WASHINGTON - Democrat Barack Obama has a message for Tennessee's Republican Party: "Lay off my wife."
Obama, his party's presidential front-runner, and his wife, Michelle, were asked in an interview aired Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" about an online video last week by the state's GOP taking her to task for a comment some considered unpatriotic.
Obama, his party's presidential front-runner, and his wife, Michelle, were asked in an interview aired Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" about an online video last week by the state's GOP taking her to task for a comment some considered unpatriotic.
"The GOP, should I be the nominee, can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," Obama said. "If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful because that I find unacceptable, the notion that you start attacking my wife or my family."
He called the strategy "low class."
The video, posted on YouTube, centered on remarks Michelle Obama made while campaigning in Wisconsin last February, when she said: "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country."
The four-minute video replayed the remark six times, interspersing it with commentary by Tennesseans on why they are proud of America. In a news release that included a link to the video, Tennessee's GOP said "the Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America." It urged radio stations to play "patriotic music" during Michelle Obama's visit to Nashville last Thursday.
Michelle Obama later clarified the remark, saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process and that she had always been proud of her country. More on the story.
As one could argue that Obama is getting a taste of reality of political smear. Keep in mind that Obama is the Senator of Illinois. And certainly he got his licks of political smear when he first ran for Senate in Illinois. But, I would just say to lay off of Obama's wife. In fact, all parties should lay off all spouses and children of the candidates in this race. The issues are the concern not political attacks on spouses and children. As Hillary [as her husband] has far more experience in political attacks than Obama, she, too, has to be strong enough to endure those attacks and know the game. McCain, also with a long record in the Senate, knows from experience political attacks. And if McCain starts following the same path as the Tennessee GOP, I would be really careful because this will be a reminder for McCain's past experiences of political attacks by Bush in 2000 that would come back to bite him. Remember this:
From Azcentral:
But the third-party groups also ran TV and radio spots savaging McCain, and other foes deluged voters with anti-McCain messages ranging from the nasty to the outrageous. Political pundits still argue about whether some of those smears were linked to the official Bush campaign.
"In e-mails, faxes, flyers, postcards, telephone calls and talk radio, groups and individuals circulated all kinds of wild rumors about me, from the old Manchurian Candidate allegation to charges of having sired children with prostitutes," McCain wrote in Worth the Fighting For. "There wasn't a damn thing I could do about the subterranean assaults on my reputation except to act in a way that contradicted their libel. When things got so bad that I became discouraged by my own negative ads, we pulled them. But I spent too much of my time denouncing my opponent's campaign tactics instead of sticking with the message that I believed in and that had worked so well in New Hampshire."
The Manchurian Candidate was a 1962 Cold War thriller starring Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey as a brainwashed former Korean War POW groomed by the Communists to infiltrate U.S. politics as an assassin. From time to time, fringe critics of McCain have sought to draw parallels between the movie plot and McCain's story.
A South Carolina mother brought to McCain's attention a story about a disturbing telephone call her 14-year-old son took. The youth, a Boy Scout, idolized McCain and became frightened and upset after the anonymous caller denounced his hero as "a cheat and a liar and a fraud."
McCain took the telephone call up with Bush, who denied having anything to do with it. "If I find out it was somebody from my campaign, they're not going to be in my camp anymore," Bush promised.
Another round of calls allegedly disparaged Cindy McCain as a drug user.
Meanwhile, key religious conservatives such as televangelist Pat Robertson came out strongly for Bush and against McCain, who also found critics picking apart his anti-abortion stance. McCain had given them some ammo in New Hampshire by seeming to suggest he would let his 15-year-old daughter make her own decision whether to have an abortion. (McCain quickly clarified that he meant that his family would consider all the options together.)
As one could argue that Obama is getting a taste of reality of political smear. Keep in mind that Obama is the Senator of Illinois. And certainly he got his licks of political smear when he first ran for Senate in Illinois. But, I would just say to lay off of Obama's wife. In fact, all parties should lay off all spouses and children of the candidates in this race. The issues are the concern not political attacks on spouses and children. As Hillary [as her husband] has far more experience in political attacks than Obama, she, too, has to be strong enough to endure those attacks and know the game. McCain, also with a long record in the Senate, knows from experience political attacks. And if McCain starts following the same path as the Tennessee GOP, I would be really careful because this will be a reminder for McCain's past experiences of political attacks by Bush in 2000 that would come back to bite him. Remember this:
From Azcentral:
But the third-party groups also ran TV and radio spots savaging McCain, and other foes deluged voters with anti-McCain messages ranging from the nasty to the outrageous. Political pundits still argue about whether some of those smears were linked to the official Bush campaign.
"In e-mails, faxes, flyers, postcards, telephone calls and talk radio, groups and individuals circulated all kinds of wild rumors about me, from the old Manchurian Candidate allegation to charges of having sired children with prostitutes," McCain wrote in Worth the Fighting For. "There wasn't a damn thing I could do about the subterranean assaults on my reputation except to act in a way that contradicted their libel. When things got so bad that I became discouraged by my own negative ads, we pulled them. But I spent too much of my time denouncing my opponent's campaign tactics instead of sticking with the message that I believed in and that had worked so well in New Hampshire."
The Manchurian Candidate was a 1962 Cold War thriller starring Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey as a brainwashed former Korean War POW groomed by the Communists to infiltrate U.S. politics as an assassin. From time to time, fringe critics of McCain have sought to draw parallels between the movie plot and McCain's story.
A South Carolina mother brought to McCain's attention a story about a disturbing telephone call her 14-year-old son took. The youth, a Boy Scout, idolized McCain and became frightened and upset after the anonymous caller denounced his hero as "a cheat and a liar and a fraud."
McCain took the telephone call up with Bush, who denied having anything to do with it. "If I find out it was somebody from my campaign, they're not going to be in my camp anymore," Bush promised.
Another round of calls allegedly disparaged Cindy McCain as a drug user.
Meanwhile, key religious conservatives such as televangelist Pat Robertson came out strongly for Bush and against McCain, who also found critics picking apart his anti-abortion stance. McCain had given them some ammo in New Hampshire by seeming to suggest he would let his 15-year-old daughter make her own decision whether to have an abortion. (McCain quickly clarified that he meant that his family would consider all the options together.)
6 comments:
For close to a year the Media has called Hillary every bad name in the book even calling her daughter a pimp. I noticed none of the Presidential candidates said a word about it. As if it's ok to call a female candidate a whore and worse and her daughter a pimp. But as most of the Americans felt that's how the game is played and to bad Hillary and her daughter would just have to deal with it.
Oh but when that hits home it's a total different story. Now Senator Obama is ordering the GOP not to talk about his wife. Well now we will hear from the Senator on how to respect woman or at least his wife. Americans have called Hillary every name in the book even calling then President Clinton every name in the book. But the new Law is that Mrs. Obama can't be treated like that or in other words lay off. I knew this would happen I just waited for Obama to show he is really is. Now fact woman can be called anything no matter how mad it is even their kids, but as President Obama will not allow his wife or kids to be addressed in any hurtful way. So much for protecting Americans looks like we have to stand up for ourselves. I will wait to see how Mrs. Obama reacts because she will as she is called out by the GOP. For those who want to know in advance what they will see rent the movie Waiting to Exhale. 1964 Michelle was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and not even Princeton or Harvard can change her. You can take the girl out of the South Side but you can't take the South Side out of the girl. Sister are Sister in the inter Cities it just that's how it is. Sometimes Michelle sounds stronger then her husband. No need to ask who wears the pants in the family. I will wait and show how this plays out. But it's old and has been done before just new faces this time.
Don't forget about the discusting "joke" McCain made about Chelsea as a child...No I don't think Obama is doing anything except giving McSame fair warning with finesse. David Shuster, to be fair, was the one who said Hillary was "pimping out her daughter"
God knows he doesn't want the world to know his idea of "first lady" stole not so allegedly stole drugs from a children's relief fund that she worked for...not that I blame anyone next to McCain for wanting to be numb in his presence
"not that I blame anyone next to McCain for wanting to be numb in his presence"
Oh, that was hilarious! If McSellout comes to town, I'll be sure to ask for some Valium.
"I'll be sure to ask for some Valium."
And some Viagra... ;-)
Yes, I would also be upset if my son idolized McCain.....exotic dancers, leaving wife number one who was going through intensive rehab from a car accident, who also had his small children to raise......for a much younger woman.....the lobyist.....well so many GOP activities here, that we know of.
And ya, Michelle is a South Sider, right there you know she knows what time of day it is, we keep it real on the south side.
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