camp attempted to seize the spotlight, and maybe change his luck, this week after columnist Robert D. Novak suggested that an announcement of a vice presidential pick may- be imminent. ...even after Novak said that the campaign leaked the rumor and that he may have been used to try to grab attention from Obama."

Now was that before, or after Novak tried a hit and run? Or more accurately hit a guy with his ''vette, and tried to run?

It is almost funny, McSame is surrounded by the most pathetic losers he can find.

[wardoglrs]

JM say''s: My Friends I can solve all of our problems.

Today I have filled out my first application ever to fly Obama''s jet. I believe I could do a better job flying around the world cause iv been there in the air and I know my way around the earth. And we could go to Vietnam and i can show him my old hotel. We could meet my old buddies and eat rice with milk
And show him around the jungle where i used to go on days when i was upset at myself for things i cant remember right now but they''ll come to me as soon as i get there in sure

[asmre]

I have a question. HOW IN THE WORLD DID THE REPUBLICANS NOMINATE McCAIN?????????????????????????

[oscarez]

Looks like even Bush''s GOD don''t like McCain.

[wogerwabbit]

blantant biased reporting

Posted by Ariel133 at 10:16 AM

Really? It looked pretty much like facts to me. Oh yeah, you neocons don''t like facts... you''re heavily into fiction. Whatever... you''ll get a good dose of reality in November.

[ariel133]

No, the question is : How in the world did a white woman lose to a black man???

[barbaraf4]

"McCain Can''t Catch A Break"

He thought he was the annointed one. All he had to do was show up and kiss Bush''s ring and spew his policies. Too bad for McCain. Too good for the US.

[oscarez]

McCain is working hard to get Obama elected president. Keep up the good work John.

[ariel133]

So, all this negativity is what- Against MCCAIN to justify voting for an unqualified inexperianced senator? PLEASE. Get your heads out of your A--, for once.

[oscarez]

"McCain Can''''t Catch a Break"
More and more CBS is feeling like the National Enquirer.

Posted by michaelt302 at 10:56 AM : Jul 24, 2008

No, they are trying to look like Fox News the National Enquirer of TV.

[ariel133]

Oh, yes, use the racism card if you don''t have an intelligent thought to contribute. Facts are facts, weren''t you aware Clinton lost?

[Gary Kempf]

Watchign McSame is about as exciting as watching paint dry.... he is PATHETIC.


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Posted by colvinatch at 10:39 AM

I don''t think you are being quite fair, watching paint dry actually gives you at the very least a sense of accomplishment.

[ariel133]

Well, perhaps, on some level I am, since Obama has been making a mock of his race, ( if he didn''t win the primary would he still tell Reverend Wright to go away?) I am appalled with those who do not see reality- it is difficult to be pleased with the hypocrisy and be compassionate at the same time.

[six-six-seis]

He is Having a Mental Recession because Obama is stealing his "Mojo"

[gangesdak]

McCain on Viagra commercial will look good.

[antoniof123]

ddhinnyc

Your comments are why the Republicans are having such a hard time with the swing voters. Just because you repeat something doesn''t make it trur.

Now for you morons Obama is not a muslim, and you know I really don''t care because he is an American. That is with a big PERIOD. When wing nuts more more to the center we might start paying attention to them.

Once again swing voters really don''t care about others opinions they are the ones that make them and are really the only voters that decide the direction of the country.

Have a nice day.

[geneonlbk]

MyCane, if he is the patriot he claims to be, will strp aside before the convention and let the GOP nominate a viable candidate. As the American people are able to see more and more that MyCane suffers from age related dementia they will turn away form the conservative candidate and perhaps begin to look at Barr as an alternative to a candidate with obvious mental challanges,

[nextgenman]

Posted by jerr111 at 11:03 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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Dead Heat? You live in Fantasyland. McLiverspot doesn''t stand a chance.

[jlmcscanner]

a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city''''s French Quarter.

HAA, you did not need fumes to have a reason to cancel the new orleans trip....it stinks all on it`s own !!!

[meanbiker]

McCain will never get a break.. because the media hate him and love Barrack Hussein Obama.. so we get unfair and unbalanced news.. Don''t ya just Liv CBS and the others..

[nextgenman]

McCain can''''t catch a break because 98% of the media and reporters are infatuated with Obama. And the case is closed.


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Posted by ddhinnyc at 11:09 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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No, its because he''s irrelevant. McDottering is yesterday''s news with yesterday''s ideas. Obama can gain experience, McCain just gets older and more feeble.

[ioweign]

McCain will never get a break.. because the media hate him and love Barrack Hussein Obama.. so we get unfair and unbalanced news.. Don''''t ya just Liv CBS and the others..

Posted by MeanBiker at 11:20 AM : Jul 24, 2008

Just look at the time McCain wasted when Obama and Clinton were campaigning against each other during the Democratic Primaries. Don''t blame the messager...

[navyjimfl]

"Then came Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm that made a helicopter ride impossible. And then, improbably, a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city''s French Quarter. The trip was off."

It''s obvious GOD is against McCain and for Obama

[erichsh]

McCain can''t catch a break because 98% of the media and reporters are infatuated with Obama. And the case is closed.
...Posted by ddhinnyc at 11:09 AM : Jul 24, 2008

Agreed. The article headline is self-fulfilling, too.

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No, its because he''s irrelevant. McDottering is yesterday''s news with yesterday''s ideas. Obama can gain experience, McCain just gets older and more feeble.

Posted by nextGenMan

I don''t want Obama learning on the job to "gain experience" - McCain already has it. The "McWhatever" name-calling is what gets old and feeble. Maybe McCain can''t play basketball as well as Obama can, but part of that is because of the injuries he suffered while serving his country and being a POW for five years. Want to make fun of that, too?

[oscarez]

The GOPigs know that after George W Bush they don''t have a snowball chance in hell of winning the White House. It''s better to run some one that can be blamed for losing and that is to old to run again.

[smirk5]

Even Karl Rove admitted on Fox that the Sunni Awakening began before the surge.

[tonyd_31]

But I will absolutely vote for McCain because Obama will drive this country into the ground with his radical socialist agenda. (Not to mention that really scary wife of his!)

Posted by ritewingman

Where have you been these last 8 tragic years? In case you missed it, this country has already "been driven into the ground" courtesy of the neocons. Obama, or for that fact, no one can do worse than the current Cdr-in-Chief..

[labrat9999]

Yeah can''t catch a break but thanks to CBS news he can always depend on your help to edit his stupid remarks on the Surge and replace them with an answer that wasn''t even part of the question!! Thanks CBS...how about telling the truth to the American people!! We don''t need a news organization along with a government (make that GOP) destroying OUR country!! If you want to edit and lie about reporting move to Russia they could use a few good communists or socialist news folks there!!

Gee, you''d think that calling Obama a traitor might have done the trick.

[larue21]

What a joke!! McCain can''t catch a break?!?!? CBS "news" with "serious journalist" Katie Couric is editing out McCain''s WRONGO-PONGO-BONGO mcflubs and inserting other "answers". McCain owns the media - little ol'' Katie Sue is covering for Grumpy Grampy left and right.

[nextgenman]

I don''t want Obama learning on the job to "gain experience" - McCain already has it. The "McWhatever" name-calling is what gets old and feeble. Maybe McCain can''t play basketball as well as Obama can, but part of that is because of the injuries he suffered while serving his country and being a POW for five years. Want to make fun of that, too?

Posted by erichsh at 11:28 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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Yet you voted for Bush. Try again on that experience schtick......and like it or not, McCain is just way too old. Yesterday''s news, yesterday''s ideas trying to solve today''s problem. Its like trying to put a wagon wheel on a corvette.....

[erichsh]

Yeah can''t catch a break but thanks to CBS news he can always depend on your help to edit his stupid remarks on the Surge and replace them with an answer that wasn''t even part of the question!!

Posted by labrat9999

Ah, knock it off. CBSNews.com lead today with an article written about just that - about McCain responding to your complaints, and all the others just like you. I''d like to see them put Obama on the defensive for his myriad flip-flops, but won''t hold my breath.

[nextgenman]

Why couldn''''t Obama close Hillary out? It took about 100 superdelegates to do it FOR him.

I know deep inside Democrats are worried about this.

Posted by ddhinnyc at 11:36 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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Not really.

[cfin5]

That''s what happens when you shove a better man out of the way like RON PAUL. Guys like me can''t help you much Senator McCain. You made your lot with your voting record, things unconstitutional. "YOU" are the one and those like you who have tied up our patriotic IQ''s from lending you a hand in our thoughts. You wanted the job so bad, now finish it.

[nextgenman]

CAUGHT ON TAPE..... MCAIN NAME CALLING A CHINESE "CHING CHONG" !!!

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

Posted by ChatarPatar at 11:37 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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Of course, its what racist Keystone GOPs do......

[micma-2009]

McCain on Bush

" . . . the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I''''ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush."


"[H]e has more than earned our support. He has earned our admiration and our love."
- John McCain on George W. Bush [Chicago Tribune, 8/11/04]

[ioweign]

I don''''t want Obama learning on the job to "gain experience" - McCain already has it. The "McWhatever" name-calling is what gets old and feeble. Maybe McCain can''''t play basketball as well as Obama can, but part of that is because of the injuries he suffered while serving his country and being a POW for five years. Want to make fun of that, too?

Posted by erichsh at 11:28 AM : Jul 24, 2008

Did you express this in 2000 when McCain was running against Bush?

[qt68]

Of course, its what racist Keystone GOPs do......
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Posted by nextGenMan

Very good you combined both LIB tactics of name calling and playing the race card.

[bsimon2007]

http://shareddarkness.com/2008/05/15/things-younger-than-mccain.aspx

^ Just saying...

[nextgenman]

Of course, its what racist Keystone GOPs do......
----------------------------
Posted by nextGenMan

Very good you combined both LIB tactics of name calling and playing the race card.

Posted by QT68 at 11:40 AM : Jul 24, 2008
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Is this the part where I say, "I remember the GOPs doing it to everybody who didn''t agree with them for the last 8 years?"

You sound like you have a case of sour grapes.

[micma-2009]

OBAMA VS McCAIN


1) Over 70% of our National Debt was created by just 3 Republican presidents.

2) Real middle class wage growth is double when a Democrat is president compared to when a Republican is president.

3) 90% of Americans would pay less taxes under Obama''s proposed tax plan compared to McCain''s.

Countless millions of Americans vote Republican because they believe they''ll pay less taxes and that they''ll have their money spent more responsibly. As you can see, those beliefs are directly contradicted by the facts. Of course we can choose to ignore the facts and instead focus on which candidate is wearing a flag pin (you ever notice that McCain doesn''t wear them?)