podesta_email_00228.txt

podesta-emails 6,916 words email

V11 P18 P17 D1 V15

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*Main Topics:* Economy, Foreign Policy, Afghanistan and Iraq, Drilling* Summary of Shift:* On the domestic front the economy continues to be the top concern; President Bush spoke today, trying to assuage American's fears as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still teeter. Meanwhile, General Motors, facing tough prospects, cuts thousands of jobs. In foreign affairs, Afghanistan, with its increasing violence, took over for Iraq. The candidates sparred over the correct course of action and Afghanistan was used as a springboard to the debate over the efficacy of the surge and withdrawal timetables in Iraq. Lawyers for a detainee released Guantanamo interrogation tapes and new studies show that our children, poor or not, are getting fatter. Highlights 1) Bush's economy speech a. CNN: Bush continues to push that the economy is doing well b. CNN: Bush talks government bailouts, gas prices, oil exploration and Obama's trip to Iraq c. CNN: Bush says we are already "surging" and have "surged" in Afghanistan d. CNN: Bush: "I'm not an economist . . . I'm an optimist . . . I am 62. I'm having trouble remembering a lot of things 2) Foreign policy a. CNN: Begala calls out Fiorina for working with Ahmadinejad, Iran b. CNN: Dana Bash investigates McCain's claim that "I know how to win wars" c. MSNBC: The surge's efficacy debated, McCain is no Eisenhower d. MSNBC: McCain's Czechoslovakia mistake on *Hardball* e. ABC: New polls show McCain with foreign policy advantage, Obama winning on economy f. MSNBC: Matthews brings up McCain's "Bomb-Iran" joke during discussion on Iran policy 3) CNN: Investigation of Cindy as John's "Meal Ticket" and the impact of Busch deal on McCain's fortune and campaign 4) MSNBC: McCain stresses his closeness to Bush in clips from 2003 to the present 5) CNN: Rep. Boehner distances himself and Republicans from McCain's energy policies 6) FNC: High gas prices help McCain on drilling Clips Highlight #1 *Bush Continues To Push That the Economy Is Doing Well* (CNN, 07/15/08, 10:23am) GEORGE BUSH: Our citizens are rightly concerned about the difficulties in the housing markets and high gasoline prices and the failure of the democratic congress to address these and other pressing issues. Yet, despite the challenges we face, our economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience. While the unemployment rate has risen, it remains at 5.5 percent, which is still low by historical standards. And the economy continued to grow in the first quarter of this year. The growth is slower than we would have liked, but it was growth nonetheless. We saw the signs of a slowdown early and enacted a bipartisan economic stimulus package. We have now delivered more than $91 billion in tax relief to more than more than 112 million American households this year. It's going to take some time before we feel the full benefit of the economic stimulus package, but the early signs are encouraging. Retail sales were up in May and June, and should contribute and will contribute to economic growth. In the months ahead, we expect more Americans to take advantage of these stimulus payments, and inject new energy into our economy. The bottom line is this, we are going through a tough time. But our economy is continually growing, consumers are spending, businesses are investing, exports continue increasing, and American productivity remains strong. We can have confidence in the long-term foundation of our economy and I believe we will come through this challenge stronger than ever before. *Bush Talks Government Bailouts, Gas Prices, Oil Exploration, Obama's Trip to Iraq* (CNN, 07/15/08, 10:33am) REPORTER: […] Are there other entities that are so crucial to stability, that they would require government action to show support for them? GEORGE BUSH: Government action, if you are talking about bailing out, if your question is should the government bailout private enterprise, the answer is no it shouldn't. And by the way, the decisions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I hear some people say it is a bailout, I don't think it is a bailout. The shareholders still own the company. That's why I said we want this to continue to be a shareholder-owned company. In this case, there is a feeling that the government will stand behind mortgages through these new entities. And therefore we felt a special need to step up and say that we are going to provide, if needed, temporary assistance through either debt or capital. In terms of private enterprises, I do not think the government ought to be involved with bailing out companies. I think the government should create conditions so that companies can survive. I have listed four. One of the things I am deeply troubled about is the people that think it is okay to raise taxes during these times. It would be a huge mistake to raise taxes right now. […] REPORTER: Mr. President, in February you were asked about Americans facing the prospect of $4 per gallon gasoline, and you said you' d had not heard of that at the time. GEORGE BUSH: I have heard of it now. REPORTER: Gas prices are now approaching $5 per gallon, in some parts of the country. Offshore oil exploration is obviously a long-term approach, what is the short-term advice for Americans? What can you do now to help out? GEORGE BUSH: First of all, there is this psychology in the oil market that basically says that supplies are going to stay stagnant while demand rises. And that is reflected somewhat in the price of crude oil. Gasoline prices are reflected. The amount of gasoline, the price at the pump is reflected in the price of crude oil. And therefore, seems like it makes sense to me to say to the world, that we going to use new technologies to explore for oil and gas in the United States. Offshore oil, Anwar, oil shail projects, to help change the psychology, to send a clear message that the supplies of oil will increase. Secondly, obviously, good conservation measures matters. I have been reading a lot about how the automobile companies are beginning to adjust. Consumers are beginning to say, now wait a minute, I don't want a gas guzzler anymore, I want a smaller car. So, the two need to go hand in hand. There is no immediate fix. This took us a while to get to this problem, there is no short-term solution. I think I was in the rose garden where I issued this brilliant statement, if I had a magic wand, but the president doesn't have a magic want. You just can't say, low gas. It took us awhile to get here, and we need to have a good strategy to get out of it. REPORTER: What about the strategic petroleum oil reserve, what about opening up that? BUSH: The strategic petroleum oil reserve is for emergencies, but that doesn't address the fundamental issue. And we need to address the fundamental issue, which i frankly, have been talking about since I first became president, which is a combination of using technology to have alternative sources of energy but, at the same time, finding oil and gas here at home. Now is the time to get it done. I heard somebody say, well it's going to take seven years. Well if we had done this seven years ago, we would be having a different conversation today. i am not suggesting that it would have completely, you know, changed the dynamics in the world, but it certainly would have been, we would be using more of our own oil and spending less money overseas. […] REPORTER: And we know you prize loyalty, and I ask, I wonder if you feel betrayed by Scott McClellan' assessment of the war in Iraq. And moving forward, since there have been positive signs on the ground in Iraq, Senator Obama is also about to take a trip there. What would be your advice to him as he tries to assess the situation on the ground? BUSH: I have had no comment, no comment now on Scott's book. Secondly, I would ask him to listen carefully to Ryan Crocker and General Petraues. There is a temptation to let the politics at home get in the way with the considered judgment of the commanders. That is why i strongly rejected an artificial timetable of withdrawal. It is kind of like an arbitrary thing. We will decide, in the halls of Congress how to conduct our affairs in Iraq based upon polls and politics, and we will impose this on people. As opposed to listening to our commanders, and our diplomats, and listening to the Iraqis for that matter. The Iraqi's have invited us to be there. But they share a goal with us, which is to get our troops out as conditions permit. Matter of fact, that is what we are doing. Return on success has been the strategy of this administration. And our troops are coming home, but based upon success. So I would ask that whoever goes there, whatever elected official goes there, to listen carefully to what is taking place. And understand that the best way to go forward is to listen to the parties actually on the ground. That is hard to do, I understand for some in Washington, there is a lot of pressure. You got these groups out there, moveon.org, banging away on these candidates, it is hard to kind of divorce yourself from the politics. I am glad that all, a lot of these elected officials are going over there. Cause they are going to get an interesting insight. Something that you don't get from just reading your wonderful newspapers, listening to your t.v. shows. *Bush Says We are Already "Surging" and Have "Surged" In Afghanistan* (CNN, 07/15/08, 10:44am) REPORTER: Should Americans expect a troop surge in Afghanistan? GEORGE BUSH: We are surging troops in Afghanistan. We will analyze the situation, of course, and make a determination based on the conditions on the ground. But we did surge troops. We surged troops, France surged troops, I said in Bucharest, we'll add more troops. And then, of course, we have to make sure that the strategy works. Have a counter-insurgency strategy that not only provides security but also provides economic follow up after the security has been enhanced. The question really facing the country is will we have the patience and determination to succeed in these very difficult theaters. And I understand exhaustion. And I understand people getting tired. But I would hope that whoever follows me understands that we are at war. And now is not the time to give up in the struggle against this enemy. And that while there has not been an attack on the homeland, that is not to say that people do not want to attack us. And safe havens become very dangerous for the American people, and we need to deny that safe haven. And at the same time, win the struggle by advancing democracy. This is an ideological struggle that we are involved in. These people kill for a reason. They want us to leave, they want us to, you know, not push back, they do not want democracy to succeed. And yet, if given a chance, democracy will succeed. And so these two theaters are the big challenges of the time, and the war itself is a challenge. *Bush: "I'm not an economist… I'm an optimist… I am 62. I'm having trouble remembering a lot of things."* (CNN, 07/15/08, 11:05am) GEORGE BUSH: Whether the economy will turn around? I'm not an economist, but I do believe that we are growing, and I can remember, this press conference here, people yelling recession this, recession that, as if you're economists. I'm an optimist. I believe there are a lot of positive things for our economy. But I will tell you, it is not going the way it should, and I am sorry people are paying as high of gasoline prices as they are. […] BUSH: What was the question? I am 62. I'm having trouble remembering a lot of things. REPORTER: It was about Afghanistan, sir. BUSH: Good, I remember it now. Highlight #2 *Paul Begala Talks National Security, Calls Out Carly Fiorina for Working With Ahmadinejad, Iran* (CNN, 07/15/08, 4:44pm) WOLF BLITZER: This is the one area, as you know Paul, national security, where John McCain polls really well against Barack Obama. And some suggest whenever Obama has to deal with this, he sort of falling into a trap laid by the McCain campaign. What do you think? PAUL BEGALA: I think tactically McCain wins the day, because he's stronger on national security in the eyes of the voters. But I think what Obama's trying to do is be strategic. He can't allow that gap to continue. That strength gap, that national security gap. So he, I think, is willing to sacrifice the day. The news of the day should have been the economy, right? […] KEVIN MADDEN: […] This is exactly the type of terrain, the issue terrain, that John McCain wants. Where he wins here, is that John McCain has a certain degree of clarity here. And what Barack Obama is doing is re-litigating his position on Iraq. He's changed it in the last couple of days. He's using rather amorphous language. He's trying to win on nuance. Where as John McCain can go and make a very black and white issue, and that's where John McCain wins. He looks more like a commander in chief, and the judgment of voters right now in a lot of these polls we're seeing, is that John McCain wins that debate. BLITZER: And the McCain campaign is really ridiculing this passage. This excerpt from Senator Obama's speech today dealing with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. […] The McCain campaign is saying, why would you meet with this guy who calls for Israel's destruction, says it's nothing more than a stinking corpse? BEGALA: *Right, that is the extension of the Bush policy. We only meet with our friends. Well, guess what? We don't have any more friends, to speak of, around the world. I think, Barack Obama has the better of the argument here. But here's the thing we should look for. When will he counter attack? If John McCain is so all-fire opposed to the Iranians, why is his chief economic advisor, Carly Fiorina, a woman who when she ran HewlettPackard as CEO, HewlettPackard was selling computers to the Iranian regime! A terrorist regime. Counter-attack Barack! If I was advising him I would say, make Carly Fiorina the Ahmadinejad. She's already participated in a company that was selling equipment to the Iranians. Computers, at that!* MADDEN: […] This, again, is where John McCain can win. It becomes a question of whether or not you have the experience, whether or not you have the readiness to take over the oval office and to be commander in chief. And Barack Obama is going to continue to lose that. BLITZER: What about the argument that Senator Obama made today. It was a major part of this speech, when he said, you know what? Talk about national security judgment. Senator McCain was wrong back in October, November 2002 in supporting this war in Iraq. The biggest strategic blunder in recent years. I was right in opposing this war in Iraq, and all of the negative consequences, the trillion dollars Senator Obama says that have occurred. The 4,000 Americans plus, who have been killed, wouldn't have happened if Senator McCain among others wouldn't had been a cheerleader for this war. MADDEN: Well, I think that that is an effort by the Obama campaign to make what they believe is their most compelling argument. But I think a lot of Americans right now are not going to be making a judgment on this election at this time based on whether or not we ought to be re-litigating when we went in. But instead, what's your plan for going forward? How are you going to achieve success? BLITZER: Is it just history? MADDEN: Who has the best credentials to do that? BLITZER: Politically, put on your strategic political hat, can he make the case as he tried to do repeatedly against Hillary Clinton, I was right in opposing this war, she was wrong in voting for it. And now he'd have to make the same case against McCain. BEGALA: It certainly worked in the primaries against Senator Clinton and his other opponents. BLITZER: Does it work in the general election? BEGALA:* I think yes. I think it's good to go right at the other fella's strength. Don't make it the entire campaign, but go right at that. And John McCain, not just Dick Cheney, John McCain said we will be greeted as liberators. John McCain said, at one point, the war would last a month or two. It was John McCain, who was part and parcel, of misleading us into this war, and I think that is an important thing. It also has the strategic advantage of linking again, once more, to George W. Bush, the most unpopular president of modern times.* […] BEGALA: This is where, now, John McCain is chasing Barack. Obama comes out today, as he has said for months, and said Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, Pakistan, that' where we need to be. Well guess what, Senator McCain almost never mentions Afghanistan. And just a month ago, he said we have sufficient forces in Afghanistan. Then Obama says we need more troops in Afghanistan. It's McCain now chasing Barack, saying well I guess Barack's right, we do need more troops in Afghanistan. MADDEN: I think John McCain has shown he does have the experience, he knows a lot more about Afghanistan and this, whole entire theater on the war on terror, than Barack Obama does. […] […] BEGALA: […] *I thought Obama's best line today was when he said, McCain says when violence is up the troops have to say, and when violence is down the troops have to stay. McCain wants troops there a hundred years.* *Dana Bash Investigates McCain's Claim That "I know how to win wars."* (CNN, 07/15/08, 8:06pm) DANA BASH: John McCain was supposed to talk, once again today about the economy. But aids scrabbled to move up a speech about Afghanistan in order to offer a contrast to Obama's address today. They saw it as a chance to play on what McCain aids believe is their turf, foreign policy. Experience is his calling card, and on a day both candidates talked national security, John McCain laid this down as a basic test. JOHN MCCAIN: I know how to win wars. BASH: He offered proof. A new proposal for Afghanistan, where violence has spiked. MCCAIN: And I'll turn around the war in Afghanistan just as we have turned around the war in Iraq. With a comprehensive strategy for victory. BASH: McCain was an earlier supporter of the military surge in Iraq, which he repeatedly tells voters is working. He said he would apply those lessons to Afghanistan. More troops and a better strategy for how to use them. [McCain Clip Shown] BASH: But this was as much about slamming Obama's war plans as praising his own. Obama wants to take troops out of Iraq and send them to Afghanistan. MCCAIN: Senator Obama will tell you that we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan BASH: He mocked Obama for outlying his plan for Afghanistan before ever visiting the country. [McCain clip shown] BASH: Later on his bus, McCain continued to hit Obama on his national security credentials. McCain reminded reporters that Obama is chairman of the Senate Committee that oversees NATO which has command in Afghanistan, but Obama has never held a hearing. *The Surge's Efficacy Debated, McCain is No Eisenhower *(MSNBC 07/15/08 5:03pm) PAT BUCHANAN: . . . I thought John McCain clearly won the day today when he came out and said, I know how to win wars, Barack Obama opposed the surge, we would have been defeated in Iraq, I supported the surge, we're winning in Iraq, I will win in Afghanistan, this is the way to do it. I think he's on his strongest ground, it's Eisenhower vs. Adlai battle here Chris. I think it's McCain's strongest ground . . . I do believe he had the stronger, simpler, clearer, more focused day. [. . .] MARK GREEN: . . . I see this Chris as good policy, which is Obama, vs. good biography from McCain. Hence the public is split on who to trust more. CHRIS MATTHEWS: . . . let's look at what McCain said today . . . JOHN MCCAIN: . . . it's by applying the tried and true principles of counterinsurgency used in the surge, that Sen. Obama opposed, that we will win in Afghanistan . . . I know how to win wars. I know how to win wars . . . I know how to do that. MATTHEWS: Pat, are you saying that we've won the war in Iraq? . . . what wars has John McCain won? List them. Name the wars that we have won under his leadership or in his view. BUCHANAN: . . . the American people believe the surge has worked, it is working— MATTHEWS: No it hasn't, the American people haven't been asked the right question . . . [. . .] MATTHEWS: . . . have we won? BUCHANAN: . . . by the loudness of your argument and the intensity, you are suggesting that McCain indeed has a powerful point. We are winning in Iraq, violence is down, American casualties are down— MATTHEWS: That's not the strategy. BUCHANAN: McCain is saying that strategy is working, that strategy will succeed. MATTHEWS: At what? BUCHANAN: In ending and succeeding in Iraq. MATTHEWS: Succeeding at what? [. . .] MATTHEWS: Pat, I just want to know what you're talking about . . . BUCHANAN: . . . the overthrow of Saddam Hussein . . . the placement of a regime that's more pro American . . . the ability to go home and say this is no longer an anti-American, anti-Western country . . . [ . . . ] GREEN: . . . John McCain made no sense in the clip you just ran . . . *he said the success of the surge in Iraq, his words, show how we can win in Afghanistan . . . we don't have the troops to replicate in Afghanistan what we did in Iraq. Second, on the surge succeeding . . . if the Yankees are beating the Red Sox, 6-1 in the eighth and the Red Sox score one run, then the Red Sox aren't winning, they're still behind 6-2 . . .* BUCHANAN: . . . there's unquestionably, the surge has worked and I think the American people see it as working and they do see McCain by something like 7 to 4 or 7 to 5 as a far stronger man to lead the country and there is a clarity to that argument he is making whether you agree with its substance and ultimate results or not . . . "I know how to win wars" is very powerful. It is Ike vs. Adlai. GREEN: . . . it was Bush who said that the success of the surge will be measured by less violence and political rapprochement. The first, I agree. The second simply has not happened. BUCHANAN: . . . Maliki has made tremendous gains . . . that's why he's saying the Americans can maybe start going home . . . if the Americans see that and McCain picks up on that: We're moving in the right direction, we're moving out of Iraq, now I'm going to win Afghanistan the way I run Iraq. The substance aside, it is a powerful political message for November . . . [. . .] MATTHEWS: . . . *I want to respond on Eisenhower and some history here. Gen Eisenhower was elected in 1952 to end a war, which he did in Korea. Gen Eisenhower refused to go into Viet Nam in 1954 despite the urgings of others, including Richard Nixon. He refused to go into the Suez campaign in the Middle East in 1956 despite the good intentions towards Israel. Let me just make this point, Gen Eisenhower was a man of peace, who knew how to restrain US foreign policy in the interest of US foreign interest. Pat, you know this. Why are you going back with this ridiculous comparison between a hawk like McCain and man of strength and restraint like Eisenhower? You know they are two very different men.* BUCHANAN: I agree with you . . . *McCain's Czechoslovakia Mistake on Hardball *(MSNBC 07/15/08 5:29pm) CHRIS MATTHEWS: John McCain would like you to think that he's the foreign policy expert in this election. Well, he may need a history refresher. At least when it comes to one region. Check out this exchange yesterday: JOHN MCCAIN: I was concerned bout a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One of those is reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is reaction to the Czech's agreement with us concerning missile defense. MATTHEWS: You have a problem there. Czechoslovakia hasn't existed for over fifteen years. It split up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Apparently, it seems that no one gave McCain the head's up. Here he is at a town hall, just this afternoon. MCCAIN: I regret some of the recent behavior that Russia has exhibited and I'll be glad to talk about that later on, including reduction of oil supplies to Czechoslovakia after they agreed with us on a missile defense system. MATTHEWS: Czechoslovakia was of course that country that Hitler began grabbing in 1938 and took all of in 1939. *New Polls Show McCain with Foreign Policy Advantage, Obama Winning on Economy* (ABC, 07/15/08, 6:40pm) CHARLES GIBSON: […] Foreign policy was the focus of the day. John McCain said he would send 10,000 more troops to join the fight in Afghanistan. Barack Obama said the war in Afghanistan would be at the top of his foreign policy agenda, and defended his call to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq in 16 months. Foreign policy also dominated our latest ABC News poll. […] On the foreign policy issue, it's not particularly good news for Barack Obama. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, it shows that questions about his experience in foreign policy are probably the single biggest hurdle between Barack Obama and the White House. Look at this question about knowledge on world affairs, 63 percent say John McCain is more knowledgeable over 26 percent for Barack Obama. And then who do you trust to handle an unexpected foreign crisis? The 3am question, 50 John McCain, 41 Barack Obama. The Obama campaign knows that he has this big foreign trip coming up, they have to show him doing the job to calm these questions. GIBSON: But on the economy, much better news for Obama. STEPHANOPOULOS: Single biggest for John McCain, between him and the White House right now. Look at these numbers, 54 percent trust Barack Obama to handle the economy, only 35 percent trust John McCain. A 19 point advantage, everyday of bad news on the economy, I mean the Obama campaign will never admit it, but it's good news for his campaign. GIBSON: All right, it's still a long ways away from Election Day. But we did ask about the horse race. STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, you have to ask that question. GIBSON: And? STEPHANOPOULOS: Among registered voters, Barack Obama has an eight-point lead. 50 to 42. But look at this number, you trade it over to likely voters, those most likely to vote, it's down to 49 to 46. Only a three-point lead. We dug into that Charlie, and it shows that Barack Obama's most committed partisans, beyond African American voters, are young voters. Voters under 30. In March, 66 percent of them said they would vote no matter what. That is down to 46 percent right now, their enthusiasm has been dampened a bit over the course of this campaign. […] *Matthews Brings Up McCain's "Bomb-Iran" Joke During Discussion on Iran Policy *(MSNBC 07/15/08 5:55pm) CHRIS MATTHEWS: Here's what John Bolton, Bush's former Ambassador to the U.N. . . . wrote today in *The Wall Street Journal: *"Instead of debating how much longer to continue five years of failed diplomacy, we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway . . . " . . . going to war with Iran, is this going to be an issue come October? PERRY BACON: . . . neither Sen. McCain nor Sen. Obama, we're fighting two wars now, I think they won't discuss starting a third . . . MATTHEWS: . . . John McCain has been very clear on this, saying if they move towards weaponization, we ought to strike. JILL ZUCKMAN: Well, Sen. McCain is very concerned about Iran; he talks about it a lot. I think actually though . . . McCain and Obama are both supportive of multi lateral talks . . . I think the difference comes more from McCain not wanting to engage in direct talks . . . this is a substantive disagreement and they're having a substantive debate and it's the real deal and they're both coming at it from different areas. MATTHEWS: . . . John McCain was caught making a joke on this, saying his policy towards that region was "bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran," like in Barbara-Ann from the Beach Boys. But clearly he is a hawk on this matter. KAREN TUMULTY: . . . John McCain is certainly more forceful right now in how he talks about this. He talks about the need to start imposing sanctions right now on Iran . . . Highlight #3 *CNN Investigates McCain's "Meal Ticket" and Impact of Busch Deal on McCain's Fortune and Campaign* (CNN, 07/15/08, 8:44pm) CAMPBELL BROWN: So there could be some political fallout to this weeks big deal in the beer industry. The Belgium company InBev is buying Anheuser-Busch for $52 million bucks. Cindy McCain just happens to run one of the biggest Anheuser-Busch distributers in the country, beyond what she stands to make in the deal, red flags are already starting to go up on how a McCain presidency would affect his wife's business. DAVID MATTINGLY: *Fair to say, Cindy McCain, is not only a wife to Senator John McCain, she is also his meal ticket*. Her reported 2006 income of more than 6 million dollars exceeded her husband's earnings 16 times over*. That money pays for a wealthy lifestyle of high-end condos, an Arizona ranch, flying in a corporate jet, and more.* KEN VOGEL: He wouldn't be able to afford that if not for her. Politically, he is in Congress arguably because her company and her wealth funded his first Congressional campaign and has certainly been helpful in subsidizing his presidential campaign. MATTINGLY: It's a lifestyle built on beer. Cindy McCain is on the chair of one of the biggest Anheuser-Busch distributers in the country. A company founded by her father with a value estimated at more than $100 million. In Congress, Senator McCain has been able to avoid a conflict of interest by staying out of the family business and excusing himself from beer related issues. But critics of that industry doubt that a President McCain would be able to stay so hands-off. BRUCE LIVINGSTON: I*t would not be possible, the corporation of which Cindy McCain is an owner of has lobbied ten times in the last 8 years on various issues that have gone to Congress and that have gone to executive branch agencies.* MATTINGLY: As President, Senator McCain would run a mammoth beaurocracy with regulatory control over alcohol sales, distribution, and consumption. The next administration would probably have to deal with issues of beer taxes, labeling, maybe even the politically sensitive international merger just announced involving the giant Anheuser-Busch. These are all issues that could create a conflict because they could have an impact on the McCain family bottom line. Though she does not run the day to day operations, Cindy McCain's Hensley & Co. website links to a newsletter calling for a rollback in the Federal beer tax. And this 2005 letter posted on the internet by the Los Angeles Times shows company executive Andrew McCain. *Yes, that is the Senator's son lobbying against a Federal beer labeling proposal.* […] JAMAL SIMMONS: Of course there are red flags. The real question is not so much about what Cindy McCain does for a living, because she can do whatever she wants to do for a living, this is America. The question is whether or not John McCain is going to lead a transparent government, and he so far is not leading a transparent campaign. Here's what I mean. *He hasn't talked about how much he pays, or why he doesn't pay full fair for those airplane flights he flies around in that jet. He doesn't talk about what's going to happen to Cindy McCain if he goes into the White House. And so the question is, of course he listens to somebody like Phil Gramm who thinks that the economy is all in our heads, or that economic problems are all mental, because John McCain he has eight houses, they spend $750,000 on credit cards in one month, and he's flying around the country in this corporate jet. He's not in touch with where most of Americans are.* […] BROWN: McCain has used his wife's fortune to help fund his campaign, providing a private plane to travel around the country. […] Does he have an obligation to be open with people about this if you want to be president of the United States? […] GLORIA BORGER: There is sort of a basic issue of transparency here, because this is sort of the bedrock of John McCain's campaign, which he wants to be open. His wife has only released the first two pages of her 2006 tax returns. And I remember in covering the 2004 campaign when Teresa Heinz Kerry who is also a very wealthy women, wealthier than Cindy McCain, did not want to release her taxes, republicans were complaining about it. […] SIMMONS: That month where he was spending $750,000 dollars on credit card debts was from March 2007 until the beginning of, middle of 2008, and that's when they were spending all this money on credit cards. *They would not have been able to keep the John McCain campaign alive had he not had this personal wealth.* Highlight #4 *McCain Stresses His Closeness to Bush from 2003 to Present *(MSNBC 07/15/08 8:03pm) RACHAEL MADDOW: Part of the McCain campaign strategy for victory in November is making seem as if he never, not once, supported the Bush administration's failed strategy in Iraq . . . JOHN MCCAIN: You know, over the last year Sen. Obama and I were part of a great debate about the war in Iraq. *Both of us agreed that the Bush administration had pursued a failed policy there and we had to change course.* RACHAEL MADDOW: McCain might be learning how to use the internets but how the internets can be used against him must still be on his "to-figure-out-list." The wonders of the Google and the blogosphere have provided a long list of examples where McCain and Bush have appeared to be one and McSame in the war in Iraq. Our list, by no means the definitive and complete edition, working backwards*, we begin in March, when on Mike Gallagher's talk radio show where McCain said, quote, "No one has supported Bush on Iraq more than I have."* Then in February, when he was endorsed by Bush 41 and asked by our correspondent, Kelly O'Donnell, about the backing of that other, less popular, President Bush, McCain claimed some policy differences with the current president, but decidedly, definitely not on Iraq. JOHN MCCAIN: As any president that follows, one has different views on particularly specific issues but I am proud of the president's strategy in Iraq. It is succeeding. MADDOW: In the summer of 2006, when Iraq was in the midst of a civil war, McCain still had every confidence in the president. DAIVD GREGORY: Do you have confidence in the president and his national security team to lead the war at this stage? JOHN MCCAIN: I do. I do. I have confidence in the president and I believe that he is well aware of the situation. GREGORY: Despite all the misjudgments you think have been made? MCCAIN: Yes. MADDOW: In June of 2005, when Tim Russert tried to give McCain a chance to distance himself from president Bush and his war in Iraq, McCain wouldn't take that chance. TIM RUSSERT: The fact is, you are different from George Bush? MCCAIN: No, no. The fact is that I am different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. My support for President Bush has been active and very impassioned on issues that are important to the American people. And I am particularly talking about the war on terror, the war in Iraq, national security, national defense, support of men and women in the military, physical discipline, a number of other issues. So I strongly disagree with any assertion that I've been more at odds with the President of the United States than I have been in agreement with him. MADDOW: At the Republican convention, four years ago this summer, McCain admired the president as much as every and believed in his mission in Iraq as strongly as ever. MCCAIN: I believe as strongly today as ever the mission was necessary, achievable and noble. [applause] For his determination to undertake it and his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support but our admiration. [applause] MADDOW: At last, but certainly not least, in the conflict's early weeks, the same man who now cannot tell the difference between Sunni and Shia, believed they had a peaceful history of coexistence that would continue. MCCAIN: There is not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shias, so I think they can probably get along. Highlight #5 *Rep. John Boehner Distances Himself and Republicans From McCain's Energy Policies* (CNN, 07/15/08, 4:17pm) WOLF BLITZER: Senator McCain has been outspoken in his determination to deal with global warming in contradiction to some of the republicans out there who have some doubts about the whole science of that. JOHN BOEHNER: I think that John McCain's position is not really very different than most Republicans. […] The fact is, that we have had climate change. Clearly, humans have something to do with it. And we ought to begin reducing our CO2 emmisions. […] Highlight #6 *High Gas Prices Helping McCain on Drilling *(MSNBC 07/15/08 4:21pm) NEIL CAVUTO: Now usually, Americans blame the party that's in the White House for their pain but look at these numbers, in less than a month McCain has closed the gap on Sen. Obama, turning a fifteen point deficit into a dead heat there nationally . . . how do you make sense of that Scott? If McCain is supposedly the candidate for whom the economy's not his specialty? SCOTT RASMUSSEN: Well, there's a couple of things in that. First of all, everybody puts the question about John McCain; party of what we're seeing is a little bit of concern about Barack Obama. But in the short term what we're also seeing is the impact of higher gas prices. The American people want to energy prices to come down . . . and John McCain said, let's go find some more energy and Obama said no. [ . . . ] RASMUSSEN: . . . through the vast majority of the country they support John McCain's decision on offshore drilling and they'll support any effort to find more energy . . . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. To post to this group, send to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] E-mail [email protected] with questions or concerns This is a list of individuals. It is not affiliated with any group or organization. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---