ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 58px; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">McCain Goes Negative</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>(310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright October 5, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4"> L</span>ess than one month before the Nov. 4 election, GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has turned negative, hoping to make up an aggregate 6% deficit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> While only the Electoral College counts, national polls show a growing voter trend away from McCain to Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> With time running out, McCain knows that the only way to catch up is to pound Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama s (D-Il.) character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether proven or not, outrageous accusations raise doubts for those too busy to check the facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Republican Vice Presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sara Palin accused Barack of  palling around with terrorists, referring to his past association with Bill Ayers, a member of the  60s radical group the Weather Underground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ayers, now an English professor at the University of Illinois, lives in Barack s South Side Chicago neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin s mudslinging could boomerang, antagonizing voters seeking real answers to real problems facing the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the House and Senate passing emergency financial bailout legislation and President George W. Bush signing the bill Oct. 3, Palin s salvo could be viewed as a cheap shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There s nothing other than rumor and innuendo to suggest Barack ever  palled around with Ayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country, Palin told a rally at a Tennis stadium in Carson, Calif., 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin s hyperbole goes to the heart of a campaign that prompted former Bush chief consultant and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove to project Barack wrapping up at least 273 electoral votes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That s bad news coming from Bush s chief architect of his two electoral victories.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin just finished debating Democratic VP nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) Oct. 2, with most polls showing Biden on top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin, while charming, felt content during the debate at Washington University in St. Louis not respond to the host s questions, preferring to give predigested stump speeches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Accusing Barack of  palling around with Ayers isn t supported by the record that shows them both serving on a board while Barack worked as a community organizer in Chicago s South Side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America, said Palin, painting Obama an un-American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We see America as a force of good in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We see an America of exceptionalism, not recognizing foreign polls showing a damaged American image over the last eight years, certainly since the Iraq War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin doesn t believe there s any image to fix.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain and Palin can t run on Bush s coattails because his aggregate approval rating has dropped below 28%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin tried to distance the McCain campaign in the Oct. 2 debate, chastising Biden for dredging up the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s difficult to forget the immediate past when only on Friday did Bush sign sweeping legislation to save the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush lobbied hard for the $700 billion rescue plan, telling a national TV audience that the country was close to economic disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Redirecting the focus to attacking Barack s character is the only trick left in the bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> What s clear is that John McCain and Sara Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama that laying out a plan to build up the economy, said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Saying at repeated campaign stops that Barack  pals around with Ayers helps indict Palin s already shaky credibility.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Exaggeration and distortion don t work well in the age of fact-checking and public records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Preaching to choir won t change too many independent minds, especially those that see the attacks as a cheap shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether the Obama campaign wants to or not, they must respond quickly to bogus attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the Democrat s 2004 nominee, ignored attacks on his military service by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a GOP-funded 527 IRS Code political group that disseminated relentless lies about Kerry s military service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether truthful or not, adding adverse publicity distracted the Kerry campaign and might have contributed to his loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Seeing the same pernicious propaganda originate from the Palin s office could backfire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Letting shady groups like SBVT do the dirty work helps shield the campaign from the negative fallout and a possible voter backlash.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Telling voters that Barack  pals around with terrorists creates so much hyperbole that it detracts from any credibility on more important matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since Sara s Sept. 3 acceptance speech, she cast herself into McCain s attack dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether she knows it or not, there s limits to the degree of exaggeration and distortion permissible in the public dialogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dredging up Obama s past associations also exposes McCain s shady dealings with convicted felon Charles Keating Jr. in the Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There s plenty of mud to go around, if the McCain campaign goes down that path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Most post-debate polls show Biden getting the better of Palin, prompting the self-described  hockey mom to go on the attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin s turned McCain s Straight Talk Express into a vengeful spin machine, leaving voters more skeptical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain and Palin must do more that sling mud to win on Nov. 4.</p> <p><b><u>About the Author</u></b><br> </p> <p><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>