So this is how John McCain is going to go out. You can just picture the staff concocting this bizarre argument:
STEVE SCHMIDT: OK, so we say Obama hates old ladies.
MARK SALTER: Yeah, I like it!
STAFFER 1: Damnit. Guys, just got this on my Blackberry. Obama is going off the trail to visit his sick grandmother.
STEVE SCHMIDT: F*CK!!! That guy is GOOD! What now?
MARK SALTER: Obama hates puppies.
STEVE SCHMIDT: No, too trite.
MARK SALTER: Obama hates... umm.... special needs children?
STEVE SCHMIDT: YES! You know why that works? Because Sarah Palin HAS a special needs child! We can have her give a speech, and then get Obama! Oh this is delicious! Run with it!
And thus, no joke, the McCain argument of the day, per the Wall St. Journal:
Looking for fresh ways to press the tax issue, John McCain plans to roll out a new attack against Barack Obama on Friday, claiming the Democrat's plan would increase the burden on families with special needs children.
Except, as with most of the other ridiculous attacks from the McCain campaign, this one has no merit:
Andy Imparato, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, a nonpartisan nonprofit, says he has not heard any complaints from constituents about how the Obama tax plan would affect them."It's my understanding that he'd raise taxes on anyone making more than $250,000. That doesn't seem to single out parents of disabled children," he says.
It's tough to even get angry at the McCain campaign for such low-ball tactics and arguments anymore. Frankly, reading the Journal story, I laughed.
The McCain campaign, in complete disarray, has become a national joke. Today's spin - which amounts to "Barack Obama hates special needs children" - only furthers that notion.
Because, besides the fact that the argument is silly on its face, on a day when futures trading had to be halted, and the market (once again) is on the brink, the McCain campaign thinks the appropriate response is this.