[big campaign] Media Monitoring Report - Evening 07/11/08

podesta-emails 3,322 words email

P17 V11 P22 P19 V15

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*Main Topics:* Bad week for McCain, overlapping marriages, McEnergy plan, McCain responds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac misfortune* Summary of Shift:* Federal regulators announced they will shut down mortgage lender, Indymac Bank. Cynthia McKinney looks set to receive the Green Party presidential nomination. Lou Dobbs continues to rage against Obama for suggesting Americans speak Spanish. Obama released a new radio in which he accuses McCain of being the 'McSame as Bush.' Gramm's remarks remain a news item, with panels debating whether McCain spends too much time with reporters or whether the recession is, in fact, imaginary. Highlights 1) McCain's disastrous week a. McCain's maverick status turns against him i. MSNBC: McCain's camp has hard time unifying message ii. MSNBC: McCain's baggage makes it hard to sell maverick image b. MSNBC: Gramm's comments hurt McCain's economic credibility c. CNN: Dana Bash summarizes McCain's troubled week d. MSNBC: Maddow runs down the list of follies 2) CBS: *Inside Edition* covers McCain's marriage overlap 3) CNN: Frank Sesno fact checks McCain's contradictory energy plan 4) MSNBC: McCain responds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac No clip 1) CNN runs story on renewed arguments, from an Arizonan professor, that McCain is constitutionally ineligible for the presidency due to his birth in the Panama Canal. 2) CNN: McCain and Obama compete over Latino vote 3) CNN: Jack Cafferty asks viewers, in relation to Gramm's comments, what is the difference between a mental recession and a real one? 4) FNC: Neil Cavuto hosts two panelists who debate Phil Gramm's claim that the recession is imaginary. 5) FNC: On Brit Hume's show, a reporter summarizes McCain's memory lapse on the Packers/Steelers. 6) MSNBC: *Hardball *runs segment on McCain's pander in Pittsburg 7) MSNBC: Is the Steelers/Packers pander McCain losing his authenticity? Clips Highlight #1 *McCain's Campaign Failing Him, Having Trouble Finding Consistent Message *(MSNBC 07/11/08 6:48pm) DAVID GREGORY: Where has McCain's campaign failed him? . . . you've got a candidate and a campaign and as one Republican told me this week, a campaign is like running a company and your product is politics and you're serving one master in terms of the candidate. Has the campaign let him down? NOAH OPPENHEIMER: The campaign's absolutely let him down. I don't think there's really any question about that . . . John McCain is John McCain. He will never be the electrifying presence that Barack Obama is and I think that the problem that this campaign has had is that they've spent these last couple months almost fighting who he naturally is instead of trying to find, to pander, to get the base going . . . John McCain is not a guy who's going to excite James Dobson, it's just not going to happen. But John McCain does have a message that could resonate . . . with the things that people are caring about right now which is that the institutions in this country are failing the average American and they need to be fixed . . . GREGORY: Does the McCain campaign have to emulate Bush of '04? Does it have to be run like a fortune five hundred company when that's not who he is? JOHN HARWOOD: *Any campaign has to have message discipline in order to succeed. The problem is that John McCain's message is not entirely coherent because of who he is. Yes he is a maverick. Yes he's also a conservative Republican.* He makes it difficult for his campaign as well and lets face it, the John McCain that Noah's talking about, the maverick reformer is not particularly popular within the Republican party and he needs an enthusiastic Republican Party if he's going to win this election. *McCain's Comments on Social Security an Example of His Change Since 2000 *(MSNBC 07/11/08 5:06pm) MIKE BARNICLE: . . . he is approaching one of the third-rails of American politics, Social Security and he doesn't have too many specifics there other than saying it's a disgrace. Again this fits in with the portrait that's being painted of the McCain campaign of a campaign that can't stay on message . . . DAVID CORN: I think it's worse. When he said that he was essentially challenging the fundamental funding mechanism of Social Security . . . by saying that that's a disgrace, he's saying that the whole program should be shot and buried . . . maybe it was a slip-up, maybe he didn't understand what he was saying but it goes back to a point that I think Jonathan and I agree on, that when it comes to these sort of issues he doesn't appear to have really embraced them and thought about them much in a way the resonates with people except for one issue, and that is free trade, which certainly doesn't help him in states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania . . . BARNICLE: . . . this is a quote from *The New York Times*, "afterward, spokesmen for the McCain campaign said that his use of 'disgrace' was meant to refer not to Social Security itself but to Washington's unwillingness to address distortions developing in the system. But Mr. McCain seemed to undermine his staff's explanation when he appeared on CNN Tuesday and, to a large extent, repeated himself. 'They pay their taxes and right now their taxes are going to pay the retirement of present day retirees." He said by way of explaining his support for allowing young workers to open private accounts for retirement." *We're not even on the highway with the McCain campaign, Jonathan, we're still in the middle of the summer and yet the wheels seem to be sort of coming off. He's taking all of these exit ramps with the Straight-Talk Express into these adjunct issues when he should be staying on message.* When's he going to get on message? Can he stay on message? JONATHAN ALTER: First of all, on Social Security, this is a much bigger problem for him than a misstatement . . . the real problem for John McCain on Social Security, Mike, is that he backed President Bush's privatization plan. That plan was so unpopular in 2005 that it never even came up for a vote . . . this is a dead sure loser in American politics. McCain was for it . . . [. . .] CORN: . . . I mad a list before coming on this show of about a dozen missteps and slip ups he had, not just about what we talked about . . . his campaign and he himself to a certain extent appear a little discombobulated this week after a staff shake up was supposed to make everything sail smoothly. So he's still has yet to show that he can campaign effectively, passionately . . . [. . .] BARNICLE: . . . is what happened this week, if you take Phil Gramm out of it, is this John McCain being John McCain? I mean, everybody says let McCain be McCain. Is this McCain being McCain? CORN: I don't think so in some ways. The John McCain that a lot of reporters knew and loved in 2000 as a straight-talker, now under the, as part of this gigantic presidential campaign, managed a lot by professional party hacks and operatives, is flip-flopping and not straight-talking the way that he claims he used to and I think he's not putting his best foot forward and he's not showing himself as an independent maverick, free of political spin that he tried to at least do back in 2000. *He's made too many bargains with the devil to get the nomination and it's going to be hard for him to campaign like the old John McCain when he's the new baggage ridden John McCain.* *Gramm's Comments and McCain's Reaction Reveal McCain's Lack of Interest In, Knowledge Of the Economy *(MSNBC 07/11/08 5:01pm) MIKE BARNICLE: The straight talk express derailed . . . [plays Phil Gramm footage] BARNICLE: All right, I don't want to whine about this too much but, uh, it seems to me that the McCain campaign had perhaps its second or third reorganization recently. Steve Schmidt, a very terrific professional, brought in to streamline the message, get people on track and now we've had this. When John McCain was supposed to be out talking about the economy this week, going to Michigan, talking about real things that concern real working people in this country, you've got Phil Gramm saying this today. Jonathan, what does this say about the McCain campaign? JONATHAN ALTER*: Well they've got a big problem here Mike because Phil Gramm is not just any old surrogate off mouthing off . . . he's John McCain's principle economic advisor. They've been very, very close for 25 years. And actually John McCain supported Phil Gramm for President of the United States in 1996. He's listened to him a lot on this issue, which by McCain's own admission, he doesn't really know anything about.* So the question is, how much of a window is this into McCain's real thinking about where we are economically? . . . *here Gramm conveyed what a lot of people in the McCain camp think is the truth about the economy.* BARNICLE: David, lets talk about the window that David mentioned, I mean there's about 115, 116 days left until election day. *Washington Post* story . . . yesterday John McCain was in Michigan, the post story indicates that he tried to speak about the economy, to automobile workers, people in Michigan, didn't go over to well . . . basically sat on their hands . . . how much of a window does John McCain have . . . to sort of touch people about his concerns about the economy . . . ? DAVID CORN*: We're getting pretty close to the time being past . . . he's never come across as a guy who's populist or who really seems to care a lot about working on economic issues. And then you have Phil Gramm come out and make this comment and then John McCain says he doesn't speak for me. Well, about at the same time that John McCain said that yesterday Phil Gramm was appearing at the Wall Street Journal editorial board. What was he doing there? Speaking for John McCai*n. This reaffirms . . . the suspicion that a lot of people have, that John McCain, this isn't what he cares most about. He can't talk about it persuasively and this is the guy advising [. . .] ALTER: I think David put his finger on a really important point about this campaign. There's what you could call a passion gap for John McCain between the passion that he feels about international relations . . *. he's very knowledgeable and very passionate when it comes to talking about the world but when it comes to discussing domestic outside of pork barrel spending and campaign finance reform he's very unenthusiastic, just not passionate, doesn't seem to care a real lot or be real interested and the problem with McCain is that he's a genuine enough guy that he's not a good faker. He can't really fake being passionate about the economy because he's not.* *'McCain Relaunch Misfires'* (CNN 07/11/08 4:32pm) DANA BASH: [�] as one republican strategist that I talked to put it to me, he said, '*McCain is still ending the week, scarred with some self-inflicted wounds*.' [�] JOHN MCCAIN: I have a proven record. I have a proven record of reaching across the aisle. [�] I'll do everything in my power to get those oil offshore reserves exploited�eh, explored, discovered and�explored AND exploited. BASH: A Freudian slip, of sorts from the self-described environmentalist now calling for drilling offshore; evidence that *McCain's week of events to re-launch his campaign had some misfires*. Case in point: PHIL GRAMM: We sort of have become a nation of whiners. BASH: Having to rebuke his good friend and economic adviser for declaring the country is in a mental recession. [�] *Some awkward moments got less national attention, but maybe just as politically perilous*, like going to the battleground of Michigan where many voters believe free trade sent their jobs overseas and saying this: MCCAIN: I believe free trade is important. *BASH: Too much straight talk for these voters who told him so. [�] Some republicans tell CNN they worry McCain's free trade message is alienating blue-collar voters he's trying to pull from Barack Obama. Experts agree*. BERNIE PORN: He may think that he's telling the truth about the issue, but this is one of those issues where I can assure him that voters can't handle that truth. *McCain's Bad Week as a List *(MSNBC 07/11/08 8:05pm) RACHAEL MADDOW: If John McCain were anybody but John McCain, then the week he had might well be remembered as one of the worst weeks ever for a presidential nominee. Let's break it down, shall we? First there was the Steeler/Packer POW-gate. He's only running for president people, how can he be expected to remember crucial details about his own life? Also, his top economic advisor calls Americans a bunch of whiners for complaining about an economy that's only in a "mental recession," which he likened to mental depression and the guy gets to keep his national co-chair position with the campaign . . . also, one of McCain's other economic advisors tells women voters that McCain is just as upset as she is that insurance companies pay for Viagra but refuse to cover birth control leaving McCain to squirm and stammer and attempt to leave his own body during a Q&A session on his campaign bus. OK, at least that tape was kind of enjoyable. On Monday, McCain described Social Security as a total disgrace, not saying it merely needed to be fixed but, quote, "We are paying present day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today*."* In other words, he called the entire premise of Social Security disgraceful. McCain made a joke about killing Iranians civilians by giving them lung cancer. McCain conveniently ignored it when Iraqi officials, including the prime minister called for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, even though he'd said before that if the Iraqis wanted us to leave, we'd leave. And if all that were not enough, he claimed to have a record with veterans' associations that he really doesn't have. He attacked Barack Obama for not voting on something he didn't vote on either, the Kyle-Lieberman Amendment. And he promised to balance the budget by the end of his first term with all the money he will have saved by winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Highlight #2 *McCain Appears to Have Been Married to Cindy and Carol Simultaneously *(CBS 07/08/08 4:34pm) DEBORAH NORVILLE: An article in the *Los Angeles Times* is raising some serious questions for John McCain and they revolve around his marriage to his second wife, Cindy. PAUL BOYD: Was John McCain still married to his first wife when he applied for a marriage license with his second wife, Cindy? That's the question facing McCain after a front page article in Friday's *Los Angeles Times*. According to the newspaper, McCain's account of the timing of his divorce from first wife, Carol, and marriage to Cindy, quote, "conflict with the public record." John and Cindy McCain met at a party in 1979. In his memoir, *Worth the Fighting For*, he began spending time with her while separated from his first wife Carol. He wrote his divorce become final in February of 1980, more than three months before his marriage to Cindy. But according to *The Los Angeles Times *, court records show McCain's divorce from Carol wasn't actually granted until April 2nd, 1980. So what's the controversy? The *Los Angeles Times* is reporting that McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6th, 1980 to marry Cindy. Which means he got it while still legally married to his first wife. FLAVIA COLGAN: *It could create some strain with the conservative base, which he already has problems with*, because any deviation of standard family values is a problem for them. BOYD: McCain's messy divorce from Carol apparently fractured his relationship with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Carol McCain, who's now 70 and living in Virginia was a close friend of the Reagans' and they were upset when he left her for Cindy. NANCY REAGAN: Well, obviously, this is the nominee of the party. BOYD: The paper points to Nancy Reagan's less than exuberant endorsement of McCain last March as a sign that the relationship may still be rocky. Highlight #3 *Situation Room Fact Checks McCain's Contradictory Energy Plans *(CNN 07/11/08 5:41pm) JOHN MCCAIN: [�] when you cut through all the smooth rhetoric, Senator Obama's policies would make it harder for women to start new businesses, harder for women to find or create new jobs, harder for women to manage the family budget, and harder for women and their families to meet their tax burden. [�] FRANK SESNO:* [McCain] wants more offshore drilling. He used to oppose it. Now he says we need it.* [�] McCain's a big booster of nuclear power. [�] but, as for the waste, more trouble there too. He favors putting it in Nevada's Yucca Mountain; says it would be safe there, but, in a speech in Denver in May, he suggested international storage that could make Yucca unnecessary. *The Las Vegas Sun criticized McCain's about-face on Yucca and suggested he was just pandering to Nevada voters.* The McCain campaign says the international storage idea was nearly aspirational. McCain favors ethanol. Though he once opposed it, it's the subsidies he doesn't like now and he says technologies like solar and wind can get off the ground if they just have stable long-term tax credits. He's proposed a $300 million prize for a more efficient electric car battery. McCain wants the marketplace, not government to pick the new energy winners. Yet *McCain would help provide $2 billion a year to help develop clean coal. He'd continue government guarantees to help build expensive nuclear power plants and his proposed corporate tax cuts would help big oil's bottom line by nearly $4 billion a year, according to the liberal Center for American Progress.* Highlight #4 *McCain's Responds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac *(MSNBC 07/11/08 6:03pm) DAVID GREGORY: The question is, will taxpayers be called on to help keep these companies afloat? Sen. McCain said today the government may indeed have to act. JOHN MCCAIN: *There's no doubt that there's a real significant, far-reaching problem that is going to have to very likely require some kind of government assistance.* Whether its helping in raising capital or whether its, what that course of action is, we need to examine very carefully, listening to smart people, rapidly, perhaps congressional hearings if necessary but there's no doubt that we can't have these two institutions go under. -- Jacob Roberts PAO 208.420.3470 (c) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---