Plouffe: McCain's DHL Deal A Critical Moment Of Campaign

Barack Obama's presidential campaign claimed that the general election had reached a critical turning point this past week after it was revealed that John McCain and his campaign manager had helped facilitate a merger that could result in the loss of thousands of jobs in Ohio.

On a conference call with reporters, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said news of McCain and Rick Davis' involvement in the DHL deal was "the most important development of the entire campaign this week" and would convince voters in the critical swing state that the Arizona Republican was far from his maverick image.

"He was there a month ago in this community and was asked a question about this DHL issue and did not say one word about his role in this or the role of his campaign manager. That is the furthest thing from straight talk that we can imagine," said Plouffe. "John McCain can become an emblem for people about what is wrong with Washington. He released an ad this week about how Washington is broken and how he will strive to fix it. He didn't mention that he has been enmeshed in a broken Washington culture for 26 years or that his campaign is run by the most powerful, now former lobbyist in Washington."

Prior to the press conference the Obama campaign released a harsh new radio ad blasting McCain for his role in helping "foreign-owned DHL buy a U.S. company and gain control over the jobs that are now on the chopping block in Ohio."

On Thursday, the Republican presidential candidate called on the Justice Department to launch an investigation into DHL's plans to puts its packages aboard the planes of a rival, United Parcel Service. If that deal is to go through (with UPS flying its cargo out of Louisville, Kentucky) DHL's shipping hub in Wilmington, Ohio would be effectively closed, eliminating up to 10,000 jobs.

On the conference call, Plouffe was forthcoming about the political advantages that he believed the revelation presented.

"He has spent several days now dogged with questions about this," said the campaign manager. "His appearances in Ohio were completely overshadowed by this. And by November 4 in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets this is something that is going to be known by every voter in this area."

Comments

[jetglowes]

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You can copy & paste these links...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HkXuLgt4ak

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Is McCain or Obama in touch with reality? Will they let a German subsidized corporation destroy American Jobs?

This proves that the Germans & Deutsche Post are totally "OUT OF TOUCH" with anything in America.....let alone DHL America....

If the Germans want to buy two sucessful companies and run them in the ground then they had better fix what they broke or get out of the country. The easy way out is to take the supposed 1 billion dollar loss and just give it to UPS instead?? That is a bunch of bull. They really want to skirt the Anti-Trust laws with this partial merger. UPS will not increase or grow jobs from this...but 10,000 jobless Americans will be only the beginning if this deal goes through.

Deustsche Post is cooking the books to make America look like a 1 billion dollar loss for DHL while they made a 6.7 billion dollar worldwide profit last year...yet want to destroy 10,000 American Jobs after buying two American Companies called DHL & Airborne Express.

[netzwerg]

DHL and UPS are NOT going to merge!
UPS will be a CLIENT of DHL transporting their stuff, thats a huge difference.

[openhand]

the issue here is an economic system that praises profits over jobs, its like pushing your engine without a concern about your gearbox.... politicians have become lobbyists, the insulation between the people, business, and politicians is threadbare.

[aznurse]

The NY Times has an article saying that Obamas supporters offices has been raided by the FBI

[doctorwang]

got a link?

[SCG]

This story? http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/us/politics/10cleveland.html?ref=us

Republicans playing their Justice Dept. pre election games.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Did you even read the article?

It said the FBI raided Cuyahoga County Democratic offices. Sure they probably support 0bama like every Democratic office but it was not one of 0bama's offices. It smells of a subtle form of r acism since the district is a majority African American district and Rethuglicans are trying to "catch" any African American politician's troubles and conflate them with 0bama. With all the corruption going on in OH with Bob Ney and other Rethuglican leaders this is quite a stretch.

[aznurse]

Yeah, I read it.
What I meant was that this is the story in the Times with no mention of McCains DHL dealings.

[NTO08]

Obama campaign is going to have to find an issue that will resonate beyond a few districts in Ohio...will not matter in the rest of the mostly rural portions of the state.

[SCG]

Sounds like Mr. Davis has been pimping Senator Mc Cain out.....?

" Aide Helped Controversial Russian Meet McCain
Davis, Then a Lobbyist, Has Spurred Debate in Reform-Focused Campaign "

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, January 25, 2008; A01

A top political adviser in Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign helped arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. government revoked his visa.

Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire.

There is no evidence that McCain did anything for Deripaska after they met at a social gathering over drinks and dinner. Deripaska was grateful for the introduction, writing a thank-you note to Davis and his partner and offering to assist them in a subsequent business deal, according to a copy of the note obtained by The Washington Post......

Continues: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012403383_pf.html

[Jamchinadian]

"Sounds like Mr. Davis has been pimping Senator Mc Cain out.....?" Please ... you're giving me stitches LMAO.

So is Sydney her street name then?

[SCG]

I don't know what his Johns call him? Only that he works for the most exclusive clientèle.

Poor Cindy, I wonder if she knows?

[TXfemmom]

McCain has told people concerned by the loss of jobs to Mexico and China that they should just get over it, as the jobs aren't coming back. Perhaps, he is the one who should just get over it, as in get over wanting to be President.

[YunekFlava]

Yeh!!

[livewire19]

Boy, it's a real stretch to try to pin this one on McCain. Only the most bald-faced political spin-meister could keep from cracking a smile while spinning this one.

Wake up, dudes, it's a global economy. Foreigners are buying American firms; Americans are buying foreign firms. Companies grow and shrink. Sometimes they hire and expand operations. Other times, they make tough business decisions and close down certain sites that aren't performing efficiently or are no longer economically feasible. FedEx and UPS are the class of this field. It speaks volumes that UPS can ship the same packages cheaper than DHL itself. Protectionism can save jobs in the short-term but ultimately can't protect inefficient businesses from their own slow demise.

Oh well, at least I can still drink a good old American Bud. Duoh! Soon to be an InBev Bud.

[Tahut]

Go for the Schlitz ...they're bringing it back.

[Shelly1970]

AnninCA is back http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/PumaAnn

Just FYI ;)

[SCG]

Not the AnnnCA who I loved and adored?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/AnnnCA?action=comments

[LarBear]

AnninCA ,or PumaAnn... Hey, I'm a fan...
Sometimes one must, make a stand...

She makes Obamacrat's a little crazy...
Their spin and slam, a we bit too Hazy...

She's very simply, a loyal Democrat...
Different, then a phoney, Obamacrat...

The more you attack her, she fights back...
Trademark, yeppers, of a loyal Democrat...

Pelosi, Reed, Old Guard, Brazille and Dean...
ALL supporters, of the Obamacrat machine...

So, ANN, keep up the good fight, lose, or win...
The only substance from Obamacrat's, is spin...

[YunekFlava]

Did you do that all by yourself? You must think a little more of yourself, than there really is. You are just another driver on the FAKE TALK EXPRESS.

[pakaal]

Guess we know who the real "job killing machine" is, eh Senator McCain?

If it wasn't so much like staring at a car crash, I'd be more entertained by McCain's constant reminders - in word and deed - that he's thoroughly unfit to lead this country.

[McChimp]

Yup it's funny, ironic, and sad at the same time...

Mc accuses O of being a "job killer," and then Mc gets involved in a shady deal that costs Ohioans at LEAST 10,000 jobs...

looks like the Straight Talk Express should have listened to O and the economists and check to see if their tires were fully inflated instead of driving around on flats and mocking O...

[Msohio]

This is huge and should be discussed on every talking head show. McCain is a liar and came here to Ohio, stood in the presence of workers from DHL and told them that he will have the corrupt Justice Dept. investigate the loss of jobs at DHL. What a lying, evil man. The word on this must be pounded until election day. Please, hopefully no one else will refer to him as "honorable". He is not.

[themodernleader]

When Americans go into the voting booth they will vote against the governing Republican Party. Admiration or disdain for one candidate or another will play a minor role.
If America becomes involved in a nation threatening war, it will have no appreciable effect. If the Stark Market miraculously turns into a surging bull market, it will still not matter. Like the ancient phoenix, if the dollar rises above any person's expectations, people will still not be persuaded. Born again Christians have been reborn to the fact that they were used for personal power of cynical, corrupt Republican politicans.
The next election was decided months ago. The Americans have finally coalesed around the recognition that the present direction is away from their own interests, that the present policies are for the few at the expense of the safety and security of the many and American democracy. This election will be a repeat of !932, only in a much more dangerous milieu.
Unfortunately, we have five months of decline and crisis ahead of us before we even begin picking up the pieces and constructing a new horizon .

[UnknownSoldier]

Wrong, people were less educated in 1932, but they were SMARTER. These dummies we have here today would vote for Reagan if he wasn't DEAD

[Liberoservative]

I would like to believe what you say...

But, when the voters to to the polls this year, I am afraid that they will vote with what they know

If you are an O supporter, it is your job to go out there and let people know who he is and what he stands for.....

Go out there and see what is happening in your own states and volunteer to register new voters.... This year is critical..........

Else... I am afraid that we will become a fascist state and there is no peaceful turning back....

[YunekFlava]

I host COFFEE, CONVERSATION and POLITICS and TEA and TOPICS in my city. Always well attended, and well informed groups

[aOsO]

i almost don't want this to be run in the MSM because all they're going to do is SPIN and water it down. Let's keep this little gem to ourselves and the local Ohio press, the Union workers, the hurting families and local businesses, the local politician who will not dare to spin this, we need to spread this vote getter through underground channels (hee hee) aw the possibilities are endless. we don't need to knock him out with this, we need to slowly strangle Mcbastard until November 4th with this baby.

p.s

i feel terrible for the families who will lose their livelihoods over this.

[McChimp]

yup, glad that the MSM will be all over the Edwards story and ignore this, since it will have more impact as the GE gets closer.

The O team has shown that they know how to manage their campaign. Kudos to Plouffe, Axelrod, and the millions of Americans who take their time to volunteer for making this campaign historic. You just don't see that with Mc's campaign, all you see is negative ad after negative ad about O instead of talking about the issues. Let's hope that these negative campaign tactics backfire on Mc's campaign.

[checkitout]

The MSM have been more of an enemy to O bama than M cCain has. They purposefully ignore M cCain's gaffe's, his complete ignorance of geography, economics and foreign policy. And are handholding this lunatic to the whitehouse so they can keep their jobs. Instead they measure attacks and nasty insinuations on O bama - they are clearly biased - and Fox isn't the only one doing it. T'om B.rocaw is a bought and sold front man for the corporation he works for. He should be kicked out of journalism altogether.

[TrumanHugh]

You are correct on all points, unfortunately. When I found myself screaming, on a regular basis, at CNN as if it were FauxNews, I realized things were very wrong. Campbell Brown is the worst. (I find Gloria Borger to be quite fair, thus far, and Jack Cafferty is so pissed off at the current system/adm­inistratio­n it's fun to watch what he does next!).

MSNBC is just about the only place left (and then, only Olberman and a few others...certainly NOT Andrea Mitchell, who lets her interviewees run amok). Brokaw retired for a reason; I only wish NBC had remembered that when looking for a temporary Russert replacement.

It is beyond me how the MSM can just turn a blind eye to all of McCain's gaffes and misstatements. In CNN's case, I wonder if they're trying to overcompensate for their "perceived" liberal bias by being overly critical of Obama, while avoiding McCain altogether.

If only the undecided voters could be exposed to just a few of McCain's idiotic lies, embellishments and omissions. McCain would be forced to run on the issues and his record. Imagine the lead Obama would have with that!

[Indubio]

I recognize that what I suggest below is expecting a lot from most voters...

But if anyone cares for a long laundry list of why John McCain is not only unfit to be president but why he's unfit to be a Senator simply needs to read John Dean's political trilogy beginning with Worse then Watergate, followed by Conservatives without Conscience, and ending with Broken Government. Dean is a life long Goldwater style Republican and he levels documented accusation after documented accusation at the GOP for egregious behavior dating back to 1968 that took a hugely negative turn two years before McCain was elected to office. So, for 26 years McCain sat on his ass and let his party wreck all three branches of the federal government. Time after time he voted to enable his party to violate the Constitution if not in deed in spirit. He has demonstrated a life long inability to govern and along with the rest of his party should be permanently ousted from Washington.

By the way: Dean's book is more damning of contemporary conservatism then any book I've ever read by any centrist or left of center author and although he doesn't mention McCain by name, McCain is clearly guilty by association and by his unwillingness to buck his party's establishment.

[reelcobra]

Look at the "O Man" hitting hard while hiding from debates and vacationing in Hawaii!

__________­__________­__________­__

Character is a "distraction" - NOT an ISSUE!

BHO '08!

[SCG]

Obama has accepted the Commission on Presidential Debates framework for three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.

excerpt:

“It’s unlikely we’ll see anything other than the commissioned debates,” Obama spokeswoman Linda Douglass said, adding that the time is short between now and November.

Douglass added that the McCain campaign didn’t respond to the Obama campaign's counterproposals for the town halls.

"We really haven't gotten a response to our counteroffer, so now we agreed to the debates," Douglass said. "[McCain's has] made it pretty clear that he's not interested in a real dialogue and has just gone down the low road, so it's not a good use of our time."

Link: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/obama-campaign.html

O has family in Hawaii and is taking some well deserved time off. Besides, this should provide Mc Cranky some time in the media sun, trying to be Pretender in Chief.

[YunekFlava]

LOL. Everytime I hear or read "Pretenter­-in-Chief"­, I crack up.

[All4One08]

ads in Ohio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVGrSm4Ultw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_I6GXfDUSM&eurl=http

[SCG]

Just caught an O ad during the Olympics.

Nice to have a democratic candidate with a superior war chest for a change.

[TrumanHugh]

I am so happy to know that these are airing where it really matters! I live in California, so this issue isn't as "hot" out here. McCain's complicity in this shameful dealing needs to known by every voter in Ohio (and its neighbors)!!

I hope these are making an impact. Is there any palpable backlash against McCain??

[nonconformist2]

The Electoral math is clear: If McCain loses Ohio, he loses the election. Obama has a chance of winning the election without Ohio, but it is a difficult route to do so.

That is why, like it or not, Ohio is the most important state in this election.

[kay]

I think McCain needs both Ohio and Michigan.

You can play with the numbers a lot.

[lunchbag]

Partially agree, Winning Ohio will make it easier for both

[nonconformist2]

Do you have a scenario in mind in which McCain wins without Ohio?

[teron678]

If Bayh is Obama's VP or Kaine .. Indiana or Virginia is in the bag ....

He just has to win a 1 - 2 small states & it's a done deal ..

[Liberoservative]

Why hasn't Kucinich endorsed Obama yet?

I would think that if he is a well liked Representative in Ohio that his endorsement would be nice to have......

Is he well liked in Ohio???

Any Buckeyes out there to chime in?

[mairs]

O is a conservative compared to Kucinich. Kucinich was the only true, honest to goodness liberal in the bunch.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

OH will vote on pocketbook issues it always does. With the economy this bad 0bama will win OH. Just like in similar change elections Clint0n one OH in 1992 and Reagan won OH in 1980.