Obama: McCain Wasn't Willing To Say Ayers Attacks "To My Face" (VIDEO)

During an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson Wednesday night, Barack Obama accused John McCain of scoring "cheap political points" with the personal attacks he had leveled at him in recent days. Speaking of the previous night's presidential debate, Obama said he was surprised McCain didn't attempt to repeat these attacks during their time on stage together:

Well, I am surprised that, you know, we've been seeing some pretty over-the-top attacks coming out of the McCain campaign over the last several days that he wasn't willing to say it to my face.

Watch the clip:

Update: Joe Biden echoes the line during an appearance on Thursday in Missouri:

"All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube ... John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him," Biden said this morning. "In my neighborhood, when you've got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."

Biden, who arrived on stage in St. Joseph to chants of "Joe! Joe! Joe," urged the crowd not to be distracted by McCain claims, saying that every "false charge, every baseless accusation is an attempt to get you to stop paying attention to what's going on in this country and what's going on in your lives." And on the issues that matter, he said, McCain is offbase, particularly on his newest mortgage plan.

Comments

[NoSandwiches]

Classic Bill O trick: Be some-what cordial in person, then bad-mouth them the minute their mike comes off.
Only when Bill-O had Obama on his show, he was rude, interrupted him and shouted over him quite a bit.

[parvo63]

...and failed to ask him a single tough question that really matters. That was a joke of an interview.

[Airforce-1]

Barack just called John's bluff.

[tydicea]

It's easier to lie about someone from a distance than to do it to their face. No wonder McCain can't look at Obama!

[Americanium]

That was an Unpresidential comment from Obama. That is unworthy of you sir. Leave that kind of argument for the kids.

[Nikola Tesla]

McCain / Palin, which one wears the dress?

[35Echo]

Bernadette Dohran
And she wore a bandoleer.

[Eoin45]

Baloney. It was true and McCain deserved it.

[utd]

I disagree. McCain is his contemporary, previously I would not have thought him even possible of this kind of gutter politics. Now, he is advocating the exact kind of behavior that tanked his own Presidential bid 8 years ago. How someone can come full circle like that is beyond me. Obama has a duty to say something. He has nothing to fear from getting the truth on the table and ending this little charade so we can get back to focusing on the issues.

[Myshkin57]

I didn't know the smell of desperation could be transmitted through the internet. Ah well. You learn something new every day.

[downtherabbithole]

Unpresidential,unpresidential you say. The list is so long of unpresidential behavior for McCain and Palin, I won't even dignify your statement. These are mean nasty people and there is no excuse for the tripe comming out of their mouths. Even more disturbing are their rallies of hate. If Obama finally calls them out on their behavior, is what you seem to think is unbecomming, my words to you Americanium are, it is about time.

[haveitoldyoulately]

They throw the word "terrorists" around like it was nothing...and love using the "guilt by association"....how about these associations???????

If Sarah Palin defends her claim that Barack Obama "pals around with terrorists," saying it's an issue that is "fair to talk about." How about theses?

1) AIP Vice Chairman Dexter Clark praised the virtues of candidate Sarah Palin
(AIP has also linked itself to a foreign terrorist group personally funded by Osama Bin Laden)
If a Democratic candidate, or their spouse, were a friend of a friend of Bin Laden, this election would be over!

2) McCain has a close association with a white supremacist Richard Quinn who was in 2000 and still is a political advisor, for him. Quinn called Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, terrorists. Quinn also called David Duke (former Ku Klux Klan leader) a "maverick" and supported him, when Duke was running for president...and sold t-shirts for Duke in his magazine, praising the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. .

[VetKor51]

McCain keeps adding adjectives before and after his name. The latest: POLITICAL COWARD. Such a sad, angry man.

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

THE CLASS OF THE NEW GENERATION IS ALWAYS BREAKIN THE RULES OF SILENCE :)

[preatorius]

0bama just called mc-inane a punk!

[Nikola Tesla]

In prison he must have been the camp b i t c h.

[ECB]

Tha's why he didn't want to leave early.

[ECB]

John (Pack of Smokes) McCain

[Nikola Tesla]

You are bad . . . I admire that.

[Independence101]

DOW is now down 678 points today - again - thanks to George Bush and his Republican supporters.
Don't forget that EVERY Republican who supported the Bush regime is responsible for this mess.
On November 4th, vote for EVERY Democrat you can find on the ballot.
Let every RED state go BLUE.
Obama/Biden 2008.
Victory is coming!

[gladys46]

I'm at my ultimate sense of pissivity ... had to restructure my entire 401K and pension after horrific losses!

2 Terms of the decider, all the bucks stopped with these reThugs and their awful "leader" .. their Commander-in-chief!!!

[Mabila]

Say it to his face or speak no more!!!

Coward!!

[BGDiNLV]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grayson-daughters/insider-advantage-pollste_b_133314.html#postComment


Been saying this for months now!!! Good news to read.

[gladys46]

We knew they were misrepresenting PA's percentages for O !!! It was almost scary to hear them lie everyday about what O's support is here ... like listening to strange state sponsored propaganda!

[thepamphleteer]

One must keep in mind these wild accusations are targeted to those predisposed to believe them.
That is why, even when confronted with the truth, the Republicans still cling to the absurd.
As far as Obama plotting with '60's radicals when he was seven or eight years old .... how cool is that!
I was an undecided voter until I heard about it! Now I'm definetly voting for Obama !!!

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Thank you. Welcome back from the dark side. (or the "undecided maybe might coulda' been) the dark side.

[gladys46]

Ayers is enjoying life being an honored Distinguished professor at a noted university, Obama is wining a national election for POTUS .... McCain, Palin & Cindy are losers all three needing anger management, continued abusive d r u g oversights and high paid lawyers for Troopergate scandals!

[dutt]

Joe Biden said that in his neighborhood "when you've got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him". Maybe that's how they do it on the east coast but Biden has to remember that McCain and Palin have contempt for the east coast. Palin even managed to vilify the whole east coast in her debate.

[NeoStar9]

It's so clear. John McCain is 100% coward.

[Nikola Tesla]

I think its spelled p.u.s.s.y.

[timberdoodle]

I am not so sure a coward is the proper description as anyone who has watched the aging process with either a family member or friend can easily see John McCain has some very serious mental issues and the signs are out there for everyone to see almost every day and they come out of McCain's own mouth.

You couple all this with his temperment and he is a clear and present danger to both America and the world with the scariest part being the half baked Alaskan that is by his side.

[Nikola Tesla]

Talk s h i t behind someone's back, but unable to make the accusations in person?

COWARD!