McCain Aide Mark Salter Goes On Curse-Filled Rant Against Andrew Sullivan

Over at The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg has got a riveting interview with Mark Salter, an old-school McCainiac who's collaborated with the Arizona Senator on several of his biographical books. Using David Kirkpatrick's week-old New York Times story as a jumping-off place, Goldberg catches Salter in total high-tension wire mode, as he claims the press is too easy on Obama and too harsh on Sarah Palin -- leading to an expletive-fueled rant against Goldberg's colleague Andrew Sullivan. No matter what one thinks of the McCain campaign -- and no matter how the election turns out -- this interview presages the must-read books that are sure to come from McCain campaign staffers around this time next year.

On the Kirkpatrick article:

GOLDBERG: What did you think of the Kirkpatrick story?

SALTER: I'm kind of pissed off about that. That and a few other things. I never even read For Whom the Bell Tolls. I had to read it for the second book (I wrote with McCain). I didn't pattern McCain's life on For Whom the Bell Tolls. It pissed me off. It's McCain's fucking story. Kirkpatrick was part of the New York Times story that can't be mentioned, but I've talked to him for every one of the biographical series. I just thought the idea that we had created a sort of new John McCain, a sort of hybrid of Robert Jordan and Marlon Brando, because McCain's favorite movie is "Viva Zapata," was not fair to McCain.

...

GOLDBERG: Is Timberg wrong to say that McCain has become a caricature, that the campaign has brought out bad qualities in him?

SALTER: I have not talked to Timberg. And right now all I've got is the quote and Kirkpatrick's story. I would like to know what the question was, the exact quote, before I have any comment on what Bob said. I think the world of Bob.

On the press' treatment of Obama:

GOLDBERG: How are you feeling about the press these days?

SALTER: Look, I think, starting with the Democratic primary, there has been a different standard for Obama than there has been for any candidate running against Barack Obama. And maybe this should have set off more warning bells with me. I think much of the media has a thumb on the scale for Obama. I think the thumb has been there the entire time. There are many honorable exceptions, I don't mean to tar everybody, but I think there's one standard for us, and one standard for Obama. He has run more negative ads than McCain has run ads. They run from the quite misleading to the blatantly untrue.

On their treatment of Palin:

SALTER: Does she have vast foreign policy experience? No. No, she does not have vast foreign policy experience. What appealed to McCain about her was, you know, everybody was talking about a change election. Every challenger who ever has run a race has run on a change platform. Everybody essentially runs as a reformer. When you're a guy like McCain who really has fought for reform, he found enormously appealing a woman who ran as a change agent and then fought to be one in office. If it was going to be a foreign policy pick, then it would be somebody else, I guess, but it wasn't. And she learns quickly. She learns quickly.

On Andrew Sullivan:

SALTER: Your blogging colleague over there seems to have lost his fucking mind, you know. Prior to Sarah Palin, he was accusing me of being a plagiarist, the whole Solzhenitsyn thing, the cross in the sand, and then it turned out that Sozhenitsyn didn't write such a story. I mean, Jesus Christ, it's just remarkable. This whole story about how the baby isn't hers? Jesus Christ. Just crazy shit.

Comments

[jalowe1957]

Once again, rhetorical pugilistic dementia rears its ugly head.

[Cybersquirt]

Well, at least all his talking points are in order.

b1tch, p1ss, and moan. You created the mess, sit with it!

and now, for your viewing pleasure -

Want to send John McCain a vote of "No Confidence"?

If so, go here and sign this petition:

http://www.McCainPetition.com

[cmhmd]

What did he think was wrong in the plagiarism charge?

http://obamanewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com/2008/08/mccains-cross-in-sand-storyplagiarized.html

Cheers,

[HST]

Let's see if I got this right: first you throw mud, then you call names and then you blame the press for reporting what you've done.


The most hilarious thing to come out of conservatives mouths is the myth that somehow the press has "gone easy" on Obama.During the democratic primaries we heard about Wright and Ayers continiously, until I wanted to scream. Now the GOP wants to act like the subject was never brought up before. They should ask Hilary how well that strategy worked, but it ain't going to stop them from repeating her mistake with the same results.

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

Shouldn't that read, "... first you throw mud, then you call names and then you blame Sen. McCain's BASE for reporting what you've done."? : ^ )

[SteveDenver]

Before the Democratic primary, McCain was getting a free ride from the press -- they were soft on him all around. They rode in his plane and had barbecue at one of his "compounds," and he was laughing it up. Then he pulled in Palin and hid her from the press, and the press did some digging. Now they both feel like victims. Boo hoo for McCain and his unqualified, overdressed puppet.

[dana94591]

Well Salter can go to Kansas!!! He is just was vile as the rest of the McCain team!

[rock2casbah]

For a writer he sure has not mastered eloquence or articulation has he?

[JerryTheAngel]

"SALTER: Does she have vast foreign policy experience? No. No, she does not have vast foreign policy experience. "

She has NONE.

[longfeltwant]

Really, though, she doesn't need foreign-policy experience. Obama doesn't really have any; Bill Clinton didn't really have any; Reagan didn't really have any.

So it's not really an experience question, it's a question of knowledge, wherewithal, and understanding. It is THOSE things that she lacks. If she knew all about the countries of the world, even without having been to them; and knew about the major political issues, and had opinions about them; and knew the policies of the United States, even never having administrated them; --if she knew any of those things, then we might be comfortable with her as President.

But she doesn't, so we aren't. Just don't pin it on "experience".

[kadene]

I think we have a serious problem when the VP thinks New Hampshire is part of "the great northwest"!

[StevieRae]

Salter conveniently forgets that it was the McCain campaign beginning with their convention who set the media up as the fall guys. Then they embarked on tactic to make an public comment on Palin, sexist.

They "hid her away" with a bunker mentality from being exposed to what she has shown herself to be; the worst VP candidate McCain could have chosen. And he and others close to the campaign realized what McCain had wrought on them after speaking with her within a couple of days after the convention.

The cry among staffers was, "Houston, we've got a problem." But McCains's ego would not allow him to acknowledge his mistake, it was too late.

Salter, you bitter reaction is unconvincing. You have to dance with the one you broun, and that's why you so p**sed; you've been had!!

[Chavez08]

McCain and Palin should be heading down to the bunker before long. Has anyone seen the dog lately?

[BatedBreath]

This guy's explanation of Palin is interesting. He just further highlights how cynical mccain's choice was. You want change, my friend. I'll give you change. Heh. Heh.

[JustLynn]

Mr Salter..

You are correct, there is a different standard for Seanator Obama, but it has nothing to do with the media...It has to do with the man himself... You point out that Obama has more "negative ads" than McCain does....you may be correct sir, but here's the difference... Obama's ads attack McCains POLICIES and PLANS, McCain's ads attack OBAMA... questioning the validity of a candidates policies is a valid use of advertising time...launching a PERSONAL attack against a candidate is not...

The Repubs have become very good at one thing during this campaign, and that has been justifying their negative, fear-mongering, race baiting campaign with the cry of "the MSM is prejudiced against us"... Here's a thought...maybe the MSM is against McCain because intelligent, thinking Americans are against McCain....

Mr Lewis was absolutely correct in his pronouncement that this has been the ugliest time in history since the 1950's and 1960's...and that has been absolutely and completely spurred on by YOUR candidate and his less-than educated, hypocritical running mate...

And, in closing, I must say that your Alice in Wonderland, through the looking glass anger falls wonderfully in line with the rest of this "it is because we say it is" campaign the Repubs are running...Congratulations for falling in goose step with the rest of the "make believe" characters....

[TrooAmerican]

Excellent write up.
I do beg to differ that the Repubs have been good at justifying their BS campaign.... i think they have continually made people laugh out loud at them when they make the sort of total Horsesh t comments that Salter has made.

Anyone thats been paying attention is moving in Obama's direction.

Anyone thats ardently supporting McCain is supremely ignorant or has a personal agenda.
If people watch those videos of the Arguing angry Mccain supporters at the rallys... they'll notice that everything these guys say is hte FOX news/GOP campaign talking points shoved at them day after day, nothing true, nothing honest, all zero integrity,.

[mommamia526]

I think McCain needed a change of direction for his own campaign, which was not going anywhere. On a personal basis, I thought every time I heard McCain say, I know how to do this, and I know how to do that, o.k. McCain, let us hear it. What, exactly do you know and how are you going to do it. But he never answers that. He also knew where Osama bin Laden is and how to get him, and my reaction was, so, where is he, why have you not got him already, and why is it such a deeply held secret? After all, it would have helped Bush to haul bin Laden in, with your help, McCain, and then also you. Another question that I came up with, and that may be totally inappropriate, was IF you know where a proven enemy of the U.S. is, and you tell no one, could that be treason? Of course, that latter question is totally out of line, given McCain's credentials, nevertheless, it kept nagging at me. McCain utters the same unidentified and undefined solutions to the credit crisis, and here - I may be tonedeaf - I do not perceive any workable solutions either.

[imfedup]

"What appealed to McCain about her was, you know, everybody was talking about a change election." Yeah, that's what appealed to McCain all right. . .

[jazzman]

The baby may be hers but it would be nice if she released her medical records and remove all doubt.

[hotstuff]

Ya, some jumped to the wrong ideas! But if Mccain allowed her to talk to the media, it wouldn't have happened, and if he vetted her correctly he wouldn't be loseing! Don't blame everyone alse!

[Witkacy]

Sullivan's not crazy - The baby isn't hers. Period.

Not only will the future books on the McCain campaign entertain us; but we'll also have a hoot over the sordid & stupid tale of the Palin family's reality-show-quality dalliance with world politics!

[SteveDenver]

And according to an interview by Terri Gross of Fresh Air NPR.orgg), if Palin ends up going back to Alaska, there are going to be a lot of P-O'd Democrats and moderate Republicans NOT happy to see her.

[okjoel]

Potty mouth!

[imfedup]

Yep. I'm being censored for much less.