McCain Camp Insists Obama Is Playing Age Card

The McCain camp is taking offense at an appearance of Barack Obama on Wolf Blitzer this week, claiming that Obama is playing the the age card.

Obama told Blitzer that he was "disappointed" by McCain repeating a smear connecting Obama to Hamas:

"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."

The McCain camp released a memo in response, saying Obama using the phrase "losing his bearings" is a deliberate attempt to attack McCain's age:

First, let us be clear about the nature of Senator 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.

You can read the whole memo below (and you should; it's quite a rant).

Obama's spokeman Bill Burton had this to say about the "age" memo:

Clearly losing one's bearings has no relation to age, 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, but it's not the kind of campaign John McCain has promised the American people that he would run.

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To: Interested Parties

From: Mark Salter, Senior Advisor
Date: May 8, 2008
Re: Senator Obama's Attack Today

First, let us be clear about the nature of Senator 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.

We have all become familiar with Senator Obama's new brand of politics. First, you demand civility from your opponent, then you attack him, distort his record and send out surrogates to question his integrity. It is called hypocrisy, and it is the oldest kind of politics there is.

It is important to focus on what Senator Obama is attempting to do here: He is trying desperately to delegitimize the discussion of issues that raise legitimate questions about his judgment and preparedness to be President of the United States.

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Through their actions and words, Senator Obama and his supporters have made clear that ANY criticism on ANY issue -- from his desire to raise taxes on millions of small investors to his radical plans to sit down face-to-face with Iranian President Ahmadinejad - constitute negative, personal attacks.

Senator Obama is hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race.

Senator Obama has good reason to think this plan will succeed, as serious journalists have written of the need for 'de-tox' to cure 'swooning' over Senator Obama, and others have admitted to losing their objectivity while with him on the campaign trail.

Today, Senator Obama is complaining about comments John McCain made about a senior Hamas advisor stating that Hamas would welcome Senator Obama's election as president. Indeed, on April 13th, senior Hamas political advisor Ahmed Yousef said, 'We don't mind - actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance.'

The McCain campaign has never suggested that Senator Obama supports Hamas' agenda, but it is more than fair to raise this quote about Senator Obama because it speaks to the policy implications of his judgment.

Just today, the president of Iran, whom Senator Obama wants to meet with unconditionally, called the state of Israel a 'stinking corpse.' Iran is the paymaster and state sponsor of Hamas.

In his victory speech this week, Senator Obama stated that 'wisdom' is meeting with our enemies, including Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, North Korea's Kim Jong Il, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Raul Castro. John McCain couldn't disagree more. Rather than giving tyrants and dictators the prestige of meeting with an American president, John McCain will instead meet with the champions of human freedom around the world and opposition leaders fighting for liberty .

We understand why Senator Obama doesn't want to engage in a debate over leadership and judgment with John McCain, but the American people demand that debate take place.

These are serious times that call for a serious debate on the profound issues facing our future. John McCain is ready for that debate and we hope Senator Obama will one day get serious and join it.

Comments

[sydney01]

First of all, who has Hammas, Hezbulah, Al Queda, and the Taliban have ALL STRENGTHENED because of republican policy. To suggest that they want Obama is laughable. For McCain to take terrorists at their word, and to not consider that there might be some kind of manipulation going on is completely foolish, no matter how old you are.

Add to that the fact that "losing your bearings" has nothing to do with age, and McCain has nothing to stand on.

[MrKINOKO]

Not even a walker?

[jetset7777]

Marbles, bearings, your bottle of Geritol, take your pick.

[Zogtastic]

"Losing your bearings" has absolutely nothing to do with age. It's a navigation reference for being lost, referring to an internal sense of direction. He's using that phrase to refer to the ethical claims McCain said he'd be following during the campaign and more importantly it's referring to just how closely McCain has embraced Bush and Rove politics. He, like Arianna has been, is pointing out just how different (for the worse) McCain has become since the 2000 election.

Now, if he said he was showing his senility or said he's losing his marbles... then maybe we can call it the age card.

Oh and btw... the race card is played by black people... therefore the age card is played by old people.

Obama doesn't have an age card. McCain does.

[stonepier]

Exactly. Obama is suggesting that McCain is losing his moral compass - which has nothing to do with age. And by the way, accusing McCain of losing his moral compass is really a much more serious thing than merely pointing out his (extreme) age. So McCain tries to turn the tables on Obama by calling this ageism while at the same time deflecting attention from the fact that he is, in fact, losing his moral compass.

This is just one example of how every single thing Obama says will be twisted by the opponent. It makes me downright bitter.

[fanoftruthiness]

Memo to Crankshaft (hee hee I just thought of that and I'd love it if it stuck: KEITH, PLEASE READ):

If you don't want people to think you're a crazy old man..... don't act like a crazy old man!

[stonepier]

Crankshaft. I like it.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

didn't this old windbag proclaim a fair and clean campaign... or something like that....on Jon Stewart? This guy makes me sick with disgust!!!

[DallasMikeDavis]

McCain should travel with Lieberman more, so every time he screws up the facts Joe can whisper the correct info into his ear.

"Losing his bearings" is not about age, it's about the fact that Mcain's campaign is becoming unhinged and is grabbing at straws right now.

RELEASE THOSE TAX RETURNS CINDY!!!!

[Missmn]

"Senator Obama is hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race."

Seriously? The MSM has been completely ignoring John McCain and his disgraceful behavior, while continuing to question Obama on Rev. Wright (a non-issue for many people), and yet it's Obama who has the protective barrier? Get real. I would like to see John McCain answer the types of questions that Obama has been getting, and do so with as much openness and grace. Really, the lapel pin, the "do you love this country" and "are you secretly a Muslim hell bent on destroying this great nation" questions? The natural parallel for McCain would be, "were you brainwashed during your seven years of confinement, and how can we know for certain that you weren't?" How do you think he would react to that type of questioning - and how do you think that his supporters would react?

I think that Obama would love to have a discussion on the issues.

[MrKINOKO]

McCain's already grasping at straws...What's next, McCain accusing Obama of saying he drives a 'Rascal'? Uses a 'Jitterbug' cellphone? If someone is so self-conscious about an issue, it would behoove them not to accentuate said issue when such an ambiguous statement wouldn't ordinarily pertain to an issue not there before you pointed it out. In other words, here we go with a continuation of HRC, dressed in Depends, all the way to November.
I take offense to the "memo" generated by McCain's camp, and find it something I would expect to see from Cheney. If Obama said McCain "lost his marbles", I could forsee a gaffe.This rant by Salter shows several important problems...
1. Hamas/Muslims, aren't going away. For Salter to make issue with Hamas's thinking Obama will be a progressive Leader shows a racist streak on his part...precisely why nothing has progressed for Israel since 1948.
2. To disrespectfully claim talking with Ajad,Chavez,et al "legitimizes dictators" shows that McCain is as shallow as a kiddie pool, and that they will always remain "dictators". What gives us the right to peg legitimate leaders as such, no matter what their ruling policies? Nothing. Who do we think we are talking about the "prestige" of meeting with an American President? We are not above the world, no matter what the GOP would have us believe.
3. Refrain from insinuating that Obama is using ageist "code words", and then write a paragraph containing the phrase "stinking corpse"...LOL.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

Great post!

[whiteboyblues]

grumplestiltskin!

[OriginalScreenName]

McCain has certainly "lost his bearings" and it has nothing to do with age and absolutely everything to do with ADOPTING EVERY SINGLE BUSH POLICY. McCain should realize that we can give him the benefit of the doubt (but not vote) if it is because he's going senile due to age; however, we CAN'T if it's because he actually agrees with them or is just saying this to get elected.

So McCain better hope it's his age we think of, because that's the only excuse he has to maintain what ever dignity/respect he has for being Bush Jr. Maintaining your respect though still will not get you my vote. Only going back to McCain 2000, would I even remotely consider it.

[sickupandfed]

Let's take the Hamas allusion out of play. Let's take age out too.

Would losing one's bearings be constituted by repeatedly confusing the sects involved in a war in which we are also fighting? Perhaps by using taxpayer funding as collateral for a private loan to finance a campaign? Or denying you voted for the Worst President Ever when you repeatedly align yourself with him and his policies? Or lying in every direction about your connections to lobbyists? Or accepting the endorsements of ministers of bigotry, toward Catholics, Muslims, and gays? Admitting you don't know much about economics then advocating the permanence of tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans, in spite of every economic reason that is now plainly revealing that as devastating policy? Or forgetting where you are?

Quintessential bearing loss. Hemorrhage.

[KillTheMessenger]

Mr. McCain needs to look up in the dictionary what "loosing ones bearings" means:

Merriam-Webster:
bearing - .
6 a: the situation or horizontal direction of one point with respect to another or to the compass
b: a determination of position
c plural : comprehension of one's position, environment, or situation.

I thought Mr. McCain was a Navy pilot? In navigation "bearings" mean "direction".

Senator Obama was spot on when he said that Senator McCain looks disoriented at times.
He has given us wonderful examples, already, and we can expect to see more as the days to the
nomination will drag on.

[MTGradwell]

How to lose 6 planes.

Control: "Maverick, check your bearings. Over."

McCain: "Maverick ... hey, that's my codename! You suggesting I'm senile"?

Control: "No, we're saying you're way off course! You've lost your bearings! Check 'em! Over."

McCain: "If you're saying I'm senile, I'm gonna get so mad you'll wish you'd never ..."

Control: "Too late. Eject! Eject!"

McCain: "Who are you calling an Eejit?!? I'll ... Oh sheeeeeit!"

Control: Oh no, not again!

[Cramus]

And it should be played if the Hamas card is going to be played. It should be a subtle hint to police the negative adds. Take this to heart McCain. Behavior is more valid then your words. Your age can be an issue in the campaign if you want it to be. Obama was just warning you. Obama has the art of subtle toughness down pat.

[nerakami]

Absolutely RIDICULOUS !