podesta-emails
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*Media Monitoring Report*
*Highlights:*
1. CNN: Blitzer Questions McCain Across the Board
MCCAIN: I respect General Powell. But I respectfully disagree. I especially
disagree when he said -- the comments that he made about Governor Palin, the
most popular governor in America, a governor who knows energy issue, a $40
billion pipeline reformer, took on the governor of her own party. And I hope
that sometime General Powell will take time out of his busy schedule to meet
with her. I know she'd be pleased to meet with him.
2. NBC: Brian Williams Interviews John McCain and Sarah Palin
MCCAIN: Down in money. Down in the polls. We got them just where we want
them
3. FNC: McCain Quotes President Hoover on Baseball
JOHN MCCAIN: "Next to religion, baseball has furnished a greater impact on
American life than any other institution."
*No video:*
1. CNN: CHRIS LAWRENCE: A non-partisan group at NYU law school
investigated voter fraud cases across the country, it found that most were
caused by technical gliches and clerical errors and a person is more likely
to be struck by lightening than impersonate another voter at the polls**
2. CNN: CAROL CASTILLO: But nothing can rouse Minnesota democrats like
her charges of liberal anti-Americanism and some observers say that it could
lead to her ouster
*Clips*
*Highlight #1*
*Questions McCain Across the Board *(CNN 10/22/08 4:30pm)
MCCAIN: BLITZER: Let's talk about taxes right now.
MCCAIN: Sure.
BLITZER: It's a key issue. Among other things, you would like to cut -- and
correct me if I'm wrong -- the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25
percent. Is that right?
MCCAIN: Absolutely. Absolutely.
BLITZER: Because what he says and what Democrats, a lot of Democrats, say,
that would be a corporate bonanza for ExxonMobil. They would get an extra $4
billion.
Here's the question. Should ExxonMobil be excluded from that cut in the
corporate tax rate?
MCCAIN: Oh, of course not. We should -- we should be cutting corporate tax
for every business in America.
You know, Barney Frank just said, we're going to take some of that money
away from the rich people. That's what Obama is all about. That is what this
is about. Let me tell you -- let me tell you, we tried a windfall profit tax
back during the days of Jimmy Carter, OK? We tried it. It didn't work.
But the important thing is, if you talk to the CEO of FedEx, Fred Smith, if
you talk to the CEO of Cisco, John Chambers, you talk to Meg Whitman, former
CEO of eBay, you know what they will tell you? They will tell you, they pay
their full 35 percent. And you know what else they will tell you? When they
have the ability to go overseas, unfortunately, they do go overseas.
And you know why? Because we're paying -- they're paying 35 percent,
full-freight, no evasions or escapes from the taxes. They're paying
full-freight. And they will show you their tax returns. And guess what? If
they go to Ireland, they're only paying 11 percent. So, where are they going
to go where they can create wealth and create jobs? It's simple, fundamental
economics.
So, to somehow allege that a company or corporation that can be
international is not going to go where they pay the lowest taxes and can
create the most jobs is just foolishness. The last time we practiced this
kind of isolationism and protectionism that Senator Obama espouses and
higher taxes was a guy named Herbert Hoover.
BLITZER: We have another question from a viewer, Frederick Allier (ph) of
Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He says he's an independent. Normally, he says, he
votes Republican, but he says he lost -- you lost his vote this time because
of what he called negative campaigning. Here's his question.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCAIN: Have you got anybody who says they have changed their mind, and they
support me?
BLITZER: Yes. Yes, there are.
MCCAIN: You got a question from them, Wolf? I would love to hear that.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Here's -- here's -- here's his question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question to you is about tax cuts. How can you explain
to the American people that tax cuts are going to solve our economic issues,
might it be for the rich or the poor, whomever it is for, when they really
haven't worked for the last eight years?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: All I can say to him is that, look at history. Look at history.
You raise taxes during economic crisis times, as we did in -- in -- back in
the time of Herbert Hoover, you send the country into a depression. I'm not
going to do that.
We have a fundamental difference of opinion. Some people think you have got
to spread the wealth around. You have got to raise taxes. As I said, Barney
Frank and others said, we're going to get those rich people and we're going
to take the money from them? Fine, if that's what they want to do.
And I can hardly -- it's -- it's incredible to think of Speaker Pelosi,
Harry Reid and Barack Obama with the tax-and-spend policies that they did in
the past and that they espouse now and might happen in the future. It
invigorates me to keep my campaign going, and going hard. I don't want that
to happen to America.
BLITZER: Social Security, it's a potential problem out there for our
children and grandchildren.
MCCAIN: Sure.
BLITZER: And you have said, nothing is off the table as far as coming up
with some solutions, long-term solutions, to Social Security.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCAIN: That's the way you negotiate, and that's the way you negotiate and
get solutions.
BLITZER: Right now, there's a cap at $102,000 for Social Security payroll
withholding tax. Are you open, as part of an effort to save Social Security,
to letting that -- that cap go up?
MCCAIN: I'm obviously against it. And I want to tell you again, the way you
succeed in negotiations -- and I have done it many times across the aisle,
whether it be Ted Kennedy, or Russ Feingold, or Joe Lieberman, or -- or
anybody else -- is, you sit down and you negotiate.
You go in with your negotiating positions. I will go in with my negotiating
oppositions. My position is that I won't raise taxes on anybody.
BLITZER: What about increasing the retirement age from 65?
MCCAIN: I am going in that I won't -- I will have -- there are things on the
table we will negotiate.
Ronald Reagan, Tip O'Neill, 1983, went in, negotiated, and came out and
saved Social Security. Guess what? That's what the American people want from
us. That's what I have done all the time I have been in the Congress of the
United States.
And -- and -- and, so, for me to say that anything, but I'm going to do what
I saw two great leaders, Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan, do is -- it's just
foolishness.
BLITZER: So, raising the retirement age..
MCCAIN: The Democrats -- the Democrats insist -- the reason why we couldn't
-- couldn't get agreement in 2005 is because the Democrats insisted, as a
precondition, that we raise taxes.
So, guess what? We never sat down at the table together. The Americans want
us to sit down together, Wolf. And, so, all I can tell is, I will sit down
with them. I have worked with them before. I will sit across the table from
them.
I'm against tax increases. I'm against a lot of the bad things that -- that
-- that a lot of the people support. But I will get a result, and we will
save Social Security.
BLITZER: And how do you feel about raising the retirement age?
MCCAIN: I feel very strongly that I will sit down with the Democrats, and we
will negotiate out something that will save Social Security, because that's
our obligation to future generations of Americans. And you can ask me, you
know, for the next half-hour, if you would like.
BLITZER: All right.
MCCAIN: I mean, that would be kind of fun. And my answer is going to be the
same. I will sit down and negotiate, the way have I done in the past, which
Senator Obama has never done, whether it be in judicial nominations, or
whether it be in immigration reform, or ethics or lobbying reform. He always
went home to the Democrat leadership.
BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about your support -- and correct me if I'm
wrong -- you did support President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security
and allow Social Security recipients to use about 10 percent of their Social
Security savings in the stock market. That collapsed, obviously. It didn't
go forward. Knowing what we know now about the volatility of the stock
market, is that still a good idea?
MCCAIN: The reason why the talks collapsed is because the Democrats insisted
on agreeing to tax increases before we sat down. So, let's -- let's -- let's
understand history.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: What about private Social Security...
(CROSSTALK)
MCCAIN: OK. That's what they wanted to do.
BLITZER: ... investments in the stock market?
MCCAIN: And all this other stuff was -- was worth negotiating.
And I will protect, as president of the United States, the Social Security
benefits of retirees and future retirees. I will protect those benefits and
I will do whatever is necessary to protect those benefits. And I have said
that time over time.
Every -- every even-numbered year, the Democrats run out, scare the senior
citizens, say, they're going to raise your taxes, they're going to destroy
Social Security -- same old stuff. I have seen it for, oh, so -- more years
than I can count.
I'm not scaring any senior. I'm going to preserve their -- and protect their
Social Security benefits, despite what ads may be run, and the senior
citizens, as well as all citizens in this country.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: And the notion of a 10 percent, using 10 percent in the stock
market?
MCCAIN: They know me about -- about how I'm going to fix Social Security,
and I'm going to make their Social Security the best I can, and we will
preserve the benefits that they have, and I will protect Social Security.
BLITZER: And the 10 percent?
MCCAIN: And I will protect Social Security.
BLITZER: All right.
MCCAIN: And I will sit down at the table with the Democrats. And, by the
way, we can keep -- you know, this is -- I will give you this -- this is --
I'm telling you, I'm going to protect Social Security.
(CROSSTALK) BLITZER: All right.
MCCAIN: And that's what I have done my entire career. And I will do what
Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill did. And that is save Social Security and make
Americans aware that, unfortunately, present- day retirees are -- have --
working Americans today are not going to receive the same benefits as
present-day retirees, unless we fix it. Now, I think I can do it, convince
the American people that we will sit down together.
BLITZER: Let's move on and talk about national security.
MCCAIN: Good.
BLITZER: If you're elected president, of the United States, do you believe
America's enemies, whether terrorists or hostile governments, would test you
during the first six months of your presidency?
MCCAIN: I've already been tested. And I'm astonished and amazed to hear
Senator Obama pre -- Senator Biden predict that the untried, untested
President Obama will be tested by our enemies. And we may not agree -- his
own backers may not agree.
Look, I've been tested. Senator Biden referred to the Cuban missile crisis.
I was there. We came that close, as historians say, to a nuclear exchange.
Senator Biden expects his own running mate, expects Senator Obama to be
tested in that way?
I mean that's a remarkable statement.
BLITZER: Because usually (INAUDIBLE)...
MCCAIN: That should concern all Americans.
BLITZER: ...they are tested early on by hostile powers out there.
MCCAIN: They know I've been tested. They know I've been tested. I've been
tested many times.
BLITZER: The U.S. -- the Bush administration...
MCCAIN: And the thing that probably may encourage them a little is that
Senator Obama has been wrong. He was wrong about the surge in Iraq. He still
fails to acknowledge that he was wrong. I mean remarkable.
He was wrong when he said the Georgians should show restraint. He was wrong
when he said he would sit down across the table from Ahmadinejad, Chavez and
the Castro brothers. He was wrong about those.
So I can understand why the American people might be concerned, particularly
when his own running mate says he's going to be tested.
BLITZER: All right...
MCCAIN: I've been tested, my friend.
BLITZER: We've got a limited amount of time, so I just want to get a couple
of things in before I let you go. Iraq, a very important issue.
MCCAIN: Sure.
BLITZER: Right now, we still 140,000, 150,000 troops in Iraq. The Bush
administration seems to be close to what's called a Status of Forces
Agreement with the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri Al- Maliki. It
calls, in the draft agreement, at least, for complete withdrawal of forces
from villages and cities by July 30th of 2009 and out of the country by
December 31st 2011.
If you're elected president, would you, as commander-in-chief, honor this
agreement if, in fact, it's formalized?
MCCAIN: Well, with respect, Wolf -- and you know better, my friend. You know
better. It's condition-based. It's conditions-based. And Ryan Crocker, our
ambassador in Baghdad, said if you want to know what victory looks like,
look at this agreement. So you know better than that, Wolf. You know it's
condition-based. And that's what the big fight was all about.
BLITZER: So you accept this -- what's on the table right now
MCCAIN: I've always said we would be out based on conditions and honor in
victory and not defeat. And it's very clear to any observer now that if we
would have done what Senator Biden wanted to do -- break Iraq up into three
countries -- if we'd have done what Senator Obama to do, which was immediate
withdrawal and setting firm dates for it, we'd have probably been defeated
in Iraq.
And the problem there is we would have had increased Iranian influence. We'd
have had sectarian violence on the increase. And probably we would have had
to go back.
So it's a big -- a big issue, a big issue for the American people. And I
understand why it's not on the front pages or the lead in CNN, because we
have a relatively secure environment that's getting more secure.
BLITZER: Colin Powell was pretty biting in his criticism. He said you were a
little unsure of how to deal with the economic crisis. You seem to have, he
said, a different approach every day. He sensed you didn't have a complete
grasp of the economic crisis the American people are going through right
now.
I wonder if you'd like to respond to Secretary Powell.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I respect General Powell.
But I respectfully disagree. I especially disagree when he said -- the
comments that he made about Governor Palin, the most popular governor in
America, a governor who knows energy issue, a $40 billion pipeline reformer,
took on the governor of her own party. And I hope that sometime General
Powell will take time out of his busy schedule to meet with her. I know
she'd be pleased to meet with him.
*
*
*Highlight #2*
*Brian Williams Interviews John McCain and Sarah Palin *(NBC 10/22/08
06:36pm)
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Senator, I will begin with your observation on the tarmac.
You came in today, there is not one, but two planes with your name on the
side. You immediately started reminiscing about the depth of New Hampshire,
you and your garment bag coming off the commercial flight. So here you are,
you are down, you are down in money. How do you stay up?
MCCAIN: Down in money. Down in the polls. We got them just where we want
them.
WILLIAMS: What do you mean by that?
MCCAIN: I mean that's when we do best, really, Brian. I have always done
best when we are running a little bit behind and got to catch up. That
somehow I have been very blessed. We seem to catch fire and lately we have
seen in the last several days, week, ever since the debate we have seen some
uptick and we have three, four points to go and we can win this thing. >>
WILLIAMS: Did this campaign get out of your control? Here's what I mean -- a
lot of people who know you well saw you take that microphone from that woman
in Wisconsin and for the first time in a long time they said, there, that's
john McCain.
MCCAIN: Brian, they either haven't been paying attention or don't want to.
In my speech at the convention, I spoke of my admiration for senator Obama,
the fact that he had motivated so many people. I have said continuously, my
respect for him. That doesn't change my view that there are stark
differences. When I am president there is not going to be an international
crisis that he can -- that senator Biden can guarantee. I am not going to
raise people's taxes in a bad economy. Look, we have got very big
differences. But I have always been respectful of senator Obama. And he is
now spending more money than any campaign in American history on negative
ads against me. That's fine. The American people are paying attention.
WILLIAMS: You mention senator Biden's comment the other day about, a new
president and a test of the new president's mettle, one of your closest
friends in the senate, Joe Lieberman said on face the nation, our enemies
will test the new president early. And it has happened throughout modern
history.
MCCAIN: Well, look -- I have been tested. They know me, they know me very
well. I have been tested. Senator Biden said it. What if Sarah or I had said
it? Oh, my god, it would have been terrible. Imagine. His own running mate
said it's because he is young and new and untested. That's why senator Biden
said mark my word, mark my words, what he said, there is going to be an
international crisis. And then he compared it to the Cuban missile crisis.
My friend I was in the Cuban missile crisis. I was on the aircraft carrier
"enterprise" in the ware wing. We were close to nuclear war. I wouldn't
predict that. That is remarkable. When a vice presidential candidate
predicts because a young untested president is going to face an
international crisis like the Cuban missile crisis. Unbelievable. Americans
know I have been tested.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: [Governor Palin], yesterday you tied this notion of an early
test to a new president to this notion of preconditions that you both have
been hammering the Obama campaign on. First of all what in your mind is a
precondition?
SARAH PALIN: You have to have some, diplomatic strategy going into a meeting
with some one like Ahmadinejad or Kim Jung Il . . . that would seek to
destroy America or our allies. It is so naive and so dangerous . . . to
proclaim they would be willing to sit down with a leader like Ahmadinejad
and just talk about the problems, the issues that are facing them. So that
is some ill-preparedness right there. But following up with your comment
about Biden also, when Biden, what he had done the other night to his
Democrat donors in talking to them in a fund raiser, warning mark my word
there will be an international crisis if Barack Obama is elected, he was
confirming what he had been saying all along in the primary race. He had
warned voters that Barack was not prepared yet to be president. And that the
presidency is not a place for on the job training.
WILLIAMS: When he says the new president will be tested though, I am missing
how that is different from senator Lieberman saying, quote, "our enemies
will test the new president early. "
JOHN MCCAIN: Look, I don't know when Joe Lieberman said that. Joe Lieberman
is supporting me. The main reason, probably, he thinks America will be safer
and more secure with me as president. Otherwise he wouldn't have crossed
party lines and come over almost unprecedented and support my candidacy. So
I don't know exactly what Joe Lieberman was saying, but I know that Joe
Lieberman is convinced that this country and this world will be a lot safer
place with me president. If he thought there was some kind of equivalency,
he probably would have stayed in his own party as far as which nominee he
supported. But I want to go back again to Sarah's point. And that is -- that
we now have a guarantee, saying because he is young and untested, that's
what part of senator Biden's rant was and because he was young and untested
and . . . then Senator Obama will probably do what the donors don't agree
with. This is probably one of those moments in American political history
that stands out. And I think the American people are going to pay attention.
PALIN: I think it is the most telling comment that has been made yet on this
campaign trail in all of these months. I think that has been the most
significant comment, that is my personal opinion on this. For Biden too, to
have been the one to say he would be so honored to run on a McCain ticket
because he knew that way if Senator McCain is elected president that our
country would be better off. I think there is significance there too in the
comment made.
WILLIAMS: Let me ask you both about what must have been a hurtful Sunday for
you especially, you Senator McCain, Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack
Obama and Governor, respectfully, the heart of his quote, about Governor
Palin, Senator McCain, "I don't believe she is ready to be president of the
United States which is the job of vice president. And so that raised some
question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made." When you
heard those words from a man you have known for a long time, what was your
reaction, saying basically we have little to judge these future leaders on
except for the big decision of picking a running mate?
MCCAIN: I know that if General Powell had wanted to meet Governor Palin we
could have arranged that easily number one. Number two is then obviously
General Powell does not know governor Palin's record. Reform, governor,
24,000 employees I believe of the state of Alaska, negotiated a $40 billion
natural gas pipeline by taking on the oil and gas interests, took on the
governor of her own party who is incumbent. Stood up against corruption, cut
taxes, gave her constituents money back, shares my world view, has frankly
in all due respect, a son, who has got his life on the line right now in
defense of freedom, and that's not qualified? Tell me what is qualified? I
am overjoyed to have a person who is a real reformer. What Americans want
right now more than anything else they want us to reform the way we do
business in Washington and they want our economy put back on track. Here's a
proven record. And so, all I can say is, I see all these attacks on governor
Palin. I don't live in a bubble. But those people obviously, are either not
paying attention to, or don't care about the record of the most popular
governor in the United States of America.
PALIN: And, look, let me interrupt . . . I am not going to toot my own horn
but I have more executive experience than even Barack Obama has, dealing
with multibillion dollar budgets, thousand of employees in position as
mayor, manager, regulator of oil and gas, and governor. Let's not forget in
this context of one endorsement, of, um Senator, um-- Colin Powell's, that
you have received the endorsement of at least four former secretaries of
state and hundreds--
MCCAIN: Five secretary, former secretaries of states.
PALIN: Five! And hundreds of retired top US brass and US military brass that
see also in John McCain the ability to win the wars and to keep our nation
safe and of course, those who are in more economic minded also who is
endorsing John McCain because they know too that he will get our economy
back on track. He will reduce taxes on our small businesses and on our
families so that we can keep more of what we produce and earn so we can hire
more people as business owners. That's how jobs are created. That's how the
economy gets rolling. He has got that in him. He has got that in his plan
and that's recognized. I am appreciative of the endorsements you have
received.
MCCAIN: Kissinger, George Shultz, Larry Eagleburger and Al Hague. All of
those have been strong supporters of mine, plus 200 or more retired generals
and admirals and mine. I am more proud of that.
*
*
*Highlight #3*
*McCain Quotes Hoover on Baseball *(FNC 10/22/08, ad aired during World
Series Coverage)
MICHAEL DOUGLAS: When Depression struck down the roaring '20s, Americans
faced a bleak and uncertain future.
JOHN MCCAIN: "Next to religion, baseball has furnished a greater impact on
American life than any other institution." - President Hoover.
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