McCain Aide Suspended For Circulating Obama/Wright Video
Jonathan Martin at The Politico reports that a John McCain campaign aide was suspended today for sending out a racially-tinged Web video that calls into question Barack Obama's patriotism.
Soren Dayton, who works on McCain's political operation, distributed the YouTube link to the video on Twitter, but the link has since been taken down, Martin reports.
The video in question highlights some of the controversial statements made by Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright, including his now infamous "God damn America" diatribe.
It also questions Obama's patriotism using a clip of the Illinois senator listening to the national anthem without placing a hand on his heart and a separate shot of him saying, "I won't wear that pin on my chest." (In an October Interview, Obama said he stopped wearing the American flag pin because it had become a substitute for "true patriotism").
But the controversial video doesn't stop there. It included racial overtones, using an archived shot of Malcolm X and showing a "60 Minutes" clip of Michelle Obama saying, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Parts of the video were also set to the song "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy, an iconic hip-hop group known for its left-wing political activism and racially-charged lyrics.
McCain's communications director Jill Hazelbaker released the following statement:
"We have been very clear on the type of campaign we intend to run and this staffer acted in violation of our policy. He has been reprimanded by campaign leadership and suspended from the campaign."
The McCain campaign told CBS News that Dayton is a low-level employee who does not work on the communications side of the campaign.
