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RNC Tries to Stop DNC Ad Against McCain

April 29, 2008 8:18 AM

The debate over Sen. John McCain's comments about US troops being in Iraq for up to "100 years" continues to heat up, with the Democratic National Committee launching a new TV ad using McCain's words against him, and the Republican National Committee demanding that TV and cable networks stop running the ad.

As we've covered before, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has twisted McCain's words, in the past to make it seem as though McCain had been advocating continued war for 100 years, as opposed to a US troop presence as exists in South Korea.

What McCain said, when asked about President Bush's comments that having US troops in Iraq for another 50 years would be acceptable was, "Maybe 100. That's be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, that'd be fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al-Qaida is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day."

That said, the Republicans have tried to use this small number of misrepresentations to make any political use of McCain's "100 Years" remarks somehow inaccurate and dishonest. It's an interesting attempt to remove a gaffe from the public sphere, but it's a reach.

The DNC ad (watch it HERE) doesn't give McCain's whole remarks -- namely his disclaimer that the presence of the troops would only be OK if they were not engaged in continued combat -- but neither does it say McCain is called for 100 years' more worth of war.

It runs a clip of him saying "Maybe 100. That'd be fine with me."

"If all he offers is more of the same," the narrator says, "is John McCain the right choice for America's future?"

With footage of the war and graphics explaining the cost in dollars and lives, it implies McCain is calling for 100 years of continued carnage, but it doesn't outright state it.

RNC chief counsel Sean Cairncross sent letters yesterday to NBC, CNN and MSNBC telling them to "cease and desist" airing the TV ad since the ad is "a malicious falsehood." (Read the RNC letter HERE.)

The RNC quotes Factcheck.org calling a previous DNC fundraising email that characterized McCain as advocating an "endless war" in Iraq as a "rank falsehood" -- but that is not what this TV ad says, nor was Factcheck.org fact-checking this TV ad.

On Meet the Press Sunday, DNC chair Howard Dean defended the ad, saying, "we're not arguing that he's going to be at war for a hundred years.  We don't think we ought to be in Iraq for a hundred years under any circumstances.  Think of the hundreds of billions of dollars that are being spent in Iraq, which we need right here at home right now to preserve American jobs....Secondly, if Senator McCain believes that you can occupy a country like Iraq for a hundred years without having a long war and violence and our troops being hurt and, and killed, I think Senator McCain is wrong."

Dean asked who thinks "that if you keep our troops in Iraq for a hundred years, people won't be attacking them and won't be setting off suicide bombs and won't be having militias go after them?  I don't think so.  And most Americans don't think so. What Senator McCain is saying doesn't make any sense.  We cannot be in Iraq for a hundred years.  Those dollars belong in America."

Incidentally, there's an image from the ad that intrigued me. Namely this one, of an IED blowing up near US soldiers.

Ht_dnc_ad_080429_blog_3

It was very reminiscent of an image used in Michael Moore's controversial, Oscar-winning documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Ht_fahrenheit911_080429_blog_4

Democratic strategist Steve McMahon, a partner at the firm McMahon Squier Lapp & Assoc, which made the ad, tells me that he bought the footage from Getty Images, which is where Moore must have bought it as well. He didn't remember the same footage being used in the Moore movie, he said.

And it's true, right on the Getty Images website, you can see the footage from January 16, 2004 is for sale.

- jpt

April 29, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (36)

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Opps! Decimal was in the wrong place. The economy grew 0.6% not .06%.

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 30, 2008 6:54:48 PM

somethingdeadlythiswaycomes:

Gas prices will be even higher under either Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama. That's because they want to raise the federal tax on gasoline. Some Democrats in Congress have been advocated raising it $1-$3 per gallon for several years. Had the Democrats allowed the Bush Administration's energy package to pass years ago, we could have been pumping millions of barrels of our own oil everyday. But no, the Democrats block new drilling and attempts to open up refineries (we haven't had a refinery built in over 20 years). A number of liberal state legislatures have pass laws that require additives to gasoline. Some states require different additives in the winter and summer. This requires that ALL refineries in those states shut down twice a year to switch over to the new additive solution. When you shut down refineries that means less supply -- thus higher prices.

The economy is not rotten. In fact we still haven't even officially reached a recession yet. The latest report that came out today shows that the economy grew .06% in the first quarter. A meager gain, but a gain none the less. Certainly things could be better, but considering we are at war; there is a downturn in the housing market; the sub-prime mortgage mess; in addition to the record energy prices, the economy could be a whole lot worse. The economic stimulus payments have just begun to go out. We shall see if this sparks an uptick in the economy. (NOTE: I, personally, would have rather seen the federal government spend the money on fixing the nation's infrastructure rather than cash payments to taxpayers. Since that would have created thousands of jobs. But the Democratic controlled Congress passed payments to taxpayers instead.)

And the employment situation is not "miserable." The latest report on Apr 4, indicated a rise from 4.8% to 5.1% unemployment. A 5.1% unemployment rate falls just outside the generally recognized definition of "full employment."

Should Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama win the presidency and follow through on their call for letting the Bush tax cuts expire, raising income tax rates and capital gain taxes, the unemployment rate will spike and this will mean a real downturn in our economy.

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 30, 2008 6:24:59 PM

Bush's ride to the airport to pick up the Pope was nothing more than a political stunt to ingratiate his lousy self with Catholics. Catholics should be aware that bush cannot even meet the basic qualifications for being a Christian -- he hates the poor having said that they're poor because they want to be.

McCain hasn't been nicknamed 'McSame' for nothing. If elected it'll be the same krap as bush has been excreting upon us for the last 8 years.
Keep in mind when voting in November the ever upward-moving high gas prices, the sub-prime mortgage mess, the lessening of the dollar's value, the rotten economy, the miserable employment situation -- these are some of the rotten things we have to look forward to IF McCAIN IS ELECTED. Catholics care about the less fortunate -- what a joke!

Posted by: somethingdeadlythiswaycomes | Apr 30, 2008 3:43:13 PM

Who's holding who hostage among the Democrats is an interesting question, and two "coincidental" footage overlaps 'twixt Michael Moore (who'll offer an hour-long Obama commercial on Larry King Live tonight, for ANOTHER coincidence) and the DNC is a lot of coincidences. And from whom, one wonders, did that explosion footage come?

It looks more and more like a (continuing) coup, doesn't it? Where the corporate smarty-pants coalition made its mistake is in tender candidate Obama. Whoever first mentioned "Manchurian candidate" was, it seems, right on the money.

Posted by: Belle Starr | Apr 30, 2008 2:59:37 PM

Getty Images

another example of why the MSM sent photographers to imbed with our military

FOR SALE

Posted by: not impressed | Apr 30, 2008 10:01:49 AM

AS usual, liberals can only express themselves when false assumptions can only be presented.

Posted by: MacMan | Apr 30, 2008 7:21:08 AM

Radmanaustin, you wrote: "GOP better come up with something better than a cranky retired pastor and an Obama friend who did something stupid 38 years ago."

Actually the GOP has a lot: (1) Sen. Obama supports wealth redistribution; (2) Sen. Obama supports raising income tax rates -- even above and beyond the huge tax hike in eliminating the Bush tax cuts; (3) Sen. Obama supports raising the capital gains tax; (4) Sen. Obama voted against banning partial birth abortion; (5) Sen. Obama supports withdrawing our troops from Iraq regardless of whether Iraq is fully prepared to govern, sustain and defend itself, and regardless of the consequences (one being handing al Qaeda a military victory in Iraq); (6) Sen. Obama supports the federal government taking over our national health care system and implementing womb-to-tomb universal health care; (7) Sen. Obama supports eliminating our "ownership society;" (8) and Sen. Obama is a Marxist-Socialist.

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 29, 2008 9:57:12 PM

What do you libs think about Clinton asking for $2.3 BILLION in earmarks and McCain asked for zero?

Posted by: Nile | Apr 29, 2008 9:46:03 PM

When do you think soldiers should stop being deployed to Kosovo? Another 3,000 went a few weeks ago, never here anything about that do you?

Posted by: dee | Apr 29, 2008 7:49:36 PM

Thebob.bob, you are right...lots of laughs. It is actually the Republicans who have been attempting to pass tort reform in order to end frivolous lawsuits but have been continuously thwarted by the Democrats. And it is the left that has on occasion physically assaulted conservative speakers in an attempt to prevent them from exercising their right to free speech.

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 29, 2008 7:47:11 PM

Those Republicans! They just want to clog up the courts with frivolous lawsuits to stop real Americans from exercising their right to free speech! Next thing you know, they'll be claiming that there's a vast left-wing conspiracy!! LOL

Posted by: thebob.bob | Apr 29, 2008 7:19:52 PM

I agree. Let's pull all of our troops out of all foreign countries and bring them home, as suggested by the libs. What a country we would have. Put them on the borders. Of course, we would soon be bowing to Mecca and the world would not be kind.

Posted by: JDP | Apr 29, 2008 4:47:48 PM

How soon we forget that we have had a democratic congress throughout President's Bush's term. Aren't they responsible for anything?

Posted by: JDP | Apr 29, 2008 4:44:59 PM

Let's skip the election...have the candidates enter the octagon and settle their differences like the ultimate fighter. I'll be in the front row, wearing my WOLFSHIRT.

Posted by: WOLFSHIRT | Apr 29, 2008 4:38:29 PM

The world war II hasn't finished and the World war III already started.
What a chaos.

Posted by: crisis08 | Apr 29, 2008 4:37:22 PM

The DNC should pull this add. It is too early to start the salvos even if the RNC started it in NC. This is going to get messy. GOP better come up with something better than a cranky retired pastor and an Obama friend who did something stupid 38 years ago. Thank you for the lessons. Rov's chicken are coming home…

Posted by: Radmanaustin | Apr 29, 2008 3:43:57 PM

I find it interesting that there are 2 type of libs the elitist which includes Obama, Hilary, Kerry, Gore, Pelosi, Reid that push a Socialistic agenda and spew racism and hatred with their lies and sounbytes, Then there are the libs that are followers that believe what the elitists say and blame any negative stuff their Socialist Commarades say and blame republicans when the truth comes out.

I see hypocrisy like the libs complaining they are tight on money dont have any to feed their family or pay for gas, but libs like JTS have 1000 dollars to throw away defending socialism!

How Ironic!

You libs keep claiming the republicans lie but give no factual evidence to prove it! You claim the Swift Boat heroes that came out against Kerry lied but no one proved even when a million dollars was offered to prove a lie in what they said, it was even offered to Kerry, but no proof.

We prove every lie your elitist libs say !

Posted by: spock | Apr 29, 2008 2:55:11 PM

Republicans! Your chickens are coming home to roost! Soundbite politics is a two-edged sword. We're playing by your rules this time around, and it's only going to get worse.

On the substance. McCain is billing himself the foreign policy guru. He thinks that we could station troops in Iraq under peaceful conditions for any amount of time. He is no guru. He things we SHOULD station troops there if peaceful. He's not guru on foreign policy, or domestic policy if you consider the cost of keeping troops there.

Don't worry, there's whole world of McCain contradicting himself on video, and the U.S. public is going to become familiar with all of it. Obama's fundraiding is so high it frees up people like me to donate to 527s. Believe me, I'm just looking for the nastiest one before I give my $1000.

Posted by: JTS | Apr 29, 2008 2:17:49 PM

This is politics and the heat is on and it is only going to get worse.

Posted by: Tina from Florida | Apr 29, 2008 1:15:59 PM

Absolutely amazing: Hillary and the Republicans (says Newt) have been fighting this way for a long time now. Funny how she and they can't take it when someone/anyone actually fights back. Dems, if you want to keep losing, fight fair !

Posted by: Bret C | Apr 29, 2008 12:50:47 PM

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