McCain campaign "hits back" (again)on the "not too important" criticism on conference call

[ErinBerin84]

Since when is the McCain campaign a fan of context? Plus, they don't really seem to be grasping that the Democrats ARE criticizing the context as well, as well as the continued "clarifications". I turned on the Andrea Mitchell news hour for a second on MSNBC, and all of the "journalists" were predictably mounting a full on defense of McCain.


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06...


"The McCain campaign is battling back hard against the criticism of his claim today that it's "not too important" when the troops come home from Iraq.

The McCain camp sent out this video of the fuller context of his remarks -- take a look:

(view video at link)

Here's the statement from McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds blasting Dems -- and, presumably, us, since we posted shorter vid -- for ignoring the fuller context here:

"The Obama campaign is embarking on a false attack on John McCain to hide their own candidate's willingness to disregard facts on the ground in pursuit of withdrawal no matter what the costs. John McCain was asked if he had a 'better estimate' for a timeline for withdrawal. As John McCain has always said, that is not as important as conditions on the ground and the recommendations of commanders in the field. Any reasonable person who reads the full transcript would see this and reject the Obama campaign's attempt to manipulate, twist and distort the truth."
The thing is, though, that McCain didn't merely say that when the troops come home is "not as important" as other factors, as the statement says. Rather, he said that it was "not too important" when they come home.

This is precisely what Dems are criticizing today, and it's unclear to me why the larger context changes this basic fact about what he said. Indeed, McCain's belief that the timing of withdrawal is not too important is really the centerpiece of the argument between the GOP and Dems, who argue that withdrawing without delay is extremely important -- both to the troops themselves, and because of our overstretched military.

But at any rate, you now have the McCain campaign's push-back on this"


edit: link not working, will try to fix it.

[gasperc]

1. push-back is correcting their original stupid remark

not only is McCain constantly finding himself on defense he moves back two yards. I'm sure the battle of the bulge will come soon and be fierce. I'm steeled for that day. I warn everyone out there to be ready for the GOPs counter attack.

[anonymous171]

2. McCain is not used to the kind of media attention that Obama gets.

[ErinBerin84]

3. Lieberman using the predictable "McCain's been to war, so you can't possibly criticize him" defense

uh, so can Kerry still criticize him then?


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/lieberman_invokes_mccains_war.php

Lieberman: McCain's "Not Too Important" Comment Doesn't Matter Because He Served In Vietnam
By Greg Sargent - June 11, 2008, 1:53PM
There was a fun moment on the McCain conference call held a little while ago to defend his claim that it's "not too important" when the troops come home.

"This is what Joe Lieberman had to say in defending McCain's comment:

I mean the obvious fact is that more than most any American, Senator McCain knows the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make, and the burden that their families bear. And it really is wrong to suggest otherwise. And obviously he knows that from his own -- well, from his father's service, and the impact it had on his family; from his own service and incarceration...
Of course, we keep hearing that John McCain is reluctant to invoke his war service in a political context. He told us so himself the other day.

So on the call, a reporter quite naturally asked McCain senior advisor Randy Scheunemann if Lieberman's evocation of McCain's service in this highly charged political context meant there was a shift of some kind and that we'd be seeing more of this.

"We're not gonna comment on that," Scheunemann said."