McCain On Negative Turn: "I'm Very Sorry About It"

The Washington Post's David Broder talks to both candidates about the campaign tone:

The first question I asked John McCain and then Barack Obama was: How do you feel about the tone and direction of the campaign so far?

No surprise. Both men pronounced themselves thoroughly frustrated by the personal bitterness and negativism they have seen in the two months since they learned they would be running against each other.

"I'm very sorry about it," McCain said in a Saturday interview at his Arlington headquarters. "I think we could have avoided at least some of this if we had agreed to do the town hall meetings" together, as he had suggested, during the summer months.

TNR's Chris Orr is impressed that Broder managed to write about negative campaigning without mentioning any of McCain's, well, negative campaigning:

Broder manages the remarkable feat of writing on negativity in the campaign without once mentioning McCain's "troops" smear (which his own paper led the way in declaring untrue), any of his ads deriding Obama as a Paris-Hilton-like celebrity or self-imagined Messiah, or the GOP's hilarious tire-gauge antics. (Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln....) The only actual attacks Broder cites are the charge that Obama was "playing the race card," and McCain's suggestion that Obama would be willing to lose a war in order to win an election. (Moreover, he backs into this latter attack, citing Obama's complaint about it rather than the smear itself.)

But none of that will happen again if Obama agrees to a town hall.

Comments

[leftintheoven]

Broder is what Broder does. . . . .nothing of value.

[onemorevoice]

He's not sorry about it in the least. He knows it's the only way he can win.

[ReelBusy]

More McCain hypocrisy.
I've heard it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4-PqAXRIRU

[NoSillyName]

Liar McLiar. Too bad your pants aren't on fire.

[olivia]

McCain seems to accept no responsibility for the negativity.

I guess he is not a Buck Stops Here kind of guy. Not my kind of president.

[MadJeffersonian]

"If you only bow to MY wishes, I'll stop the negativity."

F-INJACKASS.

[oldwiseone]

I really thought

that the replublicans believed

that everyone was as smart

as they were.

Thanks for the enlightenment

they know that a segment of the population

is as smart as they are

and that is who they talk too

But you know what?

There are educated people in America

And people who know love

in themselves and others

While the haters

who hate themselves

lust as the lovers

love themselves

"The greatest love of all"

have to live with their hatred

in their families

in their work

in their sleep

They live in fear

and rightly so

because while they direct their hatred to one person

millions reflect it back to them

I saw this video on youtube

a boy had a pet snake

twenty feet long

and while he was jumping on its back

the snake appeared in the screen mouth wide open

and engulfed the boy

The haters are like snakes

friendly and tolerant

until one day it will

turn on them

and swallow them whole

Liberals are for the people

People who hate liberals

hate people

and themselves

and their hatred is destined

to swallow them whole

[olivia]

What an a**. His "apology" includes blaming Obama in the same sentence.

Just when I think these people cannot stoop any lower, they surprise me.

[kevingiampa]

John McCain, you have the jerk vote locked up; everyone who enjoys supporting jerks, that includes most of Bill O'Reilly's viewership, is already going to vote for you. Dear Senator, it's time to campaign for the votes of people who actually care about the country and not your ever growing ego.

[Frenchy9]

1) Here we we a typical case were MSM --the Washington Post!! is insidiously biased in favor of McCain.
2) It also shows one of the tactics used by McCain: "I am sorry about it" ... but then he continues to hammer, not afraid to twist the facts upside down.
3) That's the only thing the "average American" --already prejudiced against Obama, will remember and cling to. Since the end of the Primaries, too many issues (attacks against Obama) have been left without a proper response. This does not affect the opinion of the Huffingtonpost readers. But it sticks in the mind of the middle class, old, and less educated people. And then BO cannot pierce the ceiling of 50% and even has been losing ground recently.

4) This is why I hope the Obama campaign will pay more attention to the need to counter attack in the way, for example, expressed by Chuck Shumer (see other article in this web):
"I would answer back hard. What do you mean he's not one of us? It's John McCain who wears $500 shoes, has six houses, and comes from one of the richest families in his state," Schumer said. "It's Barack Obama who climbed up the hard way, and that's why he wants middle-class tax cuts and better schools for our kids."

As Girden said recently. Obama needs a team of well choreographed surrogates to carry the water.

The World is hoping for Obama.!

[chs1965]

As the news media is want to do they should have truncated this sentence " I am sorry". That sums up the Maverick, now known as the whte haired, wrinky guy.

[gazissax]

If you don't run your campaign as I want you to run it, I'll go amok?

When is McCain's campaign going to come out of the preparatory school?

[Hillrick]

Too bad he can't get the "Hamburger man" to say he's sorry for him "I'm sorry, gosh I'm awful sorry, No I'm not ha ha ha ha" Sorry Pee Wee, you shouldn't be associated with this type of guy but I had to do it....

[PAposter]

Don't tell me you're sorry, when you're not, baby 'cause I know you're only sorry you got caught. But you put on quite show, really had me going..........oh well, you know the rest, LOL!

[MizLiz]

He's not the least bit sorry.

[olivia]

Do you suppose he had Hillary's permission to use her "Shame on you Barack Obama" in his TV ad?

She hasn't complained about it.