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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC Political Researcher



Another McCain aide out

Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2008 4:19 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: ,

From NBC/NJ’s Carrie Dann
NBC NEWS has confirmed that another McCain aide, Doug Davenport, has resigned because of his lobbying ties to the Myanmar government’s military junta.

"Mr. Davenport has tendered his resignation and we have accepted it," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers writes.

The Atlantic's Ambinder reported: “Doug Davenport, the regional campaign manager for the mid-Atlantic states, founded the DCI Group's lobbying practice and oversaw the contract with Myanmar in 2002. …He joins former DCI Group CEO Doug Goodyear, who resigned yesterday from the post of convention CEO after Newsweek reported that DCI was paid more than $300,000 to represent Myanmar's ruling junta.

“Goodyear and Davenport were recruited by McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, who has been accused by some current and former McCain advisers of take insufficient care of McCain's reformer brand by appointing lobbyists to key positions. Ironically, as Newsweek reported, Goodyear was asked to become convention CEO after Davis's lobbying firm partner, Paul Manafort, was nixed because of his own close ties to foreign governments and controversial companies.”

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Get ready McCain, now it's your turn to go under the media scrutiny.  It's your turn to get exposed. The nation will see that McCain is your typical politician with his own self-serving agendas.
Uh Oh!

Team Obama will not only have to drag McCain, and his sorry campaign staff along for the Barack Show in the GE, but McGimme-more, needs to hire Obama's people to moonlight as his campaign managers too!!
You know when obama says McCain is not as 'clean' as he claims, there are solid facts. The lobbists and special interests have started to run away. there must be many more aligned to McCain in other connections. America needs to change the way politics operate in Washignton - and only Obama can bring real change.
Well, McCain probably had no idea these people were lobbying for Maynmar.

But McCain should fire his campaign manager Rick Davis for letting this happen.
So much for the straight talk express.  Its more like the gray train express.  Both Hillary and McCain have strong lobbyist ties( to their detriment).  With Cindy ( Marie Antoinette) McCain " I will never share my tax returns with the little people" to Mark " the Columbian" Penn the mantle if change can only reside with Obama.  
IF you want more of the same of the last 7 1/w years, McCain is your vote.
If you're a Clinton or Obama fan, then the Dem is your vote, regardless of who wins (which looks pretty much at this point like Obama).
McCain's campaign is owned by lobbyists. He will be owned by a totalitarian dictatorship. We must not vote for this person. The future of this country is at stake.
wow, can't wait to see what filth he'd fill his cabinet with...what a righteous dude he didn't turn out to be...maverick, my butt
Of course no one cares about this! Shh, don't tell us about a conflict of humanitarian rights interest in the McCain camp, Obama knows angry black people!

Ignorance is bliss, unless you're surrounded by it.
No surprise, McPhony is the other Bush in goatskin.
Voting for him i voting for a president to rob America and lobby America on behalf of the world, including warlords of the world.
To the Dems that claim they will vote for McCain if their candidate doesn't win, take a really deep breath.  Although you might be absolutely hating the other Democratic candidate right now, they will be the best chance you have in seeing this country get back on track concerning the economy, domestic and foreign policy.  John McCain is trying to differentiate himself from Pres. Bush on rhetoric, but his policy views are a mirror-image of George Bush!
Republican lobbists for dictators and despots is not new. We have a long national history of supporting right wing groups. We jump in bed with them, sell them arms, and then when the people finally revolt we call them left-wing terrorists. We then create a whole new population against us and wonder how it happened. The expression "losing one's bearings" refers to direction, not age. Apparently not only John but his campaign has lost its bearings. Or has it?
I'm sticking with Obama because he really seems to care.  Upon reflection I can help but think "Wow!  We're about to elect a black man to be president of the United States..." and even more remarkable is that race is NOT an issue here.  I never thought in my wildest dreams this would ever happen.  This is on par with the moon shot.
Well isn't this beginning to make Rev. Wright and Bosnian Sniper Fire look rather quaint.

Doesn't the Republican party have a history of supporting Military Dicatorships?  Pakistan, El Salvador, Chile...shall I go on?

If you like more of the same of the last 7 years then by all means vote McBush.  If you want to get rid of this sleazy and corrupt entrenched mindset, vote for the Democratic nominee.  

Unite and stop this horror!
McCAIN FOR PRESIDENT OF MYANMAR/BURMA!!!

Hmmmmmm.......McCain makes a big deal of a Hamas leader saying he'd like to see Obama win (funny how our allies and enemies around the world all favor Obama, be they in Europe or the Mideast).

Yet unlike the McCain campaign officials massive lobbying on behalf of the evil Burmese junta that chooses to watch their own citizens die instead of let foreigners into the country, Obama's campaign gurus didn't lobby or take money from Hamas.

AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING LIKE HILLARY'S FORMER PALS @ SNL (former because last night Amy Poehler stuck the knife in)....

WHEN WILL THE MEDIA GET OUT OF THE TANK AND START REPORTING ON THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN'S LOBBYIST-LED CAMPAIGN. PERHAPS THE "STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS" ONLY MAKES STOPS ON K STREET?

ELM WROTE: Well, McCain probably had no idea these people were lobbying for Maynmar.

thats the problem.  he has a bunch people working for him have no interest at all in his campaign.  they are trying to protect their access to barrles of gold.  

A bunch of crooks.  You watch and see.  McCain will not be able to control his followers because basically he has known.
Anyone who would ask America to vote for him solely on the basis that he was a POW is no Maverick!  He acts like he gave of himself in return for the good of this country.  His plane got shot down and he was captured - he did not go voluntarily.  
This is why we have to start paying more attention to McCain.  He is getting away with murder while the DEMs are infighting.  This man cannont be allowed in the White House!  Lets UNITE Democrats!!!
So where is McCain's statement about these characters he surrounded himself with?  If he doesn't know who is working for him or anything about their background, why did he hire them?  And why did it take an exposé article for them to resign?  McCain is just like Bush - he cannot take responsibility for anything unless it makes him look good.  He blathers on and on about lobbyists, pork barrel spending, special interests, the war, and yet he's long been, and is, a big part of the problem in Washington.  He's a major insider working for special interests because they pay him handsomely.  When he repeatedly uses that worn-out phrase, "my friends", he really means it.  Except that he's really addressing his lobbyist and special donor friends - not the general public.  We're not his friends.  We're citizens who vote and citizens who are fed up with Bush's version of democracy - which is no version at all.  McCain is Bush all over again, with just a slightly different group of special interests driving his campaign.  
Notice how McCain seeks out these shady lobbyist and Ministers.  They are not looking for him, he is looking for them!  He does what is politically expedient for himself... He will NOT TELL YOU THE TRUTH!  He will tell you want is politically expedient...  NO MAVERICK...
Hi,
I just took The Bush-McCain Challenge -- an online quiz to see if you can tell the difference between George W. Bush and John McCain. Check it out, and see if you can do any better than I did!
http://Bush-McCainChallenge.com/?rc=tafbonus

Surround yourself, Mr. McCain, with lobbyists and this is what you get.
So does this mean that the government of Myanmar endorses John McCain. More importantly, does this mean that John McCain endorses the government of Myanmar? It seems McCain's Myanmar connection is much more solid and concrete than any connection of Obama to Hamas.
FIRST READ:
Where's the story about the resignation of the Obama advisor who had been "talking" with Hamas?
Ah, the republicans as I know and love them!  Greedy and Corrupt!
The Republican party had an opportunity to do great things for this country, with their absolute majority in th House the Senate and even the Supreme Court as well as having the White House. What did they choose to do with it?  Well does Corruption ring a bell. Where's Tom Delay, Sen Cunningham, Cong. Lewis(under investigation) and the list goes on and on and on. And none of the Republicans still in office can escape the blame, because they all voted for all of it.  Now they just Block everything the Democrats try to do because the Dems don't have an absolute majority.  So vote for McBush and continue the Bush Cheney era.  Isn't it sweet what they have done FOR this Country.      
McCain has always branded himself a Maverick. One who goes against the grain for his beliefs. Does any one remember the way Dubya and his cronies "Swift Boated" McCain? They called him a liar, said he was un-patriotic. It was disgusting the way they did him...they tried to ruin him so the retard W. could get the nomination. NOW, McCain is sucking their hineys trying to get it for himself. Snuggling up to the same vipors that filled his legacy with venom and lies. John McCain=John McSame...how sad.
Seems like McCain is more and more like G.W.Bush every day.  I'm sure Rove and his Swift Boat hacks are in McCains ear, too.  To quote a phrase that Turd-Blossom Rove coined, this candidate is "fatally flawed".
it seems that a repressive military regime is right up john mcsames alley...we know the bushies like them thats why they suck up to other repressive military regimes in Pakistan and other so called allies in the war on terror...mccain is a third bush term...get used to it
Please rid Washington of the Military Industrial complex.  Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY
This is not good news for McCain and he had better do some serious vetting of his campaign staff before Obama turns the spotlight on him.  He has more than his share of losers on his staff. Every time an aid flight for Burma gets turned away, people will  wonder what McCain's aides did for the paranoid lunatics who make Kim Jong Il look normal.
Not surprising! It merely shows that Mc Cain and Clintron have alot  in common. Time for a change!
recalling mc cain was pow in a north vietnam govt that could compare to burma's treatment of the democratically elected aug sung sui chi prisonment for twice as long, seems explaining evils to make gop right again is lost forever now in mc cains'life as in his party's dying days. how did americans get so corrupted. american downunder
"If Hillary isn't the nominee, then I'll vote McCain." Do you idiots who say that see what you are getting yourselves into with McWalkingCane here? You threaten to vote for this sleazy lobbyist-grubbing old timer but two lobbyists in one day? Get over your racism against Obama unless you want to continue this same old crap for 4 more years of Bush. Vote democrat with your head, stop threatening to vote against democrats with your heart just because your candidate didn't win.
What about Charlie Black??? formerly of Black, Manafort, Store.  This is the tip of the iceberg.  
HUSSEIN OBAMA


I have felt for sometime now that Obama is the one person
that 'Frightens Me'. I believe the Bible
has warned us that 'A man will come from the East that will be
charismatic in nature and have proposed solutions
for all our problems and
his rhetoric will attract will many supporters!'

When will our pathetic
Nation quit turning their back on God and understand that this man is 'A
Muslim'....First, Last and always....and we are AT WAR with the Muslim Nation,
whether our bleeding-heart, secular, Liberal friends believe it or not.
This man fits every description from the
Bible of the 'Anti-Christ'!

I'm just glad to know that there are others that are
frightened by this man!

Semper
Fidelis, Chuck

'Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater
Infinitas' 'Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever'
- United States Marines -


Who is Barack Obama?

Very interesting and something that should be considered in your
choice.

If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this
to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us
here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share
it.

http://snopes.com ' confirms this is factual.

Check for yourself.


Who is Barack Obama?

Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was
born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from
Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHEIST from Wichita ,
Kansas.

Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to
Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from
Indonesia.

When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocate to
Indonesia.
Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta.
He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a
Muslim. He is quick to point out that, 'He
was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic
school.'

Obama's political handlers are
attempting to make it appear that that he is not a radical.

Obama's
introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this
influence was temporary at best. In reality, the
senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the
divorce, and never again had any direct influence
over his son's education.

Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann
Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam.
Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta

Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the
Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.
Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major
public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he
was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran.

Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegiance nor will he
show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag
and slouches. Do you want someone like this as your
PRESIDENT?

Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected
presidential candidacy.

The Muslims have said they plan on destroying
the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level
- through the President of the United States, one of their own!

Please
forward to everyone you know. Would you want this man leading our
country?...... NOT ME!!!



Barack has run far and away the best campaign.
My friends, I will tell you the truth, I had no choice but to work with this lobbyists coz i had no money for my campaign at the beginning and i was no ready to use my wife's money for it coz i never tout i was gonna win the nomination....My friends i promise you i will sake all of them one after the other and i will be ready to use my wealth and the money the ordinary people donated to my campaign..My friends thank you..
Mccain...Straight talk express
how far is it true that juan mcain beat his former wife due to his hot temper?
McCain you are trying to pretend like you're so innocent and squeaky clean!  You're just as dirty as Clinton!  

Obama for President!
McSame, might want to vet his campaign a little bit better.  I guess all of that Washington EXPERIENCE is paying off again.

Ketting 5, now this.  And he wants to shout about Ear Marks. Ha.

Old Man Shout at Clouds
I hope the American put aside race, and look at etics, in the end all will see Barack Obama as the only candidate who can get America back to its real fort as world leader. He will get the respect of all including Al Quida, Iran, North Korea, China and All the people of the not so Free World.
Why does it NOT surprise me that Mcshame's people are tied to the Myamar junta?  They, like many Repblicans, are 1.) not squeamish about helping squash democracy, and 2.) don't mind making money off the poor people's misery---until it becomes known, anyway.
McCain gets no scrutiny from the press.  It's one story after another of underhanded money making schemes or influence peddling that gets about as much attention as a thunderstorm report.  Corporate heads, including those of the major media don't want a Barack Obama presidency.
This is just the tip of the iceburg.  The straight talk express is going to sink like the Titanic!
Not only should we review the candidate, but also we should review staff history as well.  There have been problems in all the campaigns.  Clinton had one at least; possibly there were more.  Obama had Power leave after some comments among others.  McCain's campaign isn't immune either.  


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