Bill Kristol: To Help Economy, McCain Should Talk About Ayers

The economy is in tatters and shambles, and it's tattering and shambling its way along no matter what bailouts and rescues and Jim Cramer rant choruses are thrown at it. Now's the time for our presidential candidates to show leadership and vision, right? Not according to Bill Kristol, who thinks America needs to find out if our market woes weren't actually caused by a secret plan, hatched during a meeting of the Annenberg Challenge, in which Barack Obama and William Ayers agreed to use Weather Underground mind control techniques to convince Henry Paulson to stand back and do nothing while Ayers terror-bombed Lehman Brothers with his radical liberal derivatives. That's the basic gist of what Kristol was spitting at Fox News Channel this afternoon, as he stoically made the case for McCain going negative, forever. Why can't America understand that everyone got deep into bad mortgages and crazy credit default swaps because Barack Obama attended a Chicago Machine Church?

[WATCH.]

KRISTOL: The economy will be center stage but I disagree with some of the advice that McCain is giving. Saying you have to talk endlessly about the economy. These attacks on Obama on Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright don't matter. I don't agree. It is a severe economic crisis and McCain and Obama don't know what they would do. They both supported the bailout. It's not clear except on taxes that there are huge divisions about what to do with the credit markets. McCain has to show is he concerned about it and willing to be a strong leader and say look, when you're in a crisis you have to judge the character, the judgment, the background of the person you are putting in charge, that's more important than trying to evaluate the details of Obama's plans on credit swaps. I don't think we will be able to judge what the best way to handle bad debt. So McCain has to tie the economic crisis to Obama's character and judgment and say who you want in charge in difficult years, who is up to the job, liberal democrats who has hung out with characters, do you want him to run the country. That's got to be the core of McCain's message.

Comments

[mrnegron]

Folks who will decide to move from their Undecided status to McCain will respond well to Ayers and other smears. Kristol isn't giving bad advice to McCain's campaign. Democrats look at this strategy and are repulsed. Republicans and those who are on the fence see these sort of issues as extremely relevant. Look at it this way: if you are really concerned about the economy and you are really looking for relief, there is no way you'd fall back on the party that has already dropped you. It seems obvious that people on the fence really want reasons NOT to vote for Obama. When you are grabbing at straws, these smears are just the thing! The more desperate you are, the more relevant those straws become.

[whit4brains]

Those undecideds are most likely struggling like a lot of other people so maybe they will get turned off by erratic McCain and feel more comfortable with Obama. Plus the Ayers/Wright stuff has been out there for a really long time. If it was going to push voters away from Obama it already would have by know. IMO.

Plus all the focus groups of undecideds got really turned off in the first two debates when the candidates went off the important issues and went on the attack.

[alguien]

who do you want in charge in difficult years, the one who runs about erratically like a chicken with its head cut off or the one who maintains a calm reassuring composure and presents actual solutions?

[whit4brains]

Right Kristol...­just because polls show that 60% of the people put the economy as the number one issue they are concerned about doesn't mean we really want to hear how the candidates plan to get us out of this mess. We want to discuss some guy who bombed empty Government buildings back when Obama was 8 years-old cause that REALLY effects whether we will lose our jobs, our homes or our retirement savings. You "my friend" are a real genius!

[2008FedUP]

The whole network is full of misfits that are going to be shame and jobless once Obama wins. No conversation from them for at least 4 years!! Yipeeeee
They are such hateful cult like folks. Scarey. The station emits daggers through the screen.

[SouthernGuy]

Please, please try this strategy..­.......cha­racter assasination and faux family values will not win this time. The old previously explained Ayers/Wright ploy will not work. I am a pessimist and a worrier about this election, but this thing may be decided next week if the republicans try this again. "Joe Sixpack" ain't drinkin' the kool-aid this time.

[jeffp26]

Bill Kristol needs a good old fashioned butt kicking. How dare he incite violence like this. ;-)

[iPolitics]

McCain should talk about how the Iraq War KRISTOL wanted has led to this economic fall

[mgray34]

Great advice to ensure an Obama victory. You elite idiots are so busy tripping over one another in your small plastic bubble of a world, that you are out of touch with the common man on the street who is trying to figure out how to put food on the table and keep their head above water. IT COMES DOWN TO SELF PRESERVATION KNUCKLEHEADS!! I could give a rat's tutu about someone being labeled a liberal, or about who a guy hung out with 20 years ago. If signs of that influence haven't shown up in some news clip, magazine, or newspaper then it's safe to say that it won't. I want to know what these candidates are going to do to make my life better. McClueless has failed miserably at that. Nuff said.

[UncommonSenz]

This is the EXACT strategy that worked for Bush... literally line by line.

Don't talk about the issues.. "Character Counts"! (and then string together whatever dirt you can, even if it isn't remotely true). Just tell them how evil the other guy is. He's not "one of us". He is dangerous.­..

Well that intellectually bankrupt process got us all 8 years of abject failure. And if you want to talk character, running a campaign that feels addressing the issues is less important than throwing mud has NO character. If all you care about is winning, the country will pay- dearly.

America should be a place where politicians COMPETE with the best solutions, not the worst tactics. Say what you believe, what you intend to do and then let US decide. I've seen some interesting proposals from republicans on ways to get private investment to come in and help on the bailout. Not sure it could have been worked out quickly enough, but the ideas were worth a harder look. But none of them are even making that a campaign issue- just railing on big government.

We've got massive problems, all across the board. Frankly, I don't care who gets credit or blame, I just want an adult to start to make the difficult choices and start actually GOVERNING.

If McCain can't see that "ignoring" critical issues to focus exclusively on associations isn't a dereliction of duty, than he is not fit to be POTUS.

[openhand]

To witness Bill Kristols horror and impotence as Obamas campaign rises like a phoenix is the greatest solace I can imagine in an economic crisis such as this.

[LWilkinson315]

Like the old disco hit goes 'Aint Nothing Going on but The Rent..."

Who gives a darn about Rev Wright and Ayers...

To quote another song from back in the day- this one i dedicate to McCain: "What Have You done for Me Lately..."

[LeftLeanWing]

Let's go way back....

This Old Man
He Played Wright
He Play RaceCard
'Bating All Night

With a 8 percent
Deficit
Showing in the Polls

This Old Man's
our New Bob Dole

[the964kid]

And Im sure McCain will continue to follow the advice of losers like Kristol.

[Chavez08]

Can Obama talk about McCain's nickname the fellow POWs gave him?

Can he talk about all the STDs on his medical record hidden from public view? Can he talk about Palins' affair with the hubbys' business partner?

Then bring it on!

[Aabby]

STD!!!! EYUUUUUUUU­UUU...do you have proof?

[LeftLeanWing]

STDs ?

Like what......

Viagraitis
and
BaldBalls

[SwingVoter]

John McCain is corrupt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r-kOIs-W6E

John McCain is corrupt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDofbll86dY

Kristol apprenticed under satan.

[SUNRAI]

Yes Mr. Kristol, keep giving McCain that advice and he'll never be POTUS.