[big campaign] Media Monitoring Report - Morning 08/11/08

podesta-emails 3,966 words email

P17 V11 V15 D6 P19

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*Main Topics: *New* *Obama Embrace Ad, Olympic coverage, Edwards Scandal, Russia/Georgia Conflict, Evangelical Voters *Summary:* In regards to McCain's recent celebrity ads, Obama released a new response ad called "Embrace". Huckabee discussed McCain's relationship with evangelical voters, and Tucker Bounds spoke about Obama's new ad. McCain and Obama released statements on the Russia/Georgia conflict. The Olympic games dominated morning network coverage. A brief interview with the President in Beijing last night repeatedly aired, where he voiced his discontent with the Georgian conflict. The John Edwards scandal continued to be a highlight, as he will now not be present at the Democratic Convention. The Georgian military in South Ossetia has completely withdrawn from the area amidst attacks by Russian forces. A U.S. air strike in Afghanistan has left eight hostages and 25 Taliban militia dead. Al Qaeda's deputy chief released a new tape accusing Musharraf of working for America's interests. Iraq demanded a set timetable of withdrawal of troops. Highlights: 1. Obama Releases New Embrace Ad a. FNC: Fox and Friends Discusses New Obama "Embrace Ad" and the "Same Old Politics" Message b. FNC: McCain's Celebrity Ad Versus Obama's Embrace Ad c. FNC: Tucker Bounds Talks McCain's Reform Ability and Maverick Status in Face of New Ads 2. FNC: Huckabee On McCain's Relationship With Evangelical Voters 3. Rick Davis' Interview From Last Night on Fox Sunday Reports a. FNC: Rick Davis Interview, Part I: Tries To Answer, If McCain Thinks This Country Is Worse Off That It Was Four Year Ago, Then Who Exactly Is Responsible? b. FNC: Rick Davis Interview, Part II: Answers Questions on DHL and Lobbyist Connections c. FNC: Rick Davis Interview, Part III: Comments on McCain's Plan For Lost DHL Jobs Highlights No Clips: 1) CBS – JOHN MCCAIN: [Official Response to Russia/Georgia South Ossetia Conflict]: "Continued Russian behavior… indicates that Russia is moving further and further from the principles and values and ideals of the G-8." Clips: Highlight #1 *Fox and Friends Discusses New Obama "Embrace Ad" and the "Same Old Politics" Message* (FNC 08/11/08 7:11am) STEVE DOOCY: Remember, a couple of weeks ago John McCain came out with that brand new ad, it was called "Celebrity", where it showed Barack Obama along with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and talking about how he, Barack Obama, the biggest celebrity in the world. Well, the Obama campaign now firing back. They parodied, Mr. McCain in the new ad called "Embrace", which has been embargoed until right now. Here it is in its entirety. ["Embrace" ad shown] […] GRETCH CARLSON: My first impression is, actually, that's a really upbeat ad for John McCain! I mean, he looks like he has a whole lot of energy and he's meeting with all these different people. That's just my guy, initial reaction. Also, I think the timing is a little off, because this should have come out immediately after the celebrity ad. This is a little delayed. BRIAN KILMEADE: *It's two things. They want to show him with President Bush, that's what they feel is going to be successful, all the experts come on and say if I was running against John McCain I would put him with President Bush.* But the other thing is, that's inaccurate, is that it was Barack Obama who voted for the President's energy plan which included tax breaks for the oil companies. It was John McCain that said that this was a party for the oil companies, therefore I'm not going to vote for it, which got Republicans very mad at John McCain. DOOCY: I also think it's funny that, where it says "John McCain taking the low road", this is an attack ad from Barack Obama. Hello? And Gretchen I'm exactly with you in that it shows John McCain, *you know they've been very effective the Barack Obama people, have you noticed that every time they have done an ad in the past they talk about "same old tired politics" they're trying to brand in our heads that he is old, and tired, and stuff like that. […]* KILMEADE: But Barack Obama is right, *John McCain is the darling of the late night shows. He's a darling of the talk shows, he's probably the number one person that every Republican wants by their side to raise money up until this presidential race. So there, Barack Obama is right, I don't know if he got that message across here.* *McCain's Celebrity Ad Versus Obama's Embrace Ad* (FNC 08/11/08 7:26am) […] JAMAL SIMMONS: John McCain may have a lot of energy, but it looks like where he's headed with the country though, is in a pretty bad place. And Americans seem to have recognized that. You look to the polls, as you just showed, it looks like John McCain can't really get above 42, 43 percent in any of these polls, and he's one of the people that Americans have known now for ten years. I mean from his 2000 campaign, he's a pretty popular guy. *The problem is the John McCain of 2000 wouldn't go anywhere near voting for the John McCain of 2008, cause he's sort of sold out all of his positions that he took back in 2000.* […] STEVE DOOCY: I'm talking about your candidate, how McCain was effective in tying Paris Hilton to Barack Obama, and Britney Spears. SIMMONS: Yeah, I don't think it was very effective. *I think that in fact, if it was effective at all, it was effective at erasing the maverick label from John McCain because one thing, I think, republican voters chose John McCain because they thought they were getting an adult who was going to talk about the real issues that we have, the real problems with gas prices, war in Iraq, and the economy. People have lost 51,000 jobs in the last month, and instead they've got John McCain talking about Paris Hilton. And frankly, it just wasn't very serious.* DOOCY: In that same ad, you mentioned gas prices, John McCain is for offshore drilling, Barack Obama is not. And that is part of the real message of that ad, Paris Hilton/Britney Spears ad. SIMMONS: *Well you know, we've come to find out that John McCain is sort of in the pocket of the oil company. He's gotten about two million dollars in oil contributions.* The democrats have an Exxon/McCain website that we've just put up. And I think people realize that, you know, we do want to get gas prices down and Barack Obama has a pretty good plan to do it. He wants to make sure the oil companies go after oil and the leases they already have. They have millions of acres they could be going after oil in right now, and if the part of the deal to get a comprehensive strategy long term to get rid of oil is to have offshore drilling, then Obama's open to talking about the offshore drilling. He just doesn't think it's going to be that effective. But let's go ahead and do it, he's not going to stand in the way of getting a real comprehensive deal just because he doesn't agree with one of the republican ideas. […] SIMMONS: […] John McCain's plan is to tax American healthcare benefits from their employers for the first time in history, so if you take a look at where Barack Obama is and where John McCain is and I think people have really realized that Barack Obama is the one they like. *Tucker Bounds Talks McCain's Reform Ability and Maverick Status in Face of New Ads* (FNC 08/11/08 7:34am) GRETCHEN CARLSON: How do you feel about the ad that was just sent at your man, Senator John McCain? You've must have seen it, moments ago. […] TUCKER BOUNDS: It's quirky. It doesn't fit. It's a response to our ad about Barack Obama's celebrity and I think that the reason why our ad was able to be effective is because Barack Obama was over in Germany, talking to throngs of fonding Germans and they're fans, they're not voters. He's shown an inability to close down some of those primary states despite having these enormous rallies during his primary. *And the difference is John McCain has a record of being able to reform government, it's been since 2004 that he actually took on the Abranoff scandal, inside Washington he's been beating down doors and changing the way business is done here.* And so, it's an ad, it's quirky, it's a response. But I don't think it really fits John McCain, his record, or who he is. STEVE DOOCY: […] He said that celebrity ad was not effective, but we've seen some of the pollsters say that in talking to voters, potential voters over the last week or two, it was effective, your ad in tying Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and stuff like that. But when you're watching this new ad, if you were watching with the sound down it would look like John McCain goes to a lot of fun places. BOUNDS: Yeah, well, he goes to talk directly to voters, he's an energetic guy, I think that came through even in a negative attack ad […]. It really is hard to dampen down John McCain's energy, I think that came through in their ad, but ultimately it just doesn't fit the candidate. I mean, this is the same John McCain that was riding around the back of the bus talking to anyone he could talk to to try to win the New Hampshire primary, he had no money, he was traveling around with just a couple people, and it doesn't really have any sort of basis in the historical relevance of this race or of the candidate. […] BOUNDS: We don't have to, I don't think, delve into the Mark Penn playbook, that was a different campaign for a different candidate. *We have the luxury of having a proven public servant, who has a history of working for change in this country, and reforming Washington. We're going to run on that.* Highlight #2 *Huckabee On McCain's Relationship With Evangelical Voters* (FNC 08/11/08 7:49am) BRIAN KILMEADE: Is Senator John McCain making some progress in the evangelical vote? *MIKE HUCKABEE: I think he's making some, I think there's ground yet to be made.* I would also, maybe include the term "values voters" rather than evangelicals, because the larger interest here is not just evangelicals, it includes Catholics, it includes people who may not be necessarily religious but are very pro-life. And I think that one of the mistakes that some people make is to assume that being pro-life means that you're anti-abortion. The real focus is not what we're against, it's more about what we're for. And it's the idea that people have intrinsic worth and value and that there's a sense of respect for the dignity of every person. And that's what's driving a lot of passions right now. Obama is reaching out to this group, and he's doing it with the view, I don't think he believes he's going to get the endorsement, but I think he wants to maybe tamp down the enthusiasm of opposition. And he's done a lot to reach out to that group. […] GRETCHEN CARLSON: At the same time […] some are fearing the left principles of Barack Obama and so some of the center and some of the right coalescing now behind John McCain. You remember, of course, you remember more than anyone, that a lot of those people did not like John McCain. What's happening there. HUCKABEE: […] He also does not have the same adherence to the idea of traditional marriage one man, one woman as John McCain does. And the scariest thing for many of the value voters comes down to the appointment of judges which could have a huge impact, not just for the next four to eight years but for the next 50 years. *That's what is driving many conservatives to say look, McCain may not have been our first choice but he is the best choice we have got.* […] Highlight #3 *Rick Davis Interview, Part I: Tries To Answer, If McCain Thinks This Country Is Worse Off That It Was Four Year Ago, Then Who Exactly Is Responsible?* (FNC, 08/10/08 6:06pm) […] WALLACE: But again, when you have a nonpartisan group saying that, in fact, for the exact group that you're talking about, people making $37,000, $40,000 a year, that Obama would cut their taxes more than McCain... DAVIS: Then Obama should put that in an ad. We're going to talk about the things Obama has said and done in the United States Senate and on the campaign trail, and that includes his vote to increase taxes on people making $42,000 a year. WALLACE: You think that people should be held accountable... DAVIS: Absolutely. WALLACE: ... for what their votes are in the Senate. DAVIS: Look, politics isn't bean bag, Chris. And if he has a record, it's a very short one, because he has very little experience as a legislator. But we ought to look at the experience he has, and he is a tax increaser. WALLACE: All right. We're going to — I'm asking you that because we're going to come back on McCain votes as well. Let's take a look at another McCain ad. Here it is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Does Senator McCain really believe that, that this country is worse off than we were four years ago? DAVIS: Sure. All along the trail, John McCain campaigns around real people. He goes to town halls and he hears what they have to say to him. You don't have to be in very many town halls, Chris, to understand that people are pinched by the increase in gas prices. They're losing jobs because of some downturn in manufacturing. And the economy as a whole has been very hard on the American family. That's what John McCain's referring to. He doesn't have to go very far every day to find those kinds of examples. WALLACE: Given that, I want you to respond to this clip from an Obama ad. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: In fact, Mr. Davis, Senator McCain is understating it. Last year, he voted to support Bush legislation 95 percent of the time. Given that, if the country's worse off, isn't both the president and John McCain — aren't they both responsible? DAVIS: Well, look. If you want to talk about history, then you can make all the cases you want to make... WALLACE: But you're talking about history. You talk about the last four years. DAVIS: Exactly. And what I'm talking about, though, right now is what the future holds and who's got a plan to cut taxes and get the economy moving again, because growth is the only way we're going to improve people's situation, whether it's in a family or small businesses. And so John McCain's got a plan for growth. *Let me remind you, too, there's been never a bigger maverick in this town than John McCain. I mean, we talk about how many times you voted for Bush or against Bush. But you've been in this town a long time. Who was the biggest irritant to this administration for the last 10 years or last eight years? John McCain. He sided with Democrats when he thought they were doing the right thing for the country, and sided with the Republicans when he thought they were doing the right thing for the country. So you can say all you want about the record, but who is the one proven commodity in this town who's willing to put his country first and take strong positions, sometimes against the current administration or his own party, in order to do what's right?* WALLACE: But I've got to come back at... DAVIS: And that's been McCain. WALLACE: But I've got to come back at you. If you say the country is worse off than it was four years ago, clearly the president has got to bear some of the responsibility. And by his own record, by his own admission, John McCain voted with the president last year 95 percent of the time. *DAVIS: Sure. But I mean, how many of these things actually had anything to do with the current economic conditions or where we are in other places? Look, trade's a good example. John McCain's voted with George Bush for trade many times in the past and will support trade in the future.* Democrats have opposed that. What's better for the economy, trade or no trade? It's very simple. It doesn't mean everything George Bush has done in the economy has been bad. But look, everybody — it's a pox on everyone's houses. Why do you think the public has a low approval rating of the current administration and Congress? Because they figured out that no one person is responsible for what we're doing. They're all at fault. And you have the one guy who's been screaming about spending by Congress and trying to get George Bush to veto some of these measures. Who's the one guy who stood up in the middle of that crowd and said we've got to fix this problem? John McCain. *Rick Davis Interview, Part II: Answers Questions on DHL and Lobbyist Connections* (FNC 08/10/08 6:15pm) WALLACE: […] why is John McCain inviting the vice president to the convention? DAVIS: Because I think John McCain believes that the only way we're going to change the culture of this town, the only way we're actually going to ever start getting anything done, is if we stop putting our own self-interests ahead. *You know, if he wanted to make a point and, you know, strike out at this administration, it would have been very easy to do that. But he is not that kind of candidate. He's the kind of man who says, "Look, we've got to get everybody on board in order to get progress made in this country. I'm not going to, you know, take retaliation or retribution against anybody, whether they're Democrats or Republicans."* If we are going to move forward, this culture has to change. The only guy who's been able to do that in this town for the last eight years is John McCain. Barack Obama has never sided against his party's interest on any important issue. He's never joined with Republicans across the aisle like John McCain has with Democrats. We have an ad out that shows a lot of Democrats, leaders in Congress, saying great things about John McCain. Of course, that was before there was a political campaign. *You'll never find John McCain changing his stripes just because of an election.* […] WALLACE: Is there any chance that Senator McCain will pledge to serve only one term as president and that there will be no politics in the White House? DAVIS: Well, first of all, if you know John McCain, you know there's not going to be much politics in the White House anyway. I mean, he doesn't grade any of his decisions either as a senator or in the future as president on what the political dynamic is. You look at his history, whether it's campaign finance reform, or opposing this administration on detainee abuse and things like that, he does what he thinks is right for the country, and he's going to do that throughout his career no matter what office he holds. […] WALLACE: You're not ruling it out. DAVIS: I'm not talking about it at all. WALLACE: Finally, the Obama camp, I don't have to tell you, is pounding you for your work as a lobbyist. In 2003, you lobbied Congress, and Senator McCain in his job as chairman of the Commerce Committee helped you to allow the German-owned DHL buy Airborne Express. You made from this German-owned company about $600,000 in lobbying fees. The Democrats are making a big deal of the fact that DHL is now talking about taking 8,000 jobs out of the state of Ohio. Are you and Senator McCain going to do anything to try to prevent that? DAVIS: Well, first of all, let me correct you. Senator McCain did not help me do anything. I represented Airborne, which was the incumbent in that location in Ohio, and they wanted to be bought by DHL. And there were people in Congress who didn't want to have that happen. John McCain has always believed that foreign investment in this sector is fine, and unless there was something that was inappropriate about the deal it should go forward. WALLACE: Well, that's how he helped you, is to agree that... DAVIS: Well, but he didn't help me. He helped the people in Ohio, because those jobs were probably going to be lost if they didn't get taken over because of the competitive nature of this business. WALLACE: But now DHL is talking about taking... *DAVIS: I haven't represented DHL or any of their entities since 2005 when I completely got out of the lobbying business. So what you have here — and frankly, a typical situation by the Obama campaign, to try and change the topic.* John McCain has only the most, you know, kind things to say about the people there. He just came from a town hall with the people affected there. Barack Obama won't go there and hold a town hall, especially not now, because one of the women who voiced her concerns about this transaction is now a star in the Obama radio ad that's up in that area, and she's asked them to take it down because he is portraying her as against John McCain,. and she's not. In fact, she's had some very nice things about — to say lately about the fact that John McCain came to town, listened to those people, talked to them about the need to be able to find, you know, a way to keep as many jobs there as you can. But most importantly, she's asked them to take that radio ad down, and they refused to do it. *Rick Davis Interview, Part III: Comments on McCain's Plan For Lost DHL Jobs * (FNC 08/10/08 6:20pm) WALLACE: Directly, can you, will you, or Senator McCain, try to do anything to get DHL not to take those 8,000 jobs away? DAVIS: Oh, sure. Senator McCain in the town hall with the people affected most by this told them that he would do what he could do, look into the transaction. By the way, this is a different transaction than had occurred almost four years ago. So it has nothing to do with any of the things he'd ever done before. And he didn't really have the level of detail he need and he's going to look into it. […] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. 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