Excerpted from Politico.com, “Doh!: Top eight gaffes of the campaign”, by Jim VandeHei and Harry Siegel, September 8, 2008
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Here is Politico’s list of the top eight gaffes that are virtually certain to haunt John McCain and Barack Obama until Election Day:
1. “Bitter”
At an April 6 fundraiser in San Francisco, “You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them…And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Not coincidentally, the small towns in places like Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia are where Obama found the least support in his primary bid.
2. Countless houses
McCain wasn’t able to tell Politico in an interview last month … “I think—I’ll have my staff get to you, I can’t tell you about that. It’s condominiums where—I’ll have them get to you.”
The slip dovetailed perfectly with a just-launched Democratic bid to counter McCain’s ads painting Obama as a lightweight celebrity with an offensive of their own
The Obama campaign had an attack ad depicting the Republican as wealthy and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.
3. “Shout out to my pastor”
Obama praised Rev. Jeremiah Wright — of ““God damn America.” — fame last July while addressing a conference of black clergy members:
“And then I’ve got to give a special shout out to my pastor. The guy who puts up with me, counsels me, listens to my wife complain about me. He’s a friend and a great leader not just in Chicago but all across the country, so please everybody give an extraordinary welcome to my pastor Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., Trinity United Church of Christ.”
The comments seems tailor-made for an attack ad, where they can be juxtaposed with some of Wright’s more inflammatory remarks.
4. Don’t know much about economy
In 2005, McCain told the Wall Street Journal, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.”
As damaging as print quotes can be, it’s video of similar comments that may prove most damaging with voters.
5. “Likable enough”
Obama’s crack at his then-rival during the Jan. 5 primary debate may come back to haunt him.
Clinton was asked a question about voters preferring Obama to her on a personal level, and as she replied, “I’ll try to go on. He’s very likable, I agree with that. I don’t think I’m that bad—“ he interrupted to crack, “You’re likable enough, Hillary.”
Hillatry supporters cringed.
6. “100 years”
McCain’s remark at a January 3 town hall that American troops might stay in Iraq for 100 years had been intended to evoke America’s continued peacetime military presence in countries like Germany and South Korea, but the sound bite endures:
Obama quickly added the line “John McCain wants us to keep troops there for 100 years” into his stump speech, and MoveOn.org aired one of the first significant third-party buys of the cycle, “
7. The “Ones”
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. We are the hope of those boys who have little; who’ve been told that they cannot have what they dream; that they cannot be what they imagine.”
Republicans will spend the next two months painting Obama as an empty celebrity with a messianic complex. Expect this Super Tuesday Obama moment to resurface as part of that effort.
8. Computer Illiterate
Politico asked McCain: “Mac or PC?”
“Neither,” McCain replied. “I am a pc illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.”
Younger, internet-savvy voters were aghast.
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Honorable mention: The wives
Michelle Obama — Pride
“For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.”
Cindy McCain—The only way to travel
“In Arizona the only way to get around the state is by small private plane.”
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Full article (with pictures & videos):
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3CAF8BF0-18FE-70B2-A8381956A653CBD0
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