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Stephanopoulos: McCain Camp Struggles to Find the Right Tone

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October 17, 2008 7:59 PM

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: John McCain may be trailing behind Barack Obama in the latest polls, but the McCain campaign remains optimistic about the chances for a McCain comeback over the next two weeks of the campaign. 

However there is a struggle inside the McCain campaign about the tone he should take, sources tell ABC News.

Some former McCain advisers want to see McCain take a more positive tone on the stump and give up on some of the attacks he's been making against Obama.

They point to the campaign tactic adopted by incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, who is locked in a tough fight for his Senate seat against comedian-turned-politician Al Franken. About a week ago, Coleman pulled all of his negative campaign ads and now he's tightened up the race there. 

One of the fiercest fights for Obama and McCain is in the once reliably red state of Virginia. McCain campaigns in Prince William County Saturday, where he hopes to erode Obama's support in Northern Virginia. Obama campaigned in Roanoke, Virginia today.

Polls show McCain is trailing Obama in the battleground state of Virginia, which hasn't voted for a Democratic president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

McCain aides concede that the Republican candidate can't take the White House without winning Virginia.

But Obama has invested heavily in the state and has three times as many campaign offices there as McCain. He has also been outspending McCain in television advertising 4 to 1 in the last couple weeks in Virginia. The McCain campaign is looking to close that spending gap in the coming days -- holding out hope for  the traditionally conservative-leaning state.

Obama is even giving McCain a run for his money in West Virginia.

While Obama lost West Virginia to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary by 40 points, Obama television ads in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia have spilled over into West Virginia -- tightening up the race there.

The Obama campaign has decided to put about $1 million of TV advertising in West Virginia to win those five electoral votes.

October 17, 2008 in McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (728)

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While Stephanassolus wants McCain to be positive and nice to Obama, Obama is blasting away against McCain and Palin. The media has picked who they want to be President and that one is Obama. Why else are Obama and the Democrats allowed free rein and are not scrutnized one iota? I just wonder how well paid off the media is.

Posted by: Bill | Oct 17, 2008 9:03:51 PM

John Sidney McCain III has reinvented himself so many times, it's hard to keep track. But it's always fun trying to guess what version of John McCain will show up next week!

Posted by: sawrad | Oct 17, 2008 9:04:15 PM

With all the brouhaha about the polls, I decided to start on of my own. I started a blog and ask these questions:

Does everyone realize there are four choices in this election?

You can vote:

For McCain – McCain is the best candidate in this election and deserves to be elected.
Against Obama – Where this might seem as a vote for McCain; its really not, it is a vote to keep Obama from being elected; no matter who the other candidate is.
For Obama – Obama is the best candidate in this election and deserves to be elected.
Against McCain – again this might seem like for Obama but it really isn’t.

Go to my blog and vote: http://nebraskavoice.blogspot.com

The results so for are interesting…

McCain – 56%
Obama – 44%

Posted by: NebraskaVoice | Oct 17, 2008 9:05:31 PM

To me the issue is not so much whether senator McCain strikes a positive tone, but if he has something substantive to say.

Banging on about Bill Ayers wasn't substantive by a long shot. Empty scaremongering about a US senator is less than substantive too. Especially coming from a candidate who took an airhead as running make.

The last debate actually was about policy issues. Even if it was "Joe the Plumber". That's what we need to hear about. If senator McCain has something substantive to say about policy issues, I'm sure we're willing to lend him our ear.

Posted by: Golodh | Oct 17, 2008 9:11:01 PM

Maybe they can pull within enough points to steal the election.

Posted by: karen | Oct 17, 2008 9:11:52 PM

With the help of the media McCain will lose by a wide margin...

Global aging: the demographic winter is coming.

Aging workforce in the USA.
geocities(dot)com/demographic_crash

Louis XIV : Apres moi le deluge.

P.S. Also new website prowomanprolife(dot)org

Posted by: SML | Oct 17, 2008 9:13:59 PM

No way should McCain kiss Obama's butt when Obama's spends billions a day (unprecedented amount EVER) in negative ads towards McCain.as well as Obama & Biden hurling insults against even JOE the Plumber, an american citizen who DARED to ask the "messiah" a question that propelled him into the limelight for embarrassing Obama and bringing to light Obama's socialist economic plan of taxing the small business person, as well as "spreading the wealth" which is code for his communist view of the world (except his own Wealth I'm sure!!!!) This from a guy who won't even send his STARVING brother who lives in a hell hole a friggin Dollar. Obama is the elitest who wants the american people to live in poverty. His economic plan - TRICKLE UP POVERTY.

MCCAIN needs to stay on task as he was in the last debate - where he wiped the floor with Obama's lying butt

Posted by: setojfree | Oct 17, 2008 9:17:37 PM

So the candidates have been campaigning for almost 80 weeks, and yet McCain and his supporters believe he can re-invent himself and the campaign in the final two weeks and that should be enough to win the election?

If he stops his gutter smears and goes positive that will undo his gutter smears, his selling of his soul to the 2000 Bush Campaign Brain Trust?

Posted by: Jonze | Oct 17, 2008 9:18:25 PM

VIVA OBAMA! VIVA ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, AMERICANOS WILL BE REAL GLAD WHEN ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA BECOME THE FIRST ISLAM COUNTRY IN THE WEST!

Posted by: Arsenio Cortez | Oct 17, 2008 9:18:39 PM

Oh, yes, Bill Ayers! RONALD REAGAN had no problems with Bill Ayers. So was Reagan a terrorist? WALTER ANNENBERG had no problems with Bill Ayers. Today's Republicans must see Ronald Reagan and Walter Annenberg (and many current Republicans currently working with Bill Ayers) as "terrorist pals", too. How about all the kids who've taken courses under Bill Ayers? Oops, kids, you're now "terrorist pals" too!

Posted by: sandy | Oct 17, 2008 9:21:19 PM

I think it's too late to save this Titanic of a campaign. They hit the iceberg weeks ago.

Posted by: Homeowner | Oct 17, 2008 9:23:53 PM

Is the McCain/Palin campaign for real? This campaign has turned into a "Gimmick A Week" sideshow. How can you connect with voters, when you can not even connect with a message? Maybe it shows the true substance of a campaign that expected to win on personality and the experience card. How much experience and leadership does it show when you can not even connect with more than just your base of voters. I respected McCain in 2000, I still do...but somewhere he got lost. Is this the kind of administration we, the American people, can expect if he is elected?

Obama/Biden ;-)

Posted by: annazette | Oct 17, 2008 9:24:11 PM

Senator Obama has picked up some amazing endorsements the past few days: Obama endorsements: Washington Post, Denver Post (it is the paper owned by Dean Singleton, who is a big-time Republican booster and personal friend of George W. Bush), Murdoch-Owned London Times, Chicago Tribune (very conservative paper who has always endorsed the Republican candidate for president), Boston Globe, LA Times (who has not endorsed ANY presidential candidate since 1972), and the trend is on! Additionally, Senator Obama has won the endorsement of conservative talk radio host Michael Smerconish, who has filled in for Glenn Beck, Scarborough, and O'Reilly.

Posted by: sandy | Oct 17, 2008 9:24:35 PM

America has been kept blind by the “media”.

World Net Daily, Aaron Klein
“Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim of Kenyan origin who studied in Islamic schools and whose campaign may have been financed by people in the Islamic and African worlds, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said during a recent televised national rally” (watch the rally).
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78309

"There are elections in America now. Along came a black citizen of Kenyan African origins, a Muslim, who had studied in an Islamic school in Indonesia. His name is Obama," said Gadhafi in little-noticed remarks he made at a rally marking the anniversary of the 1986 U.S. air raid on his country.

Posted by: Ann | Oct 17, 2008 9:26:22 PM

While the election of the first half black President is exciting the implications of the choice of Barack Obama can be devasting for the future black candidates and the whole democratic party. All the hoopla of Clinton faded and and his reelection was based on good economy that was was the start of predatory lending. He did not have a good first year in office and unfortunately Obama will not have a good four years and will be limited to one term if elected. His economic policies simply do not make sense for this current economy not to mention a society that includes capitalism. Liberal taxing and increase spending will only create more contraction. While spending can effect an economic downturn, there are billions already earmarked for the bailout and billions that have been spent in the defense industry for years employing many workers in the US. A more moderate candidate would pull this economy out of this recession but the social tax and spend policy will throw it probably into a depression.

Posted by: jamesferrel | Oct 17, 2008 9:28:39 PM

Just heard a great stat on NOW on PBS that Democrats may win military vote. They just said that soldiers overseas are making campaign donations to Obama 5 times more than to McCain, running 5 to 1! This is totally awesome, are Democrats going to win military and veterans this time? Along with a possible endorsement by Colin Powell on MTP Sunday, this campaign has been a total game changer, unbelievable! Obama/Biden ‘08!

Posted by: sandy | Oct 17, 2008 9:30:19 PM

Unfortunately if you don't have a record by which to measure a person's convictions then you only have the people he surrounds himself with and his word.We all know that the people he surrounds himself with-Ayers,Wright, Meeks, Rezko,Farrahkan etc have one common theme they dislike or want to harm America. Then the question becomes why did he choose these people to associate with? I can honestly say I don't know anyone that blames America for aids or calls Jewish people the gutter religion, kills cops, or leaves poor people living in squalor while Rezko gets rich. Isn't it just common sense to research everything about Obama? And why would you want to stop someone from questioning these associates? Why is it ok to rip Joe the Plumber apart for simply asking a question,but it's not ok to question everything about the man who is trying to be elected the POTUS. I don't think of it as being negative I see it as being responsible.

Posted by: amazed801 | Oct 17, 2008 9:31:54 PM

2 Ann:

Honey, you need to get REAL facts. ;-)Obama's mother is White, his father is Kenyan...so YES he is of Kenyan heritage. He is not MUSLIM, but, if he was...SO WHAT!! There are Muslims in America. They vote just like Christians. Muammar Gadhafi was trained by the US military (which is something no one will tell you)...as were many military leaders in the world.

Posted by: GEN X | Oct 17, 2008 9:32:28 PM

"Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim of Kenyan origin who studied in Islamic schools and whose campaign may have been financed by people in the Islamic and African worlds, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said during a recent televised national rally”
****************************************
Ann - and this relevant because?

Posted by: sandy | Oct 17, 2008 9:32:30 PM

See Chicago Tribune's article by John Kass: "Daley reins in radicals--the Chicago Way." www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-mk-bd-12-oct12,0,5393672.column

I encourage you to read the whole article, but here is an excerpt: "Ayers is a terrorist—the narcissistic son of privilege and clout—whose father, Thomas, was the boss of Commonwealth Edison and a friend of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. As a leader of the ultraviolent Weather Underground, Ayers admitted to helping bomb the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon in the 1970s. He should have been sent to prison. Instead, Chicago political clout allowed him and his wife, fellow radical Bernardine Dohrn, to magically join the payrolls of universities here.

Obama says he was 8 years old when the bombs went off. But he was a grown man when he sought Ayers' political blessing, and when they worked on the same education projects.

"They're friends. So what?" Mayor Daley said in August."

The article is very interesting. You owe it to yourself to read it so that you can vote with your eyes open.

Posted by: Jiaenglish | Oct 17, 2008 9:35:05 PM

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