McCain Camp Lies About VA Crowd Size

WVEC reports:

Republican John McCain pledged to fight for a new direction for the country in an energetic new campaign stump speech Monday that sought to distance him from the economic policies of President Bush.

...

The Virginia Beach Fire Marshal's office estimated the size of the crowd to be 12,000. A McCain campaign spokeswoman claimed the crowd size was 25,000, but the Convention Center's capacity is only 16,000.

It's not the first time, either:

Senator John McCain has drawn some of the biggest crowds of his presidential campaign since adding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to his ticket on Aug. 29. Now officials say they can't substantiate the figures McCain's aides are claiming.

McCain aide Kimmie Lipscomb told reporters on Sept. 10 that an outdoor rally in Fairfax City, Virginia, drew 23,000 people, attributing the crowd estimate to a fire marshal.

Fairfax City Fire Marshal Andrew Wilson said his office did not supply that number to the campaign and could not confirm it. Wilson, in an interview, said the fire department does not monitor attendance at outdoor events.

In recent days, journalists attending the rallies have been raising questions about the crowd estimates with the campaign. In a story on Sept. 11 about Palin's attraction for some Virginia women voters, Washington Post reporter Marc Fisher estimated the crowd to be 8,000, not the 23,000 cited by the campaign.

Comments

[KarenJW]

Does it surprise anyone? All they do is lie and spin the truth................but it defines who they are!
What's the lesson to be learned? They are habitual liars.............and they'll be habitual liars in the Whitehouse. It's up to us to make sure they don't get in!

[yeswecancan]

Liars. But we knew that already. Another dog bites man story. Check this out for the real picture of the McCain/Palin rallies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wmAZUAMG8I

[wembakoy]

McCain-Palin said: drill baby drill and the lioness of senate said jobs baby jobs.

Please share this video to 20 people until election day to remind everyone not to be fooled again.

Below is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X2kjgdF1Xk

Thanks.

[Openeyes]

Leave the poor guy alone. He can't count how many houses he has (8) so how do you expect him to count a crowd accurately (even with his shoes off)?

[DiBaskin]

They are sinking to an all time low. Lying about things no one really cares about.

[evgolightly]

What? The McCain camp lied?

That's it, my day is ruined.

[sagmann]

Come on, give the old guy a break. He has been lying since he was 23 (see the story of his life, brawls and manipulations) you can't expect him to change now? Who is the REAL Mccain, behind this fictional facade? What do you expect from a guy whose greatest hero is Robert Jordan, the fictitious character from "For Whom The Bell Tolls"?

[Yve72]

Another day. Another lie from the McCain-Palin campaign.
Its basically at the point now where I just assume that every email sent, every flack spinning, every stump speech is 95% lie.

But Palin's "I'm glad the Troppergate probe showed that I did no wrong...." takes the cake.

Waiting impatiently til 11/4.

[Icantbelieveher]

So they believe if democrats think there are 25,000 at his rallies there will be no point in showing up to vote!

Someone buy that man a clue! Obama filled Invesco field! I've been there -- it's huge! And there was a huge waiting list of people who didn't get to go!

[The Lorax]

In Oregon, Obama drew in ~80,000 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24696575/

I love my state!

[kcmookie]

Thank you Oregon. That was my first clue that others saw what I saw in Obama and that we weren't going to be fooled again. It was my first sign of hope and salvation for our country. It may be proud and restored my sense of belief in the humanity of the U.S. population. I have been disgusted with Bush getting into office not once, but twice, and it was nice to think that maybe, just maybe, people were not going to be fooled again.

Thanks to Oregon, since July/August(?) I have been instilled with hope instead of bitterness towards our politicians and the people who get them elected. Thank you!

Obama 08!

[milo h minderbinder]

Nothing new, they have been lying about crowds since the convention. Which they didn't even fill up most of the time, did they?

[Keatingfive]

Poor little Johnny McCain!!!!

[joshuahmcdonald]

"The keyword here is blackwhite. Like so many Newspeak words, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. Doublethink is basically the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them."

- Part II, chapter IX - chapter I of Goldstein's book (1984)

[noamjunior]

the McCain campaign really should consult the maximum capacity signs in the half-empty halls they are campaigning in before making up how many people attended their rally.

[Yve72]

I know! I just don't get it. They really are that st.upid for believe we are that st.upid.

[crzy]

Aside from the drapes, I hope Obama is also... working on his transition plan - which by the way McCain should be working on. It should be part of his campaign, making sure he's "ready from day one". No where in print can I see that McCain will be prepared to move on critical issues, there has been no discussion on his transition plan, team, etc.

As much as measuring drapes are important (don't forget china patterns are too), a "hit the ground running" attitude is crucial and Obama is thinking ahead.

[Wilsonv]

Man talk about crowd size envy on the mcgrampa side. They have been lieing about this for months.