Obama looks to McCain for bail-out

The Obama campaign is upset with John McCain far failing to defend Obama from charges leveled by Jerome Corsi in his new book, “The Obama Nation.” But since when is it the job of a presidential candidate to comment on the substance of a book he presumably hasn’t read containing largely obscure allegations about his opponent’s life that he is no position to assess?

To be sure, McCain has a history of excessively defending Democrats. For example, in 2004 McCain denounced a book by Corsi about John Kerry’s service in Vietnam. But there are important differences between the two situations beyond the fact that McCain is a candidate, not a bystander, this time. First, Kerry is, or at the time was, a friend of McCain’s. Second, the charges against Kerry pertained to Vietnam, a subject near-and-dear to McCain’s heart. The fact that McCain rallied (albeit over-generously) to the defense of a fellow Vietnam vet should not create a presumption that he will defend someone like Obama who never served in the military and has associated himself with vile anti-Americans like Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers.

When asked about Corsi’s book on Obama, McCain replied “Gotta keep your sense of humor.” McCain later said he had misheard the question and thought it was about a television ad. The Obama campaign, discounting the truth of McCain’s explanation, responded:

While the smears piled up and the lies were exposed, John McCain spent six days in silence and on the seventh day said we should have a sense of humor. John McCain’s response to this discredited book speaks volumes — he is a George Bush candidate running a Karl Rove campaign with a Dick Cheney sense of humor

Message to the Obama campaign: if you want McCain to help you, it’s better not to call McCain a liar and then attack him with a string of far-fetched comparisons.

Second message to the Obama campaign: gotta keep your sense of humor.

To comment on this post, go here.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses