McCain Camp Buses In School Kids To Fill Crowd

The most cringe-worthy political moment of the day, so far, came when Sen. John McCain called out for his new buddy Joe the Plumber to stand up at a rally in Ohio, only to be greeted with confused silence. Joe the Plumber wasn't there.

But that rally featured another embarrassing moment, one that illustrates a far more troubling dynamic for the Republican ticket. The McCain campaign actually had to bus in school kids from the surrounding area in order to fill the event. As reported by MSNBC:

A local school district official confirmed after the event that of the 6,000 people estimated by the fire marshal to be in attendance this morning, more than 4,000 were bused in from schools in the area. The entire 2,500-student Defiance School District was in attendance, the official said, in addition to at least three other schools from neighboring districts, one of which sent 14 buses.

This happened -- as if a reminder were needed -- less than a week out from the election, when the heat of the campaign should be drawing record crowds.

Comments

[sepia830]

Why can I always count on the McCain/Palin ticket for a good laugh?. McCain was stood up by the very man he made famous. Could it be that Joe Plumber was too busy working on the outline for his new book (sure to be found in the "B.S. you don't care about" section of the library).

[DShawn233]

LMAO, ahmmm was this part of a lesson plan for the dear children? Wow, what did the children learn today? They learned that JTFPFPECMS (Joethefak­eplumberfo­reignpolic­yexpertcou­ntrymusic singer) stood Mc Gaffe up at the rally or they were taught a lesson in how not to run a Presidential Campaign because "plumber" told CNN that he was not told that he was supposed to be there. They should have had Pail In there. That would have given them extra credit for playing the game show, "Are you smarter than a second grader?" if one of the kids had been allowed to ask her to explain what the job of the Vice President is.

Ob ama/B iden 08

[TheAnti-Bush]

How anyone with a shred of brains or moral decency can take this man seriously baffles and truly frightens me. GO VOTE!!! And demand a paper ballot if at all possible.

[tenilla]

Daily Kos on Defiance, Ohio public school regulations regarding political activities:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/30/143222/47/837/646994

[daedelus]

Seems to me that Cindy was speaking for some of us actual humans when she mouthed "oh my god" in response to her husband's lame-brained pandering. "You're all Joe the plumbers!", indeed. A profoundly stupid and depressing tableau.

[Free2Speak]

Yes I noticed that she said "oh my God".I watched it repeated on different channels to make sure that what she was mouthing.It on youtube also but it does not have enough video resolution to make out what she is saying.

[Dave-O]

If this allegation is true, this marks a new low even for Republicans! How can any school district allow this to happen. How does this obvious exploitation relate even remotely to education. No Child Left Behind. More like All Child's behinds get left....

[piggybackmom]

The infamous maverick fills their young brains with odious propaganda.

[Yodada]

PATHETIC! And then since Joe the Plumber stood him up he was left with no "Economic and Financial Advisor" so they had another meaningless rally! It looked like he didn't know what to do since "Joe" wasn't there. I'm surprised he didn't ask for his other "Economic and Financial Advisor", Palin. How pathetic that he is trying to dumb down the American people!

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

poor kids...

[MyGuyO]

What! Joe the Plumber says he didn't know he was to show up for the rally! No one contacted him!
Yes, that was his comment.

I really had to laugh at the McCain's standing up on that stage this morning. Was especially watching Cindy McCain's reaction standing behind husband John. She looked right, then left for the "plumber," and by reading her lips, she said, "Oh, my gosh." Can you imagine the organization in this campaign!
Absurd.

The McCain campaign has racked up another blooper which is par for the course.

[ParanoidPollyanna]

How long before Cindy is digging into John's stash of AMBIEN PM? Man, i'd be staying zonked out of my skull, if I had to listen to the same dumb speeches, day after day, week after week from him!

[Twinkie]

That's kind of sick isn't it? If I was a parent of one of those kids I'd be well annoyed.

[stargazer13]

Did all the parents give there permission for this .

using our country's children like this is beyond the pale in my book .

Bad Form Bad Form Bad Form !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it,s a said day in America when this kinda thing happens .

I will vote in five days and it won,t be for McCain

Peace From The Great State Of Utah P.S. I ,m dreaming of a landslide in Nov 08

[Dynamohum]

I can only imagine that some of those kids parents did not give permission for them to be there. I guess kids for Obama were held captive. If you watch the video, pay attention to the kids behind McCain and listen carefully at their reactions to what he is saying. He should be embarrased and ashamed. I thought there were laws that prohibited schools having political rallies or participated directly in campaigns.

[massager]

I'm sure you are right about this. Are there any lawyers in the audience?

[tenilla]

Daily Kos printed the Defiance, Ohio schools' policy on political activity and what happened
today violated the by-laws.

The Defiance public schools' website said that the rally took place at a school, but a picture
at the Daily Kos website clearly shows that the rally was at a community center.

[littledogs1]

What is up with this school district, arnt they supposed to be educating kids in their tax payer funded school? What the hell, I mean did they feel they could all just scip a day of education to help the republican candidate look like he can fill an audiance without his side kick six pack Sarah. I am disapointed in John Mccain so much, he is a man wihtout honor, now I hear that he has taken the breaks off rev wright, and the republican 527 will be airing wright adds in all states starting tomorrow , and just when you think that John Mccain could sink no longer he does. At what length is this man willing to go to be president, he can't win on the issues so he has run the lowest campain in recent history, today I saw an add with islamic music playing in the background and the underlining message was that Obama is a muslim, John Mccain, you should quit before you damage your brand to the point where it won't matter if you win, you won't be able to govern.

[Daly]

to late

[reena]

Mccain is so desperate, all he could find to fill up space was kids. what a pathetic old man. what kind of a role model is he? If they took my kids I will be suing them.