Obama Campaign: McCain Not a 'Warmonger'

[LTR]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign on Saturday repudiated a liberal talk show host's description of Sen. John McCain as a warmonger, a comment made to an audience that Obama later addressed.

Ed Schultz, host of a nationally syndicated radio program that is based in Fargo, N.D., was warming up the crowd Friday at a $100-a-person fundraiser for the North Dakota Democratic party in Grand Forks when he tagged the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting as a "warmonger," Schultz acknowledged in a telephone interview Saturday.

(snip)

"He voted for this war. He's a perpetrator of the war. He's an advocate of the war," Schultz said. "In my personal definition, that's a warmonger."

(snip)

But on Saturday, Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such. He's a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged."


Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-aFR0cZ6zXvNM9uKG8SHex5VoYAD8VRTGK80

---

Here's a little backstory, via my blog:

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2008/04/mccain-furious-at-schultz-over.html

[stray cat]

1. Rationale discourse instead of "labels and name calling"

What a lousy politician. (sarcasm)

[merwin]

16. So you're saying he's NOT a warmonger?

Remember "Bomb bomb bomb Iran"? 100 years in Iraq?

What would you call him?

[stray cat]

19. A guy whose sense of humor is warped and who is afraid of what will happen if we pull out

I may disagree with him but I don't think he is a warmonger or going to war for profit like Bush et al.

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. Given the chance and I won't we don't, McCain will prove to be every bit as much of a warmonger as

bu$h is.

bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran

What more evidence do we need?

[unkachuck]

38. exactly....

....what war has mcSame NOT supported?

[merwin]

55. Now that's delusional.

[rpannier]

21. ummmm... yeah...ok

john 'bomb, bomb, bomb' iran

If he runs his campaign like this he'll be remembered as Dukakis II

[annabanana]

2. That's a shame... Anyone who'll sing "Bomb, bomb, bomb..

bomb bomb Iran" sure isn't working too hard to AVOID war...

[40ozDonkey]

3. I'm glad the candidates have to apologize for their warm-up speakers...

...because with the stupid bullshit rethugs love to spew, McCain'll be begging for forgiveness constantly over the next 7 months.

[C_U_L8R]

4. He's not a war monger, he's a war nut !

bomb bomb bomb
I hope his campaign bombs.

[Algorem]

5. Obama wants a sweaty hug.Don't let that wild lefty Schultz get in the way.

they trying to get Schultz fired now?

[Danger Mouse]

6. Oh, McCain just HATES war.

Of course.
:eyes:

[sandnsea]

7. In order to criticize McCain's warm-up nutso's

You kind of have to hold your own warm-up people to the same standard. I'm surprised at Schultz, I thought he knew that.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. He is, however, a warm onger. nt

[Algorem]

9. Ed Schultz for President.

[darue]

10. yes, he is too n/t

[DavidDvorkin]

11. Don't reach across the aisle too much, Barack

McCain is a warmonger, and you need to say so, forcefully and often.

[mcg]

15. Correct, he's being too polite in this case. nt

[mcg]

41. "Barbed Remark on McCain Sets Off Campaign Dispute", definition of warmonger

article from the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/us/politics/06campaign.html?ref=us

'...
As soon as the Republican National Committee got word of the attack, it issued a statement criticizing Mr. Schultz and calling on Mr. Obama to repudiate the comments.
...
“John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such,” Ms. Psaki said. “He’s a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged.”
...'

I understand the context a bit better now, the RNC is trying to make an issue of
the use of the word "warmonger". Obama's campaign is saying, ok, we won't call
McCain a "warmonger", we'll describe McCain as someone who supports a war that
"Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged."

I'd say that such a war is undesirable and discreditable,
let's look at the definition of warmonger.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/warmonger
warmonger:
a person who advocates, endorses, or tries to precipitate war.
n. One who advocates or attempts to stir up war.
a person who advocates war or warlike policies

a little unclear, but here's one meaning of monger:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=monger
monger:
2. A person promoting something undesirable or discreditable.
Often used in combination: a scandalmonger; a warmonger.

[bagimin]

12. McCain "There will be other wars my friends"

sounds like a warmonger to me,

[stray cat]

20. or someone who knows history - are you naive enough to say there will be an end to war

the lion will lay down with the lamb and we will have absolute peace on earth? I might belive it with nations but not with the power one individual can have to do evil in this day and age.

[msongs]

13. obama votes to support/fund the occupation. he is a perpertrator also nt

[papau]

58. true - and it is a LOL for Obama to pretend to be above the Schultz remark when the campaign worked

so hard to make sure every media outlet was reporting it.

[wpelb]

14. Double-talk?

But on Saturday, Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such. He's a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged."

Am I being cynical, or is that the sort of double-talk that I would expect to hear from some of Sen. Obama's remaining opponents?

[LTR]

44. It was an appropriate response

Remember, politics is different than real life.

Just like we could call McCain a lying fascist piece of shit, but it just wouldn't go over well if Obama were to say it.

This response is the best response possible in this kind of situation. It avoids the namecalling and elevates Obama to a higher level without tossing out cheap insults. At the same time, he did get in a dig at McCain for supporting the war.

It was a classy response, and in the world of politics, the best that could be conjured up.

[BadgerKid]

17. He's attacking the action, not the person. n/t

[merwin]

18. What is that supposed to mean?

[IntravenousDemilo]

39. Then one could rightly say that McCain has "indulged in warmongering". Better? n/m

[Orsino]

22. When does diplomatic behavior become lying?

I guess I can admire the reaching across the aisle thing in principle, but damn it, Obama, this just isn't so.

I need you to lead, not just to organize group hugs.

[WyldRogue]

23. This is worrisome...

... is Obama going to work hard with US or is he going to concentrate on reaching across the aisle to the war-mongering obstructionists??

I guess * and company weren't war-mongers either and we should reach across the aisle, take their hands and thank them for a job well done.

Obama, reach across the aisles after you fix our fragile country that these 'war-mongers' have run into the ground as I would not have a problem with it then. We all know that they did not reach across the aisle when they were in charge during the Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr years and you know damn well they would not reach across the aisle when McBush is seated in the Oval Office.

Being civil is one thing but damn, let's not forget WHO they are and what they have done. Do you remember the 109th Congress or did you forget that time-line??

[JerseygirlCT]

24. I like the civility

Though I still think he IS a warmonger.

[bemildred]

26. The high road, how refreshing. nt

[depakid]

28. deja vu

[Ian David]

27. Obama's playing a little too nice. He'd better man-up or the Repukes will steamroller him.

When Insane McCain was driving a bomber in Vietnam, he used to scream and yell that he was under orders not to attack the Russian freighters in the harbor that he flew over every day.

[scarface2004]

29. no he's an emeffing warmonger!!!

mkane is a piece of shit...fuck him!!

[VP505]

30. Well, well, apparently the term "warmonger"

pushes McSame's anger button, I suggest they (Dem's) repeat it loud and often, perhaps it will give McSame an opportunity to demonstrate his anger management problem in a public forum. I listen to Ed Schultz most everyday and I think he would be happy to help make that happen considering that he believes that if McSame has an anger problem voters need to know about it.

[Kool Kitty]

43. My sentiments exactly.

[vixengrl]

31. Erm--he's a "military option-enabler"?

A "nation-state violence facilitator"?

Maybe a "robust national offense coordinator"?


I'm not really sure what phrase would be politically correct enough for McCain.

[latebloomer]

34. A "nation-state violence facilitator"?

:rofl:

:yourock:

[vixengrl]

36. Hey, thanks--

and this reply is my 1000th post, so, um, that's cool.

[ckramer]

32. If John McCain was not a warmonger, nor was Hillary

yet both are die-hard supporters of Iraq war.

How could one support the war killing hundreds of thousands Iraqis for no good reason not a warmonger?

"He voted for this war. He's a perpetrator of the war. He's an advocate of the war," Schultz is correct, "that's a warmonger."



Does it mean that deep down inside Obama thinks his anti-war stand a mistake?

That would be interesting!

[ckramer]

33. This is what they should have done to John McCain

[laststeamtrain]

35. Hello, BO, are you there?

Randy Scheunemann is McCain's foreign policy adviser. Here's his bio from the PNAC web site:

Randy Scheunemann is a foreign policy and national security analyst based in Washington D.C. In 2002, he founded the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) to promote freedom for the Iraqi people. He served as pro bono President and Executive Director of CLI until its mission was completed in 2003.

In 2001, Scheunemann served as a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. From 1999-2000, Scheunemann served as Defense and Foreign Policy Coordinator for the "McCain 2000" presidential campaign. During 1996, Mr. Scheunemann was a senior adviser to Republican Presidential Candidate Bob Dole and served on the 1996 Republican Platform Committee. Previously, Mr. Scheunemann served as National Security Adviser to Senate Republican and Majority Leaders Bob Dole and Trent Lott from 1993-99.

Mr. Scheunemann was involved in Senate deliberations concerning the use of American military power in Somalia, the Korean peninsula, Iraq, Haiti and Bosnia. He also served as coordinator for Senate Republican policy on United Nations reform, Congressional-Executive war powers, NATO enlargement, global climate change, economic sanctions, ballistic missile defense and technology transfers to China.

From 1986-1993, Mr. Scheunemann served on the staffs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Republican Policy Committee. Mr. Scheunemann has authored articles for many publications and regularly lectures on foreign policy and security issues. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the Project for New American Century, Mr. Scheunemann serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Committee on NATO, the Project on Transitional Democracies, and the International Republican Institute...http://www.newamericancentury.org/randyscheunemannbio.htm

&

Here's a link to his profile at Right Web: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1347.html
*

Who would McCain have to have on his staff to be considered a 'war-monger'? War-mongering is practically his entire campaign.

[Myrina]

37. McCain has consistently shown since 2000 ...

... that he will be whatever BushCo/Halliburton et al need him to be.

Whatever principles McCain once had are long gone, along with most of his capacity for rational thought.

[daleo]

40. McCain's not a warmonger

He's just never disagreed with any war the U.S. has ever been involved with (as far as I know), and thinks the U.S. ought to have been in a lot more wars.

[BobTheSubgenius]

42. Talking up your opponents might be even-handed.

And it might be reasonable, and 'statesman-like' and all those other good things, but it doesn't win you elections.

The Democratic candidate HAS to make the message "We are NOT THEM!"

[Andrushka]

54. Agreed

I've heard of "reaching across the aisle" and all, but this "reach around" across the aisle is a little too much. F*** playing nice with this asshole McInsane.

[muryan]

45. He doesnt have to call him a warmonger

to point out his stance on iraq, which is bush^3. Just as he doesn't have to call Hillary a liar, but he can point out the sniper fire, or the hospital, or her new "i was against the war before he was" fantasy. Why resort to names when you can be smarter?

[Vinca]

46. Both Obama and McCain want to run a respectful campaign.

We'll be grateful for that when the swifties gear up.

[Canuckistanian]

47. MCain a WARMONGER? Nonsense.

Why, MCCAIN IS A WARMONGER as much as my grandmother is. You know, when people say MCCAIN IS A WARMONGER, I think they're being misleading.

So, I repeat - MCCAIN is not A WARMONGER.

See how that works?

Brilliant move by Obama.

[Kolesar]

50. What's this? I heard someone called McCain a "warmonger" but Obama disavowed it?

Nah, Obama does not throw around terms like "warmonger". That would put the word "warmonger" in people's minds when they think about John Mccain, and that would not be fair.

[Canuckistanian]

53. Exactly. Try NOT to think of a purple elephant.

Warmonger? Oh, yes that's one thing that MCCain ISN'T.

Now, here are my plans for withdrawal of troops from Iraq......

[lonestarnot]

48. "Jen Psaki said in a statement"

hmmmmmf. Of course Obama is not going to make statements re lumpy being a warmonger. He's running for President for shit sakes.

[humbled_opinion]

49. So Warmonger is out., How quaint.

Lets not forget that the Repukes want this debate on how we continue to stay on the offense against Al-Qaida and about where we go in Iraq from this point.

McCain is being very crafty in how he steers public opinion regarding the difference between his position on Iraq and Bush's. If Obama is going to refuse to make him the equivelant of Bush i.e., warmonger who intentionally started a war in Iraq over lies or legacy or oil or whatever, then McCains message of being anti-Bush is going to resonate to the Independents.

McCain is chomping at the bit to get us into that for real 100 year war with Iran and it would be smart for the Obama campaign to figure out a way to paint that scenario on McCain.

You see how the McCain camp already crafted the 100 years in Iraq statement to be the equivelant of Peace Keeping troops i.e., in South Korea, Euorpe, Balkans etc, and now Obama doesn't use the statement anymore. We start to hear that Obama advisors are saying that Obama would keep troops in Iraq too albeit a streamed line version of whats their now.

The Pukes are going to try to define the issue of how we fight terror and it doesn't help Obama's case if Obama and McCain are going to do it the same exact way.

[CONN]

51. Wrong! By def. warmonger=militarist: a person who advocates war or warlike policies

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

militarist: a person who advocates war or warlike policies

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warmonger
Warmonger: one who urges or attempts to stir up war

McCain: I would have started Iraq war regardless of WMD
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/McCain_I_would_have_started_Iraq_war_regardless_of_WMD

[arundhatiroyfan]

52. This sums it up.

McCain is a warmonger. Never doubted it.

[TankLV]

56. Quick obamabots - find something nice Clinton said about mccaine

because we all know what a SCANDAL it is when you try to claim Hillary complimented a repuke, but aparently it's just fine and dandy when SAINT obama does it...!!!

[0rganism]

57. clever tactics: invites a debate about whether McCain is a warmonger...

...while Obama's campaign can take the "high road" on the topic either way. Nice move, maybe.

Guess I should clarify: if it were Republicans doing this, I'd say it was clever campaign tactics. Democrats seem to "stumble" onto such things as if by accident, and it's hard to say whether it was planned or not. Perhaps the Dems are better at making set-ups seem like happy coincidence, but after the last 14 years of being slapped around by the GOPers I'm not inclined to give us the benefit of the doubt.

[Massachusetts]

59. McCain = Manchurian Candidate

[brooklynite]

60. The REAL issue here is not whether McCain is a warmonger...

The real issue is that McCain has insisted that a Presidential Candidate be responsible for and apologize for any insult by a supportive pundit. With Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Levin, Hewitt, etc, on the job, McCain may not have time to do anything else...