December 14, 2008
MAVERICKY.... The Republican National Committee, true to form, is going to comical lengths to try to connect Barack Obama to Rod Blagojevich, reality notwithstanding. The latest initiative includes a three-minute web video featuring a bunch of instances in which the senator from Illinois met the governor of Illinois. The horror.
The video is likely part of RNC chairman Mike Duncan's campaign to keep his job -- he's desperate to prove to Republicans that he can be at least as ridiculous as the other candidates for the post. But outside this context, the Republican National Committee's baseless smear campaign against the president-elect seems unusually cheap, even by RNC standards.
Oddly enough, an unexpected source came to Obama's defense this morning.
John McCain, reminding GOP partisans why they always hated him, downplays the Blago story and takes a passing shot at the RNC on "This Week":
"I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody -- right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me."
(McCain also joined everyone else in calling for Blagojevich's resignation, but added, "[T]here's a lot of corruption among Republicans and Democrats.")
When the Republican presidential candidate thinks the RNC is wasting its time on a foolish attack against the Democratic president-elect, you know the party is headed in the wrong direction.
—Steve Benen 11:15 AM
Permalink
| Trackbacks
| Comments (15)
I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does - McCain
This from a guy who was hawking the connections between Obama and Ayers and Rezko, while denying his own record and connections. The rich is irony.
Posted by: Danp on December 14, 2008 at 11:29 AM | PERMALINK
When the Republican presidential candidate thinks the RNC is wasting its time on a foolish attack against the Democratic president-elect, you know the party is headed in the wrong direction.
Alternatively, you can understand why they didn't turn out and vote for him. Besides, you don't really like the guy.
Posted by: MatthewRMarler on December 14, 2008 at 11:33 AM | PERMALINK
Ah, this is the McCain so many Democrats came to love - the one who shivs his own party's national committee. Awesome.
Posted by: John on December 14, 2008 at 11:51 AM | PERMALINK
John, McCain before he got the GOP nomination was against torture, but after he got it - eh, not so much. The Republican Party is genuinely dysfunctional currently, and that McCain is willing to not follow along with the RNC's latest idiocy is a step in the right direction.
Posted by: David W. on December 14, 2008 at 12:07 PM | PERMALINK
Had McCain acted like this during the Presidential campaign, he very well could be the President-elect right now. It just proves that it's a lot easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk in the political world.
Posted by: Justin on December 14, 2008 at 12:13 PM | PERMALINK
"you know the party is headed in the wrong direction."
Oh, I know it.
And I hope they never realize it, but just keep heading in the wrong direction into oblivion.
After that, it'll just be a matter of cleaning up the feces they left across the landscape.
Posted by: John Thullen on December 14, 2008 at 12:14 PM | PERMALINK
And a Democratic source got in Obama's grill, as Ed Rendell says he's mishandled his communications on this issue. There's the flip side of the bipartisanship coin for you, Steve, et al.
And, it’s Obama himself, and not Ax that made a statement that would seem to be “ inoperative,” to use a Nixon-era term.
Of course, unlike with Ax, there can't be an anonymous "somebody" from Obama's staff that has Obama himself withdraw comments about whether he did or did not have Valerie Jarrett names as a preferred Senate candidate.
Posted by: SocraticGadfly on December 14, 2008 at 12:16 PM | PERMALINK
Just like a leaopard can't change its spots, the RNC is stuck with the same ol' same ol'. For the past couple decades the RNC has been nothing but smoke and mirrors, baseless attacks, and the like. There is no substance there, and there likely will not be for some time to come.
Rod Blagojevich--The Democratic Party's Sarah Palin.
Posted by: bubba on December 14, 2008 at 1:09 PM | PERMALINK
The latest initiative includes a three-minute web video featuring a bunch of instances in which the senator from Illinois met the governor of Illinois.
It's almost as good as the video featuring a bunch of instances in which the governor of Alaska met the senator from Alaska, a convicted felon.
Posted by: josef on December 14, 2008 at 4:09 PM | PERMALINK
why am I not surprised this showed up on Halperin's site?
Posted by: bruce on December 14, 2008 at 4:23 PM | PERMALINK
A political party with a list of pedophiles and sex scandals this long should know better than to point fingers…..
Posted by: Sam Simple on December 14, 2008 at 4:24 PM | PERMALINK
Steve, you and everybody else might think McCain came to Obama's defense, but that's not the way media arbiter Mark Halperin saw it. Halperin's banner headline this morning was something like, "McCain Presses Obama to Release Blago Contacts." Evidently, the 20+ other stories with headlines like, "McCain Slams RNC" embarrassed Halperin, so he has since changed his headline to "McCain Gently Urges Release of Blago Info."
Of course we mustn't blame Mark for misleading headlines. After all, somebody has to do something to counter the "sickening pro-Obama media" that so trouble Halperin.
The Constant Weader at www.RealityChex.com
Posted by: Marie Burns on December 14, 2008 at 6:28 PM | PERMALINK
Wouldn't it be funny if McCain became the reliable #60 vote for filibusters against the Asswipes? It'd pretty much serve them right and go a long way to giving him an honorable exit from public life after he wins his next re-election (which I bet he could do especially if he did this).
Posted by: TCinLA on December 14, 2008 at 7:58 PM | PERMALINK
Jack Abramoff wrote a letter to Ronald Reagan that said, "I'd like to remove the liberals from government permanently."
He's with the lot of the GOPers.
Lee Atwater, the so-called genius, boy-wonder of smear campaigns, to which he trained Boy George and Karl Rove.
Too bad, Atwater died at the age of 40. However, his dying confession was, "this is karma, I hurt so many people in my life." (referring to the smears that ruined a lot of the Dems campaigns.)
Posted by: annjell on December 14, 2008 at 8:42 PM | PERMALINK
Sr. Max Higgins,
Yes, I can believe it. Bank of America has a bank building in Georgetown Cayman Islands. You can only use the ATM.
Unlike the thousands of corporations in the Ugland House building in the Cayman Islands, BofA has an actual building.
They say it's not a retail bank, but a wholesale bank. Yet, they do not do loans there, or conduct any type of business.
They were in the Bahamas, when the tax laws changed they moved to the Caymans.
This is how Enron was able to file bankruptcy. They have subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands and hid the true balance sheets there (in the Caymans).
By the way, try closing one of you accounts at BofA. If you don't have checks, debit/atm card to withdraw your funds, they won't let you close your account.
Posted by: annjell on December 14, 2008 at 8:48 PM | PERMALINK