McCain Stacks Fox News 'Town Hall' With Supporters

Tonight was the first in a much-hyped series of 'town hall' forums scheduled by John McCain's campaign, in which Barack Obama had been challenged to show up to discuss the issues directly with the GOP nominee.

Except, as Fox News reported, McCain's campaign misled the public about the nature of the event. The forum was "billed by the McCain campaign as a town hall with independent and Democratic voters," but Fox News noted at the end that the audience was actually "made up of invited guests and supporters," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.

Here is FNC's Shepard Smith breaking the news:

SMITH: "I reported at the top of this hour that the campaign had told us at Fox News that the audience would be made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain campaign distributed tickets to supporters, Mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered Republican, and other independent groups."

DNC Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"Once again John McCain's campaign is trying to mislead the American people. Senator McCain should understand that after seven years of a President who has divided Americans and pursued a scorched earth policy full of misleading propaganda campaigns, we need a leader who understands he is the President for all Americans not just his supporters. Copying the Bush campaign model of stacking events with his prescreened supporters is not the transparency Americans are looking for. If that is Senator McCain's idea of straight talk, the American people are in for a long and disappointing campaign season."

Comments

[mybostonjack]

McBush should fill the audience with people much older than him. That way, he can appear as the youthful, full of energy candidate.

[dentuso]

I'm sure his campaign team has considered this. Unfortunately they're still looking for people older than him.

[SaintZak]

I guess he could schedule appearance at cemetaries.

[JiminNC]

LOL

[AFPISCES]

To do that, he would have to make a stop at the graveyard!

[lornejl]

When a candidate constantly tell you , you are his friend, and he is holding a jar of Vaseline, beware !

[RRIDLEY100]

ROFL, OH MY GOD, TO FUNNY!!! BUT TRUE.

[Lagrangian]

"When a candidate constantly tell you , you are his friend, and he is holding a jar of Vaseline, beware!"

Better than if he weren't!

[Rothgar]

Is this a Surprise?

NOT

[BatedBreath]

Just like bush.

[dentuso]

When the first question from the audience was "How do keep looking so youthful?", it was pretty apparent what was going on.

[lornejl]

I didn't watch the clip, that wasn't really the first ? was it ?

[dentuso]

lol. No.

It was actually "Senator, you're the most compassinate man alive on the planet. Can you tell us what you think of the young women who would be affected by your desire to overturn Roe v. Wade?". His reply, incidentally was "Not not too important".

[MariaHopeful]

I do hope that Sen Obama does not give in to any pressure to not have his big rallies. That is a strength the GOP is trying desperately to neutralize. The amount of people going to see McCain will all hold in a town hall. Barack will have thousands and we will see the first 100,000 campaign rally. Let us have more of those. That is what will galvanize people not town halls with 50,100 or 500 people attending. More big rallies not less!

[brighterside]

I agree. Also it keeps the MSM at bay when Obama has big rallies. A show of people power answers all critics and its hard to spin.....a­nd who knows, they might be taken for the ride.

When a rally is so big and so exciting, it goes to show you all what this nation really wants and how they will face cold whether, rain, snow, etc. just to get there.

[AFPISCES]

A large crowd for Grampy McBush is a couple of hundred. That' s the largest number of really old people they can catch awake at one time!

[marthlois]

A few minutes ago I posted how Sen. Obama should ask for at least two
debates. (Can't wait). Just heard on MSNBC that the Obama campaign
offered to do five debates (2 before convention and 3 after). He suggested
that one should be on July 4th.
McCain turned them down! Too funny - he's just going to stall.

[marthlois]

Character:
~one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual
~the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation
~main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish

SENATOR OBAMA ~ PLEEEEEZE get at least two debates scheduled soon!

[zancudocom]

You’re missing the larger story…

This is right out of Roger Ailes playbook, it’s Nixon’s “man in the arena” redux. By putting it on FOX and pretending it's a news event FOX has contibuted millions of dollars to the McCain Campaign Look how the audience is arrainged.

(this is by the notorious Republican dirty trickster)
By ROGER J. STONE JR.
Former Governor Mitt Romney recently announced a series of Town Meetings called “Ask Mitt Romney Anything” where the public, and not the media, are allowed to ask questions funneled through a panel of “Typical Americans.­”

This is a format first produced by the young Roger Ailes for Richard Nixon in 1968 called the “Man in the Arena.”

Ailes used the ‘Man in the Arena’ format to humanize Nixon who, standing without a podium and surrounded by people, would appear spontaneous, warm, relaxed, thoughtful, slightly humorous, self-deprecating, more mature and seasoned and above all less tricky.

Ailes deft camera work as Nixon responded to questions from “Typical Americas” sold people the “New Nixon.” In fact the canny Ailes has extenders fitted to all TV camera zoom-lenses and had Nixon’s eyes specially lit so as not to appear dark or shifty. The close camera work created an intimacy that, for the first time ever, made people comfortable with Richard Nixon.

[sherbug]

But why then would he try and trick Obama into joining him, even travelling with him?

[bongogirl]

McCain's involvement withe corruption:

The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).

After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. The Committee recommended censure for Cranston and criticized the other four for "questionable conduct."

All five of the senators involved served out their terms, but only Glenn and McCain ran for re-election (and were subsequently re-elected).

[lornejl]

Ask any repub if they care that dumby'a approval rating of 28 percent bothers them in the least, every freaking one of them will say no. rebubs could care less about what the majority of Americans want, repubs are the antithesis of democracy.

[1099]

The majority of Americans don't vote.

[NotMcCain]

NOW I understand why McCain asked to meet Obama in town halls. He thought he'd have an easier time bs-ing the public's questions in an informal setting than facing the press where he has to remember the question and Obama's answers and speak coherently for a specific length of time.

He also figured he'd stack the room with Republicans who he could call on for softballs, who Obama might unwittingly call on for hostile Rev. Wright...H­illary quotations­...flag pin questions.­.."lack of experience", etc.

He wanted a townhall because its an easier way....to CHEAT.

[bogues]

I find it very interestiong that Sen. McCain's campaign clarifed that this town-hall meeting was really made up of his supporters, After the Telivised meeting was over. How convenient for him and Fox News that they mis-lead their viewers and we can be fairly sure that the number of people who saw the clarification is far less than those who thought they were watching a real town-hall meeting. This kind of manipulation of the American people is standard fare for the GOP and John McCain, and I can only hope that smart people everywhere are starting to smell a RAT with this kind of behaviour.

[QuicksilverKW]

If McCain didn't try to stack the deck with people for him, then there wouldn't be that many people there who would be so willed to smile and shake his hand. If he really thought his way was the right way then he should have the guts to "talk" to the people who showed up. I wonder, if he were president if he would follow in his mentors footsteps and section of protestors far away from the event? Probably would.

[ggmome]

'Stacking' audiences, isn't that the way Repugs do it? Fully screened and declared, to preserve, protect and vehemently defend the fascist regime. Thats their way of politics.