Obama Hits Hamas "Smear": McCain Is "Losing His Bearings"

Over the past few weeks, John McCain has pushed the idea that the terrorist organization Hamas is supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Today, Obama hit back at McCain for the smear by association.

"This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing," Obama told Blitzer, when asked his thoughts about McCain's comments that the terrorist organization Hamas wants Obama to be president. "Because John McCain always says 'I am not going to run that kind of politics,' and to engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, particularly because my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his."

"I've said it's a terrorist organization and we should not negotiate with them unless they recognize Israel, renounce violence, and unless they are willing to abide by previous accords between the Palestinians and the Israelis. So for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name calling in this debate."

Will Thomas reported on the first example of McCain's camp passing the smear through a fundraising letter with the subject line: "Hamas Weighs In On U.S. Presidential Election." It also has a nice breakdown of McCain's repeated promises to run a respectful campaign.

McCain later repeated the Hamas smear himself, saying "It's clear who Hamas wants to be the next President."

Comments

[Nyland8]

Where'd all the posts go?

8

[nativeeyes]

Mcwar is the walking dead.. Someone please commit him and let's evolve..

He's a major distraction in a modern society..

[JustJoan]

Entry: bear·ing
Function: noun
Date: 13th century
1: the manner in which one bears or comports oneself
2 a: the act, power, or time of bringing forth offspring or fruit b: a product of bearing : crop
3 a: an object, surface, or point that supports b: a machine part in which another part (as a journal or pin) turns or slides
4: a figure borne on a heraldic field
5: pressure, thrust
6 a: the situation or horizontal direction of one point with respect to another or to the compass b: a determination of position cplural : comprehension of one's position, environment, or situation d: relation, connection; also : purport
7: the part of a structural member that rests on its supports
synonyms bearing, deportment, demeanor, mien, manner, carriage mean the outward manifestation of personality or attitude. bearing is the most general of these words but now usually implies characteristic posture . deportment suggests actions or behavior as formed by breeding or training . demeanor suggests one's attitude toward others as expressed in outward behavior . mien is a literary term referring both to bearing and demeanor . manner implies characteristic or customary way of moving and gesturing and addressing others . carriage applies chiefly to habitual posture in standing or walking .
OBAMA SAID WHAT???

[indc]

all of the above, pretty much

[ruzel]

Try the American Heritage Dictionary which has this definition listed:
"Awareness of one's position or situation relative to one's surroundings. Often used in the plural: lost my bearings after taking the wrong exit."

[TGCNY]

Come on guys it is so obvious that these poor conservative have nothing to hold on to besides these cheap and silly smear tatics that worked in 2004. They best believe the poeple got smarter than the fools they imaging them to be.

[LeftHandedBrain]

Of course the leaders of Hamas want Obama to win. I would venture to guess that the leaders of almost every country and coalition in the world, be they friend or foe, are wishing for the same. They understand that he has something new to bring to the table. Not just the same "my way or else" that has been dished out by this administration for the last 7 years, which is what McCain is echoing in his speeches. By the way, I hope McCain isn't too disappointed to find out in November that it's most of the US that will want Obama to win, too!

[THISTLE]

When Obama makes disgusting insulting remarks, that's just peachy. But when anyone points out
his record, lack of a record, quotes his own remarks - then one is attacking him. Then one is
accused of being a racist. How dare anyone ask St. Obama a direct question? How dare anyone
point out his record, lack of a record or his very own words?
But Obama can conduct behind the scenes one of the slimest campaigns of all time, and the
media is there on their knees protecting and flacking for him.
HIs remarks about Senator McCain "losing his bearings" - show who this guy really is.
His remarks about Romney (who granted is a phony) but Obama's arrogrant remarks - about
look where Romney is and look where I am - once again show what an arrogrant cocky empty
suit Obama really is. The Democrats will nominate him, and if he actually wins - there will be
another arrogrant cocky guy in the White House, who feels he is "entitled" to the job.

[justbecause]

Did you even read this article? Get off this blog and stop pasting prepared notes everywhere! Sooooo silly!

[gnorrfa]

please provide us with these disgusting, insulting remarks made by obama. where is he running these behind the scenes slimiest campaigns of all time. this should prove to be very interesting. i eagerly await your reply with accurate quotes.

[johnqeniac]

There are no more arrogant, strutting (and incompemtent) two people in the world today than Geroge Bush and his son, John McCain

[jedonspring]

ooooooo bitter

[elr50]

The Democrats have lost for the past 8 years (especially Kerry) for taking the high road. It is time we got down and dirty and pulled out all of the stops to defeat McCain and the Repuke agenda. I can't think of anything Obama has done that was slimy, especially compared to the Repukes. And the fact that old man John has now kissed up to those that accused him of all kinds of lies tells me how low Repukes will go to hold on to power.

McCain "losing his bearings"? Hell, he can't lose them because he never HAD them. And Thistle, you have lost yours.

[KMKY]

McCain's camp and the GOP has just put Obama on notice that age-baiting will not go unnoticed or uncommented on and will, in fact, receive the same kind of indignant response as any other form of discrimination. Obama may or may not have meant anything by the comment--I saw the interview, and he didn't, as far as I know (see how easy it is for innocent sayings to get warped into insinuations)--but he has made similar jabs at McCain in the Senate before, and the Republicans will point to that as a pattern, whether rightly or wrongly. It seems so many now believe that the Clintons are racist and all MSM pundits are misogynists. Obama's supporters, some of whom would have made great proponents for applying the fictional rules of "Logan's Run" to this year's primary season, are going to have to show themselves not to be agists. Older voters are committed to the civic duty of voting and do so much more regularly than younger voters.

[KMKY]

This was in response to some of the comments below, but it really should be under the McCain memo where it's more appropriate.

[mommamia526]

Is this really about McCain? Why are we discussing him? Is this not a progressive website? Are we not going to vote Democrat? So, let us ignore McCain, and talk some about Barack instead. Look we have had a, what, 15 month honeymoon, and although politics, apparently, is better than sex, even with politics there comes a time when we have to hit brasstacks and talk policies, not pretty faces. I am older than McCain, and I take issue with the assumption, of many on this thread, that older people are senile with out of order brains. All you young "uns" do not appear to be all that sharp either. That said, even though I am older than McCain he is too old for me as well, but that would not matter if I liked his policies, such as staying in Iraq for 100 years, or his "healthcare*plan*". And, McCain is on the other extreme of the talkie-talkie issue. Where Barack is going to talk, talk to anyone, McCain is going to bomb, bomb, if he does not like your face, or your ears! I do not like either position or method.

[njm50]

MSNBC KEEPS CALLING OBAMA REMARK WRONG. WHY DON'T THEY MENTION MCCAIN MADE THE COMMENT ABOUT OBAMA AND HAMAS FIRST. Just when i think they will report both sides of the story, they sink to a lower level. Just like tuesday, you would have thought obama was losing IN and NC with the reports coming from them.

[THISTLE]

OBAMA DID LOSE IN - AND OBAMA SAID, HE WOULD "HAVE TO WIN IN- IT'S HIS BACKYARD."
BUT AS ALWAYS THE MEDIA GIVES HIM A PASS, WHILE BEING ON THEIR KNEES TO HIM.
HE LOST ID - SAID, "IT'S A MUST WIN FOR ME."
HE WAS 20 POINTS AHEAD - AND LOST - THAT'S THE REAL STORY - BUT THE BAR IS
LOWERED FOR HIM, AND RAISED FOR SENATOR CLINTON.
WHEN SHE WINS - BIG - AS SHE HAS IN ALL THE BIG STATES - AND IN ALL THE SWING
STATES, THE MEDIA PLAY IT DOWN - OR IGNORE IT.
WHEN ST. OBAMA WINS BY ONE POINT - AS HE DID IN MISSOURI - IT'S THE SECOND COMING.
THIS ENTIRE CAMPAIGN OF NON-STOP ATTACKING OF SENATOR CLINTON BORDERS ON
THE PATHOLOGICAL. WHEN ASKED WHY PEOPLE HATE HILLARY CLINTON, BILL MAHER
SAID, "IT'S NOT ABOUT HILLARY, IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT THE HATERS, IT'S ABOUT THEM."
AMEN!

[mommamia526]

Were we not getting to know Barack Obama? Hamas may indeed love Barack Obama.Reason? Obama wants to talk, and talk. Maybe not to Hamas, yet, but talk he will, or plans to. To Iran for example. Iran trains, backs and financially supports Hamas and Hezbullah. So, if Barack talks to Iran, things are going to be fine and dandy for Hamas, for Syria, for Hezbullah,and for Iran. Iran has desgnated Israel the small satan and the U.S. the big satan, and talking is fine, to them, it gves them time to rearm and strenghten. Talk never leads to a thing. We have seen this for sixy years wih talks with Israel/PLO, and the U.S. in any combination. We are seeing it today in Lebanon, where just a couple of weeks ago the PLO representative to Lebanon said exactly that. And Hezbullah and the Lebanese government have also been talking, talking together and yet, Hezbullah does not talk, but fights, if it wants things to change. It appears they have won this round, again. Next up? Well, Hamas is busy throwing rockets in the south and Hezbullah has reinforced and dug new tunnels in the north, so, maybe Israel? And do not forget Abu Mazen. EVERYONE is talking to him whie he is doing his job in Samaria and the West Bank. Looks lke a few friends there, a little aliance, with a common goal. And Ahmadinejad wants to restore the nation of the Persian and Medes

[Kalima]

Diplomacy has not caused any wars. Carry on America, bloat your chest and beat it
like a drum but the time for aggression has taken a toll on the people that each
government has promised to protect. America with it's stance on foreign policy,
should never be complacent about another attack on it's soil but neither should
you be consumed by it either. The people of Europe have suffered much more.

[SethBullock]

I'd think the last eight years of bombing instead of talking would have convinced almost anyone that a bit of talking to our enemies might not hurt.

[ENOUGH1]

JOHN MCCAIN QUIT GIVING ANY CREDITABILITY TO ANYTHING HAMAS SAYS.

IF HAMAS TELLS YOU TO JUMP OFF GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, ARE YOU GOING TO DO IT!

[daddigrace]

What does he mean by "losing"?? He dun lost those jointz for a good long while now.

[JudgeCrater]

An ironic response, also on the ABC website: McCain Advisor Accuses Obama of Underhanded Reference to McCain's Age
The McCain campaign lashed out at Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, for what it called an insulting dig at Sen. John McCain's age.....The McCain campaign said the "losing his bearings" comment was an underhanded reference to the fact that McCain is 71 years old.
Mark Salter, one of the advisers, said, "Obama's attack today: He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue. This is typical of the Obama style of campaigning."
"That quote is a not-so-subtle attempt by Obama to insinuate the age issue into the race," another McCain adviser said. " He attacks viciously with subtlety and innuendo. Nobody suggested he supports Hamas. We have said the North American spokesman (for Hamas) has talked about how wonderful it would be if he were president of the United States."
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton denied that Obama was alluding to McCain's age.
"Clearly losing one's bearings has no relation to age," Burton said in an e-mailed statement.
"Given this bizarre rant that Mark Salter just sent out, it's clear why a candidate offering a third term of George Bush's disastrous economic policies and failed strategy in Iraq would want to distract and attack."

[alexaii]

"Clearly losing one's bearings has no relation to age."

-----------------------------------------------

Yeah, right!

[SethBullock]

He was talking about losing his MORAL bearings. See the definitions in this stream if you don't know what the word means.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

McCain, as well as the GOP have lost their bearings. Bush’s policies have not been compassionate or conservative and if 9-11 changed anything, it became the Pearl Harbor moment, Bush-Cheney needed to do what they were going to do anyway, invade Iraq to privatize there oil, countering OPEC, and establish military bases between Iran and Israel. They used Iraq to advance their own selfish agendas, money. Bush’s tax polices dovetail nicely into this agenda, since they were slanted so much toward the wealthy investor. The neo-con ideal of spreading democracy was more of an excuse than reality.

“Compassionate conservatism” was used as religious code for pouring millions into faith based programs to scam the religious right and all they got out of deal were to corporate leaning judges, one of which hand picked by Cheney to advance his anti-democratic unitary ecxuative theory, which goose back to the original Federalist idea of a president picked for life by elite land owners. Even the term unitary ecxuative is a misnomer, since during the Constitutional Convention, the idea of 3 executives (presidents), was rejected. The original idea of Federalism was that “we the people” were not smart enough to elect a president, and sometimes this has been true.

Now, John McCain has to please to many factions of the conservative base, while running toward the moderate middle where the votes are. People I know who view themselves as conservative, when challenged, are more moderate than they think.

[CocteausTwin]

Let's try to play the individualism card, not racism, ageism, or sexism.

And Obama was making no reference to his age. It becomes difficult to understand when someone is being honorable, after being exposed to so many un-honorable (hate my spell checker) people.

[AMJordan]

That's one of the reason's Cindy McCain ended up as Olbermann's worst person in the world, not because what she said was bad when she said that McCain was going to run a clean campaign, but because McCain had already repeated the Hamas meme the night before.

[CocteausTwin]

Much agreed. I saw Curry interview (I know I could not resist watching MSM after Tuesdays results) and I almost thought that I was judging too quickly about something. I knew there was something that wasn't being told to me, and this was clearly it. We and Obama will take our collective gloves off if this is how they want it to be played. Now we have to identify who wants it played this way. Peoples lives are just pawn pieces to the ones making these decisions. And I do not think McCain is invited to the "real" meetings.

[americanwomaninpa]

I don't think much about Cindy McCain, but I have to laugh at anyone that thinks she is the worst person in the world.