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.

---

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]

I did a search for the phrase, "Losing your bearings". I found it used in reference to:

Sailing
Scuba diving
A video game review

It is a phrase that means losing your direction, i.e. your moral compass in this case. It has nothing to do with age! They always say democrats are the weenie party, but it is clear in this case that John McCain WANTS to play the victim.

[skip4Obama]

Here we go...it's going to be interesting from here on out w/ McBush and Obama as the candidates. Obama will be agressive and the free ride Mcbush has gotten so far will be over. Watch the poll numbers change and let's see how mcBush does with scrunity over his positions and comments. I going to enjoy this like no other campaign before.
Take a seat and sit down, as Emerson, Lake and Palmer song goes ..."the show is about to begin"

[joselopez]

Let's see which is worse: Saying someone is losing their bearings or Saying that Terrorists support you.

Americans should wake up already, if they haven't already, and understand that the best thing for any terrorist organization is to have a continuation of the Bush foreign policies.

The terrorists groups are stronger today than in anytime before 9/11. How do they square that fact?!!!

[stonepier]

Your tax dollar at work.

[Grunty1]

If Obama said you were losing your marbles, you may have a point McCain. That's why he didn't SAY THAT.

[Grannysue]

Um, McCain I hate to break the news to you but YOUR OLD!

[MRINSPIRED]

I think Salter confused "losing his bearings" with "losing his marbles"... which McCain probably is anyway!

[LivingStardust]

Reflexive defense maneuvers can betray an opponents weakness. You bet the words were calculated. Obama is STILL a politician. And you can also bet you morons at McBush's campaign took the bait as sure as the sun burns hydrogen. You flinched when you should have let it slide. Just like you have been doing from the onset. You started in a defensive posture (admittedly the only posture the unconstitutional fascist Bush Co. left you) and you've had to turn tails every time you've attacked this far. You're about to find out the hard way that word games are something you are not prepared to fight with Obama. He's clearly better at it than you and your staff. Seriously, who in Hell let that memo out the door and what were they thinking? Dumbasses. For a war hero, you've surrounded yourself with tactical and strategic half-wits, John. If the McBush campaign can't come up with real substantive policy issues they can hope to beat Obama with (which I doubt), then they are screwed in the G.E. On the plus side, It'll be a pleasure to watch you Neocon idiots repeatedly shoot yourselves in the foot.

[indieminded]

I saw the CNN interview yesterday and I interpreted what Obama said to mean that McCain is losing his moral bearing.

Thanks, McCain for reminding me with this memo just how old you really are.

[mydoglucky]

Have you seen the new ad with McCain and his mothe?. They are arguing about what day he was born. I only caught the last part but it looked like two old people arguing at the nursing home.

[MrKINOKO]

I'm not sure if they kept records way back when John Magoo was born. Maybe his date of birth is on the Rosetta Stone? maybe his birth certificate was preserved in amber? Or we can just count his rings , like a tree,to see how old he is ....

[RGKahn]

OK! I'll bring up his age. He is too old to be President of the United States of America period. Look what happened to Ronald Reagan. He was too old also.

[gapanther]

The lunacy of the lunatic fringe is showing again. A week from now McSame will he never mentioned Obama & Hamas.

[Mayoyo]

Wow!!!! We need to start the GE soon...this guy has too much time on his hand to write all this crap....
Hillary go away!!!!

[oldwiseone]

Another example. I have yet to hear about the reasons the West is being attacked. Why did Saudi Arabia attack us? Oh I heard that they hate us, but why? I also heard that they do not like our form of government. But is all that really true? Did we do the research and really try to discover why they would give their life to get back at us? I suspect it is more that we are attacking their culture, imposing our culture on theirs. Trying to sell them levi's and McDonald's, when both of those wouldn't work in their land.

[Grunty1]

Iraq is the perfect example of why we are disliked in the world: he prefer to overthrow governments and meddle in their affairs rather than working diplomatically.

[EspritDeVoltaire]

Looks like Gramps dementia is kicking in again :-)

McCain '08 - Not older than dirt

[BassMent]

This is a bit silly. Losing one's bearings simply means getting lost, wandering in the weeds, lacking a sense of direction. It can happen to anyone at any age. If Obama had wanted to be ageist, he would have said, "Can you believe what that doddering old fool said?!?"

If this is the best the McCain camp can come up with, it's going to be even easier than I thought to bury him in November.

[fanoftruthiness]

Only a crazy old man would respond this way!

A little too close to the truth???