McCain Camp: "Job Killing" Obama Politicizing Employment Issue

Not 90 minutes after Obama campaign manager David Plouffe made political hay out of John McCain's association with a deal that could cost over 8,000 Ohioans their jobs, the Arizona Republican's campaign whipped themselves into a fine lather of outrage.

On a Friday conference call organized to "discuss Barack Obama's attempt to politicize potential job losses in Wilmington, Ohio," McCain's campaign put Mary Houghtaling on the witness stand. Ms. Houghtaling, who had asked McCain whether he could do anything to stop a widely announced plan by shipping company DHL to abandon its Wilmington hub, received the following answer from McCain in July: "I gotta look you in the eye and give you straight talk. I don't know if I can stop it or not or if it will be stopped."

That response is now being used by Obama against the presumptive Republican nominee, given that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis's lobbying firm has been intricately involved with DHL in the past.

In response Friday, Houghtaling was furious at Obama over his campaign's radio ad, which she said was "politicizing" the tragedy happening to "our little town." She said her husband, a pilot, would likely lose his job as a result of DHL pulling up stakes.

"I am offended," she told a group of reporters on an afternoon conference call. "That [Obama] would use me under this situation, when I'm probably going to be looking at foreclosure. It's a shameful, horrible thing to do ... to promote him. It isn't fair, It's wrong."

Then, with a quavering voice that hinted at tears, Houghtaling said: "We don't need any more bad things in Wilmington. We just need to be happy in Wilmington for one weekend. Please take the ad down, Senator Obama."

Truly, a more sympathetic surrogate for the McCain campaign's position would be difficult to find. Though leveraging the pain of an economic victim in a partisan conference call inevitably carries a hint of politicization, as well. But as you might expect from campaign operatives, such self-awareness was not on the program.

In fact, to listen to McCain spokeswoman Nancy Pfotenhauer tell it, the campaign was not even engaged in negative campaigning. Seeking to paper over a factual slip made by Houghtaling -- who suggested that McCain had called for a hearing on DHL that Rep. John Conyers actually asked for -- the press aide said: "We're not running ads attacking Sen. Obama."

This occurred at approximately 4:45 pm, or 20 minutes after eagle-eyed reporters may have noticed a McCain campaign email that announced a new ... wait for it ... radio ad attacking Barack Obama on the economy. Entitled "Recipe," it includes the line: "If elected President, Obama's promises would mean even more taxes on income, electricity, oil, small business, seniors, your life savings, your family. Painful taxes when times are tough enough." (And as the Huffington Post reported yesterday, a leaked internal McCain memo described the campaign strategy to paint Obama as a "job-killing machine.")

Yes, politicizing the pain of average Americans' economic pain was an absolutely terrible, irresponsible nasty thing to do on a Friday afternoon.

Comments

[neesy08]

i found this on the washington about DHL

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/channel-08/2008/08/democrats_hit_mccain_on_ohio_j.html

[KiwisCanFly]

Here's some real straight talk, from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.

John McCain argues that these high rates will hurt small business most, but that claim is shaky. Fewer than 2 percent of taxpayers with business income are in the top bracket. These entrepreneurs may aspire to millionaire-hood, but most will never get there.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411741

The two candidates’ tax plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households.

Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those tax cuts would be small as a share of after-tax income.

In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise significantly.

[Nomccain]

Unbelievable! I suppose people are just dying for more of Bush's economic policies like McCains! Obama has already indicated an intent to re-negotiate the ONESIDED trade agreemants that force U.S. workers to compete with countries with no human rights policies, no environmental standards, and no unions....­..which we cannot do! He has also indicated that he will eliminate the giant tax breaks that businesses doing business outside the country have been receving under the Republicans ! McCain simply means more of the same old George W. Bush policies, We don't need McCain!

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

By the way if McCain wins I will be one of thousands leaving the country--4 more years of the Republican party and we all will be standing on the side of the road with a sign reading "I will work for food." I hope those uneducated folk in West Virginia understand this, I understand that most are already poor in that state but believe me it could get worst if the Republicans win. Forget race or color, don't be fools, save yourselves.

[research]

Liberals = prosperity but they tax the rich more progressively.

Conservatives = bankruptcy. but the keep the taxes on the rich low.

So let's choose "tax the rich".

The Rich/Poor disparity has gotten much worse under conservatives "deregulated" cronyism. As a result, the robber barons have gone wild. The multi billion dollar incomes are obscene to most people, since lately so many of the "high fliers" have been crooks. The economic systems is a creation of the entire society, not just the rich. We set the rules, via our government. You selfish, tax hating greedy conservatives don't want to pay for the use of that economic system but you want bailouts if you fail. Wealth is non-linear exponential: The richer you get, the faster you get richer still. So logically, the taxes, the "Economic System User fees" go up with increasing wealth and income.

[hopefulinflorida]

Uncle Fester needs to be institutionalized.

[research]

Great theater: go to a McCain event as Fester/McCain, and pull out the light bulb trick while McBush is speaking.

[Highwind]

This woman doesn't realize that the reason why her husband job will lost is because of Republicans and specifically, John McCain. WTF, seriously.

[MelDel7365]

First, jobs are political - I don't know which country McCain has been living in...but jobs are part of the economy, which is a BIG issue in this election.

Second, Calling McCain on his lying, misleading nonsense is NOT politicizi­ng...he doesn't just get to get away with his crap b/c he is a dottering old man.

Third, Houghtaling is clearly not the brightest person on the planet. That she would defend McCain after his involvement in DHL's move came to light -- is ridiculous and reveals that she probably isn't as concerned about her "liitle town" as she is about blindly maintaining her Republican beliefs. She is an example of a problem Democrats face - people who vote against their interests. She seems willing not only to vote against her interests - but to encourage others to do the same. Nice, she is going to help the wealthy corporations and Bush / McCain buddies to continue to profit off of the backs of those people in her town who are losing their jobs - in part - with the help of McCain. Pathetic.

[OldKnute]

Hahahaha!

McCain Pro Jobs????

Hahahaha!

Yes,, and McCain is out walking the Picket Lines against Wal-Mart???? Yea Right!!

Or strengthening the laws that support collective bargaining and labor rights??? Oh my Gaosh!

And where does McCain Stand on the minimum wage? The working poor, Healthcare, rights of assembly, the constitution, Veterans Care, education, predatory lending, oil monopolies?

Does McCain set a good example by having a solar powered home, a greenhouse attached where he grows his veggies, hybrid or electric car? Does Cindy shop at the local farmers market?

Sorry no,, McCain is passing laws that would put Farm Workers in JAIL. While all the while offering platitudes and Race Bating to defeat his opponents.

Sorry, Obama supports working this all out together. To come together and find real answers to Jobs and Immigration. NEW, green jobs. NEW JOBS FOUND in Obamas energy plan. High Tech, high paying JOBS.

Where is McCain? Yep, still stuck in 1986, playing the race card, Fear mongering over immigration with not a CLUE what to do about JOBS.

How? Platitudes about Immigration, is to McCain, what abortion was to George Bush.

LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snjJF5LZASw

All the best

Knute Neo-LIB

[LivingStardust]

Hey, John, ever hear of the Titanic?

Who was driving the ship when the iceberg showed up? The GOP. Who decided to make crushed ice instead of turning the ship? The GOP. Who performed so poorly that their incompetence has damaged the name of the line? The GOP. Who sold the line (U.S. citizens, John, I know you are slowing down a bit but try to follow the metaphor) a ship built with known faulty rivets (an illegal war based on fraudulent evidence)? The GOP. End of story. Your party broke it, your party bought the baggage that goes with being failures not only as governors but as human beings. Suck it up, Buttercup. Everyone KNOWS who broke the economy.

[johnnygoodwud]

'O' is kicking his butt, and he's doing it while on vacation. patience folks, these are still the dog days of summer. the 'O' team is just getting warmed up. in politics, when running for election, you don't want to peak to soon. i think that happened to barack during the primary. prediction: barack will come out of the convention, after working us all into a lather with his acceptance speech, and take the gloves off. he will go into the first debate, get mc sturgis so confused and upset his head will pop off, and we will win in nov. by a landslide. i do think his campaign is being very cautious, not wanting another 'wright episode'. things will be fine.

[JAB20]

Here in Missouri we're getting bombarded with a John McCain negative ad about every ten minutes on the TV. I just went to factcheck.org and read the section on McCain's ads in regard to Obama and taxes. There are a number of lies in those ads. The problem with lying ads like many of McCain's is that if that candidate gets elected with lies, when he gets in the White House, he lies about bigger things--like WMD's.

[netzwerg]

Is the Mary Houghtaling in paragraph 2 who got choked up when asking McCain about the plant closing a month ago, the same Mary Houghtaling who is saying “Shame, shame on Barack Obama for making us and putting us in this sort of position to look like the sad little Wilmington people,”” in the HP piece?

Mary Houghtaling deserves to lose her job.

[TN]

Dear Mrs. Houghtailing your husband is loosing his job because you and uninformed people like you vote against your own economic interests. Obama is using your situation to prove the truth to you and people like you that it is John McSame and the republicans that are responsible for your situation. You really don't make any sense.

[fourex]

GW Bush and the Republican Party killed off the working middle class with corruption, greed, and theft.