Did You Know John McCain Was A POW?

The Republicans think they are the ones who own this line of attack. They realize that all the things they said in 2004 can come right back and bite them, as they apply just as fairly (or unfairly) to St. John (did you know he was a POW?). An example:

Joseph Farah, World Net Daily, “President Gigolo?”:

But if there is one characteristic of Kerry’s life that should disqualify him absolutely as a candidate for president, it is the fact that he has sought out millionaire wives to take care of him. Not to put too fine a point on it, he’s a serial gigolo.

Let me ask you this: How many single women do you know worth a hundred million dollars or more? . . . After raising children with her, Kerry sought and received an annulment of that long-term marriage. Then he married Teresa Heinz Kerry, the widow of a Senate colleague five years his senior. She is worth approximately $500 million.

Is marrying well good preparation for serving as the president of the United States? . . . . He’s always had a net underneath him throughout his political career — in his case, a net woven of homespun 24K gold.

And my favorite, Rush Limbaugh:

Rush Limbaugh Online, “John Kerry’s Resume”:

[Kerry] has lived the life of a millionaire living off the inherited wealth of his two wives. As an Ivy League educated millionaire who did not have to work for his fortune, Mr. Kerry never had to worry about the money he earned, the taxes he paid, or the programs he and Ted Kennedy forced the rest of us to pay for. . . . Mr. Kerry Heinz is not effected (sic) when these neighborhoods are destroyed and working class families lose the largest asset in their retirement plans — their home’s value.

Goose, gander.

It stings even more because they walked right into it. They are the ones who spent the last month talking about elitism and being out of touch. They are the ones who made the celebrity ads. For a campaign team that has allegedly learned from Clinton’s mistakes in the primary, they must have missed it when Hillary spent weeks calling Obama elitist and attempting to profit on the “bitter” comments, only to have this happen:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Clinton reported $20.4 million in income for 2007 and more than $109 million since 2000 as they gave the public the most detailed look at their finances in eight years.

Oops. USA Today breaks it down for you:

By dinnertime, the McCain team had released an ad about Obama and his former fundraiser Antoin Rezko, who was convicted of corruption charges in June. On the same day in 2005, Obama bought his house and Rezko’s wife bought an adjoining lot owned by the same sellers. She later sold a strip of it to Obama.

McCain, who has portrayed Obama as an elitist, is the son and grandson of admirals. The Associated Press estimates his wife, a beer heiress, is worth $100 million. Obama was raised by a single mother who relied at times on food stamps, and went to top schools on scholarships and loans. His income has increased from book sales since he spoke at the 2004 Democratic convention.

They are the ones who were pushing this sort of nonsense about a guy from a broken home who worked his way up from food stamps to a comfortable life, never in a million years thinking that the Democrats would, in fact, fight back. But he is. And they are shocked, angry, and most of all, scared. Their entire campaign is on the rails, with one comment from McCain exposing how very vulnerable they are on the battlefield they prepped.

Memo to Obama campaign- keep pushing this. And when they talk about Ayers, look into a guy named Bonanno. Why was McCain getting party invitations from mob bosses? When they talk about Rezko, talk about Charles Keating. And in both cases, just as it is with the current out of touch rich guy nonsense the Republicans themselves brought up, their candidate is more vulnerable. Obama was eight when Ayers was a factor. Their candidate actually admits to guilt in the Keating affair. When they say Rezko, you say Keating Five. And again, unlike Rezko in which nothing took place, there is something there for the Keating Five.

And whatever you do, ignore the concern trolls claiming Obama is ceding the high ground and “so much for the new politics.” The new politics is about competent governance and working with the opposition to gain consensus on worthwhile goals. The new politics requires getting elected, and taking accurate statements made by your opponent (in this case, their own admission they do not know how many houses they own) and highlighting them is not ceding the high ground. It is politics. Watch it again (I saw it this morning on CNN while I was having coffee):

Nothing in the Obama commercial was taken out of context. Nothing was distorted. McCain made those comments about the economy, he made the statement that he did not know how many houses he owns.

And, as a side note, as someone who was a Republican forever, watching a Democrat actually not only fight back, but fight back capably, quickly, and smartly IS a new kind of politics of a sort. In the past, you all sat by, let yourself get trashed and defined, and then wailed plaintively about mean Republicans taking the low road. Ask anyone out there- if someone punches you, you are allowed to punch back. It isn’t your fault if your assailant thought he was bullying a wimp but accidentally picked a fight with a heavyweight.

They are scared. They don’t know what hit them, and are about to bust out their limp Ayers nonsense and Rev. Wright stuff several months before the general. Keep punching. You know you are hurting them when the first thing McCain does is… hide behind his wife.

Another Reason For the Freak-OutPost + Comments (80)