McCain: A Dukakis-in-a-tank moment?

Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:26 AM by Mark Murray

The New York Times' Maureen Dowd points out a visual contrast this week that's going to be remembered for some time. "The image of John McCain in a golf cart with Bush 41 in Kennebunkport — with Poppy charmingly admitting that they were ‘a little jealous’ of all the Obama odyssey coverage — was not a good advertisement for the future, especially contrasted with the shots of Gen. David Petraeus and Obama smiling at each other companionably in a helicopter surveying Iraq. (Asked by a Democratic lawmaker a while back why there weren’t more Democrats in the military, General Petraeus smiled slyly and said ‘there are more than you think.’)"

In a separate piece, the New York Times’ Stanley also writes on the visual contrasts. "It wasn’t a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief."

More: “While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents’ Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir.”

VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel discusses whether attacking the media is a smart political move for John McCain.

And: “Mr. McCain’s surrogates complained bitterly about the Obama news blitz; on Tuesday the McCain campaign put out a Web video mocking reporters’ doting coverage with a montage of anchors’ gauzy looks and glowing praise set to the tune of the Frankie Valli hit ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.’ But it’s not pro-Obama bias in the news media that’s driving the effusion of coverage, it’s the news: Mr. Obama’s weeklong tour of war zones and foreign capitals is noteworthy because it is so unusual to see a presidential candidate act so presidential overseas. Mr. Obama looks supremely confident and at home talking to generals and heads of state, so much so that some viewers may find the pose presumptuous — as if Mr. Obama believes that not only is his official nomination at the Democratic convention in August a mere formality, so is the November election."

Asked by CBS’s Katie Couric whether he believes he’d had unfair media coverage, McCain replied: “I don't think so. I think … it is what it is. I'm a big boy. And I'm enjoying every minute of the campaigning. And I'm certainly not complaining. And, in fact, I think it’s fun to watch."

Couric then asked: “Do you think your campaign simply isn't as adept as Senator Obama's when it comes to facilitating media coverage?”

McCain replied: “No, I think my campaign's doing fine. We're two or three points behind. We're doing fine. I'm very happy with where we are. Sen. Obama has run a very successful campaign, gaining the nomination of his party, and attracting the attention of many people. I'm happy. We're putting one foot ahead of the other. I'm happy with where we are. I relish the underdog. And I'm confident we're gonna be victorious. I'm very happy with my campaign. I'm very happy with where we are. Love the town hall meetings and I love the kind of campaigning we're doing.”

The Washington Post's Kurtz tackles the age issue through the prism of how the media's dealing with it. McCain "has been making a series of verbal slips -- invariably described as ‘gaffes’ -- that are starting to ricochet from liberal blogs to the mainstream media. And fairly or not, some critics are suggesting the 71-year-old Republican candidate is showing his age."

The Wall Street Journal looks at the message makeover the campaign has received from Steve Schmidt.

On a less busy news day or even a news week or news month, the story of this GOP donor named Craig Berkman, who swindled folks out of millions in business deals, could be a bigger story.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

NO WAY!!! Where is the Couric/CBS story of McCain's Gaffe regarding the Sunni Awakening!!!!!!! And CBS's attempt to cover it ( the Gaffe ) up!!!!!!! If BO had made such mistakes, the MSM would be riding him on it until November!!!!!!

sjl (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:32 AM)

If anybody reminds us of Michael Dukakis, it's Barack "I never served my country and I want TALK with terrorists" Obama.
Please, spare us the cheerleading and the propagandizing.

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:34 AM)

The Bush and McCain Middle East policy is built upon two underlying assumptions:
( 1 ) The longer America’s deeply resented military intrusions in Middle East countries continue, the more the people in those and neighboring countries will agree with our political and economic positions.
( 2 ) American military and political difficulties in those countries will therefore improve with time.

In the depths of war built upon such faulty premise, it is no wonder that Bush and McCain continue to struggle to spin positive developments after the expenditure of so much time, so much fortune and so many lives.

Gregory Peek, Birmingham, Alabama (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:37 AM)

first read you do it again, reminding us of things like this. never that of the golf cart as a dukakis moment but when you think about it, I guess it is. I doubt this will bring mccain down though

Video: McCains Daughter doesnt think mccains getting unfair media treatment, media party
http://sensico.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/media-unfair-to-mccain-meghan-mccain-seems-to-differ/
or
http://sensico2.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-blogs.html

camie (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:37 AM)

CBS doctors what a presidential candidate has to say about the Iraq War. This guys is what most of our corporate mainstream media has turned into. There was a time when the media used to belong to we, the people. Well, it just keeps us wanting to fight more for Senator Obama.

What a great guest Richard Lewis is for Keith Olbermann to have on Countdown. The timing was perfect. He is both hysterical and honest; he speaks from his heart. And he obviously loves Countdown as much as we all do.

The million dollar question Mr. Lewis asks: What can't we vote for a reasonable person? Just because he's intelligent, it doesn't mean we can't have a beer with him. It's time, after 8 years. Just be reasonable. It's our country. Bingo.

If we vote for an actor and a cowboy, then that's what we're going to get - nothing more, nothing less. And Senator McCain? He believes Senator Obama wants to lose the war? He is getting very old. And very desperate. Not a very patriotic thing to say, now is it? Actually, it was a disgusting thing to say.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:37 AM)

Pretty snarky, First Read! Do you prefer that we still have someone like Bush stumbling around the world creating enemies and embarrassing the Office? I think smart and confident are precisely what we need right now. This was much better for us as a nation than having McCain with Lieberman standing as close h as humanely possible whispering the correct terminology in his ear.

sotiredofignorance (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:40 AM)

McBush should be enjoying the spotlight being elsewhere, considering every time he speaks, he gaffes BIG. Luckily he still has his base, teh MSM, to sweep it all under the rug. Just another senior moment folks, nothing to see, keep it moving.

Kate, Atlanta (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:42 AM)

Two wealthy old men in a golf cart. Just what America needs for leadership.

Houston (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:46 AM)

Mccains surrogates can complain all they want, there just isn't anything newsworthy about mccain, unless you consider his constant blunders exposing his ignorance on any and every issue. (Of which the press gives him a free ride.) His "surge" mantra sounds about like "rudy 9/11", and we all know where that got rudy9/11. Take a nap mccain, no one is listening.

Steve A Jonesboro IN (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:46 AM)

.....and when McCain went to Iraq, the media hardly made notice of it.
The media is CHEERLEADING for Obama. They want a story to write about, and having a hero, former POW for a President is too "regular" for them.
The coverage of this campaign is overtly slanted in Obama's favor.
It is grossly unfair to the American people, that we should get THIS kind of media coverage on something as important as a Presidential election.
NOBODY has pointed out that the words, and the phrase..."the surge isn't working"...was pulled off of the Obama website prior to his trip to Iraq.
The trio of obamaNIACS who run this website didn't even pick up on that.
WHY was this omitted from Obama's website before he went there?
Doesn't Obama believe in the things he says? Doesn't he stand by his own validictions?
Apparently not......and the media, to include FIRST READ let's him get away with it.
It's time for the media to police itself. Honest, impartial, disinterested parties must start calling out venues such as FIRST READ on their BIAS, UNFAIR, DISHONEST, and SLANTED coverage of this election.
In short, the media nees to take a dose of "truth serum" and it needs to start being more intellectually honest with itself.

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:47 AM)

McCain is the epitomy of an old LOOOOOOOSER. Barack Obama has shown terrific judgement and cool character throughout this campaign. McCain is the total of a big nothing new. I can't wait for the debates. McCain is going to explode. He will absolutely show the nation that he is not presidential material.

bill, okla (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:51 AM)

HA! I saw that photo op this AM of 41 and McCheese.

Yeah, McCheese looks like he's a man of the people.

Did anyone see the Jib Jab video? Everytime I see McCheese now I think of that scene where McCheese is singing about his candidacy.

MI Chick (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:51 AM)

"Asked by a Democratic lawmaker a while back why there weren’t more Democrats in the military, General Petraeus smiled slyly and said ‘there are more than you think."

Absolutely agree. On the military bases I've seen lately, I'm noticing Obama bumperstickers. Haven't seen one for McCain yet. I've even seen one Fred bumpersticker, but none for McCain.

Paul Miller, Woodbridge, VA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:54 AM)

You know, I try not to buy into conspiracy theoies. I really do. But I'm really gonna have to look into the one about "corporate media" in the take for the "corporate candidate" John McCain.

The suppression of John McCain's interview with Katie Couric is pretty impressive evidence. Kind of scary.

McCain’s confusion on Iraq goes from embarrassing to scandalous
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16288.html

Nashville_fan (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:00 AM)

Hellboy wants your children too....
Drafting soldiers for his cause of freedom is easier than picking a VP....

It Could Happen (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:03 AM)

McCain deserves much more media coverage because the voters really need to know how he processes information. Forget the biography, the low "information voter" deserves to know how McCain thinks about, remembers and uses facts. McCain scares me and the MSM keeps saying everybody knows John McCain. We don't need to spend time covering his story. WRONG!

Robert, Virginia (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:04 AM)

I am LAUGHING at McCain along with the rest of the country for the pitiful campaign he is running where Re-pukelicans look like whiners, liars, and incompetent once again.

What a sad, old, foolish person is McSame.

Thank the lord that we will finally get some good and decent leadership into the White House for the first time in 8 long years my friends...

Lew Wright, Issaquah, WA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:04 AM)

In your First Read email blast this morning, "Problematic body language" you said this, "(Side thought: Why does McCain think belittling his own press corps is a good idea? But we digress.)" So are you saying that if the McCain doesn't say nice things about the press then you won't say nice things about him? Naughty, naughty, that's not how the free press is to behave. If we are trust that you are reporting the news unbiasedly, then you need to insulate yourselves (especially you liberal NBC reporters) to personal attacks. Keep your personal politics to yourself.

Mary G. Jackson, Wyoming (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:05 AM)

When a politician or his staff complain about the media they are playing with fire. The media has the power to make a politician look good or bad. Mess with them and they mess with you. It has happened to politicians way back at the beginnings of this great nation and still happens.

If someone in the McCain camp is jealous of the coverage Obama is getting than they should have their guy do something newsworthy so he can get coverage.

It is comical how the McCain bunch whine that Obama doesn't go on the trip to the Middle East and Europe and then when he does they complain that he did. People notice this stuff and it isn't looking good for John Sidney McCain III.

The candidate is not complaining he says his campaign is doing fine. Of course the old fellow repeats it several times as if trying to convince himself or could it be because elderly people who are in the early stages of dementica forget what they just said and say it again and again? Gives one cause to wonder if there really is something to the concerns about old Johnny's age after all.

eagles02, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:06 AM)

Maybe McCain would get more coverage when he talks about something other than Obama?

Think of it this way. When the Obama camp is talking about Obama, and the McCain camp is talking about Obama, which candidate do you expect to get more coverage?

Obviously Obama is the more interesting of the two - he's even got McCain fixated.

Paul Miller, Woodbridge, VA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:07 AM)

You know I find it odd that before Obama's trip the press was wondering if Obama could pull off looking Presidential and now the press is complaining that he looks too Presidential...why is being confident and proving that you are actually prepared on the issues acting presumptious?

RY, Chicago, IL (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:10 AM)

".....and when McCain went to Iraq, the media hardly made notice of it."

-----------------------------------------------------

Uncle Fluffy didn't invite the media to travel with him. And if he did, how much worse would it have been for him when he made his Shia-Sunni gaffes?

If the media is cheerleading Obama as you claim Uncle Fluffy should thank his lucky stars that they are as his references towards defending Czechoslovakia and his secret Iraq-Pakistan border would be receiving far more scrutiny.

The McCain campaign isn't helping things when they do stuff like this...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/mccain-camp-jab.html

How would you feel if you were a reporter and somebody just smacked you in the face as the "JV Squad"?

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:12 AM)

In short, the media nees to take a dose of "truth serum" and it needs to start being more intellectually honest with itself.
J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY

*****************************************************
You might start with yourself and then look in the mirror and ask yourself if you really want the next four years to be like the last eight. If the answer is yes, you are either rich or you should move to Iraq or Afghanistan for a while to get the real flavor of what we are doing to those people. It's no wonder why they want us to leave: we should never have been there in the first place and we should never elect another Republican as President again.

She's A MAN! (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:15 AM)

This trip has been a success for Obama. His command of the stage is fabulous and i like the way he navigated the whole middle east.

Bee (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:16 AM)

Of course, the Sunni awakening is the reason for the relative stability we have in Iraq at this time. Former Asst. Sec'y of Defense (under Reagan) Korb believes this to be the case. Anyone who knows about guerrilla warfare knows that the guerrillas (Al Qaeda) will have success only as long as the underlying population supports them. The American troops with or without our surge would not have been able to succeed without the change in allegiance by the Sunni chieftains (they rec'd money from the U.S. and were tired of living under the religious fanaticism imposed by Al Qaeda). John McCain has no right to take credit for the present course of events in Iraq which at best, is a repair (temporary, at that) of an unstable condition brought about an illegal invasion of a sovereign state that offered no threat to the U.S. This whole claim to some sort of victorious strategy by McCain is the most twisted logic I have ever seen; and the MSM buys it!...fools that they are!

McCain thinks of the world in terms of the U.S. against the world of islamofacism 'who hate us for our freedoms' – sound familiar? What a crock of sh*t. There are criminals (Al Qaeda) who must be dealt with aggressively - as we would deal with any criminals and there is the rest of the Islamic world which is as fearful of us as we are of them (and really the only Islamic state gov't. that helped the band of criminals, was that of our supposed ally, the Bush family buddies, Saudi Arabia. It was they who funneled funds into the band of criminals - funds provided by the U.S. who is a slave to foreign sources of fossil fuels).

So the way I see it, our goal should not be to stay in Iraq forever to prevent the inevitable Civil War which will likely install another Sunni dictator like Saddam but to leave and commit our troops to the border of Afghanistan/Pakistan (yes Senator McCain, that is the border of interest) and attempt to go after Al Qaeda where they live.

Secondly, instead of trying to continue our dependence on fossil fuels (which will run out soon enough and result in global warming), we should embark on 'an Apollo' type project spoken about by Al Gore and even T. Boone Pickens, to convert to alternative energy sources (this should be able to be accomplished in the same time that it would take to realize any benefit from new off shore drilling). This new energy industry would not only unleash our dependence on fossil fuels but would be a boon to our sagging economy (in so many ways - use your imagination).

If you like the current way of approaching problems, the Republican way, then by all means vote for McCain but a vote for the future, for new thinking and new solutions is most certainly a vote for Barack Obama.
Obama/Biden '08

Mitchell Feldman, Vestal, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:17 AM)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/22/mccain-gets-history-of-th_n_114419.html

McShame gets Pass after pass and people like Joe S go on and spend 3 hrs talking about the damm Surge for McShame. There is more to war except winning and losing McShame and Joe S. What about Afganistan?? What about The US?? The Troops and their families??? What about The GI bill McShame did not sign??
Now thats real support McShame.

Obama shows over and over he is the real deal. You Dont differ to generals to make decisions McShame. You take their advice and then make a Plan. McShame is such a disaster. Looking at hi makes me sick with that swollen alien on his face.
Give us a break McShame lovers. Wake up...

Nj (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:17 AM)

The Sunni Awakening Gaffe, was all over CNN last night. I was amazed that the Media hasn't been more forthcoming and outspoken over this. It proves McCain is losing it! Saying the Surge was successful beacause it created conditions that led to the Sunni Awakening, when it is a FACT that the Sunni Awakening took place 6 months before the Surge began! How anyone can vote for this guy is beyond me!

Pat Huntington NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:20 AM)

Obama is dumb, ignorant, moron and he has no experience or any sense. He is not going to win, not because he is black but b/c he doesn't have the sense god gave him. He is a muslim terrorist anyway!

Phyllis Galecki, New York, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:20 AM)

J Merle get a clue. McShame didnt invite anyone AND The Dems primary was going on. Remember???
McShame is a complete embarrassment. You must be one of those bitter feminists who want McShame because Hill lost. She ran a terrible campaign and left with 25 Mill in debts. Is this what you wanted???
How can you vote for a GOP when you are supposed to be a dem??
Hill and Obama have almost EXACTLY the same stances on all issues so why vote for an Old Man who cant remember where his Depends are???
Admitt it that you wanted Hill just because she is a woma and thats it and now you are bitter.
GET A LIFE.
Vote for McShame and you vote for the end of The US as we know it

Nj (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:22 AM)

I guess McCain and Bush don't have anything more pressing to do than play golf. Didn't Bush vow to give up golf in honor of our fallen in Iraq?

Bee in Tennessee (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:22 AM)

Who is the elitist in this campaign?

McCain drives in in a golf cart at a country club with and ex-pres of US.

Obama drives to the airport with the King of Jordan.

mark, salem, ct (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:29 AM)

The Military seems to have no doubts about Barack's
C-I-C credentials. We know Barack is getting way more donations than Mcsurge from the military ranks. We also saw the videos of how the troops responded to Barack in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mcsurge is losing the one issue about which he thought he had an advantage in this campaign - foreign policy/national security.

worldcitizen (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:30 AM)

The McCain campaign is losing the election by showing McCain as a tired, grumpy, complaining & whining old man. The golf cart thing was terrible, they use a song from the 50s in his rallies (even if it is Chuck Berry), they show him as a POW, they show the 60s.

Terrible, terrible strategy by Mccain. All they are doing is showing the past . . . offering nothing new.

What ever happened to the McCain of 2000? I guess it's called old age.

Tom Kaye (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:33 AM)

I'm surprised you were able to get that CBS quote out since it seems as though CBS has manipulated a Katie Couric interview to "cover" another John Sydney McCain III gaffe... this one involving the history of the Sunni Awakening in contrast to the "surge".

Benny, SFBayArea, California (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:33 AM)

The video of the geezers in the golf cart is a classic. Especially on split screen with Obama. Waaaaaa!!!

Gotta love it! (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:49 AM)

Whys is it so hard for People like J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY above to understand that Barack Obama is a new comer on the political circuit and is more interesting to cover than John McCain who has been on the scene for the last 24 years? People are just beginning to learn about Senator Obama, so, yes, he's easier to cover and write about. He's also the first African American to have gotten this far in the electoral process. That, in itself, is news. Also, McCain can't really complain about the coverage being given to Obama on his overseas trip, since it was McCain, himself, who kept hammering away that Obama should TAKE the trip. (Careful what you wish for Senator) Although I agree that there isn't one single news organization in existence today that is covering this election in a fair and balanced way, I can understand why more attention is being paid to Obama, rather than McCain. McCain's been in the Senate for the past 24 years. What kind of legislation has he PASSED that involves the current housing, energy, or economic problems facing Americans today? That might be new worthy......oh, that's right, he hasn't done anything about those things in the past 24 years. See? He could have been creating his own headlines for the past 24 years! Sorry John, time's up, but thanks for playing.

Diane from Illinois (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:53 AM)

Why would McCain have his picture taken with a retired president on a golf course, to remind us how old he is?

I thought it was a retirement savings ad.

His presidency would be another clown show like GW's.

A Charles, LA, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:57 AM)

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:34 AM)

And how does CBS editing McCain's interview so that he gets to appear to be saying what he meant rather than saying what he said fit into your view?
That was very kind of them.

Gary Schear, bozeman Montana (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:58 AM)

J Merle of 9:47,
Look, the media (as clearly done by CBS just yesterday by NOT showing the Anbar Awakening gaffe) is doing John McCain a lot of favors by not showing his errors. Or, worse, not reporting them.
This specific trip is highlighted because Senator McCain basically asked for it to be highlighted. He thought Senator Obama would trip and fall, and NEVER did he think that Patreus and Obama would be captured on film smiling at each other.

McCain called the bluff and Obama took it. Unfortunately, for McCain, he just doesn't have the cards.

One other thing - you may think the media is all over Obama, and in a way, I think you're correct. But they highlight every little negative, even to the point of becoming experts in terms of who hs a lot of testoterone. Just yeterday, Andrea Mitchell said that Obama is acting "cocky." So, as much as you'd like to think that the media is in bed with Obama, if you take an honest look, you'll see that Obama may get a lot of attention, but they're all there waiting for the mistake. He just isn't making them, making it all good for the Senator from Illinois.
By the way, do you think that all of this coverage makes it a competitive race in Arizona of all places? Because the latest Zogby poll shows Obama is virtually neck and neck in that southwest state.

Roofin Reality, Houston, Tx. (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:02 AM)

Hey, is it true that McCain and Bush rode that cart shopping for diapers together? I do however feel that they are correct in pointing out that the media hasn't covered the candidates fairly. Everyday Gramps mis-speaks and incorrectly spews policies contrary to an earlier statement, and the news media simply "oh gosh" it away for McCain. They should cover his every word and hold him accountable just as they do for Obama.

Never once did McCain or anyone else for that matter complain when the coverage was bad.......like the endless loops of the good Rev. Wright. Not one word from Gramps or the Repukes on that one. So Hannity and Grandpa time ought to shut their cake holes now. Take the good with the bad. It's just like them taunting Obama to go overseas.....now that he did it (and hit a grand slam), they accuse him of taking politics overseas. Gimme a break.

Joe, PA voter (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:04 AM)

McCain's "Dukakis" moment is the photo of him touring an Iraqi street dressed in a flak jacket surrounded by soldiers and protected by helicoptors, as compared to Obama's business clothes and cheering crowds.

Robert, Beckley, WV (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:05 AM)

STAY OFF MY GRASS

Grandpa John (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:14 AM)

In MCCain's own words "I'm certainly NOT complaining";
then who is??? That's all you hear anymore, is about the media picking on him!!! Boo, hoo!!!!!
If you want the media to be totally FAIR, HONEST AND UNBIASED, then MCCain would go down faster than he will now for all the gaffe's and lies he's told!! By the way, the media change would have to include FOX, wouldn't it???

Let's go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KJ, GULFPORT, FL (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:20 AM)

That golf cart pic sums it all up...mccain represents the past..the ugly past

Ralph Malph (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:22 AM)

Obama sure looks presidential this week while mcsame and his follies look, well, like follies of an old man

notoldandsenile (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:24 AM)

The contrast between Obama in the Middle East meeting with world leaders and the two old geezers (McBush and Bush 41) riding around in a golf cart needs no words. The pictures speak volumes...the past vs. the future.

Kathy P. (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:25 AM)

Every day of this tour makes me prouder and more hopeful! President Obama - a wonderful eight years awaits all of us. Thank you for all you do and all you are.

Nancy, Las Vegas, Nevada (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:30 AM)

.....and when McCain went to Iraq, the media hardly made notice of it.

Do you mean the time McCain went to Iraq declaring how safe it was and how he could stroll around the market place when in reality he was being followed by armed guards and helicopters were over head - do you mean that trip?

D Rotell - Nampa Idaho (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:30 AM)

I am appalled that CBS would attempt to deceive the public by selectively editing John McCains "wrong once again" comments from a news story. If CBS is not professional enough to separate their political views and affiliations from the truth which the public deserves then they should get out of the news business. Perhaps this is why your ratings their are so poor. CBS would rather see a senile, incapable and delusional person elected President of this country then have a person who is worthy and can no doubt do this job because of the color of his skin. Your disgraceful.

Dee/Warwick (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:37 AM)

What happened to McCain? I used to see him as a man of such great character... the man is losing it.

Obama has shown undeniably that he can be very effective on the world stage, as well as on the domestic front. Looking forward to a better day under President Obama administration.

Kris - Bristol, PA (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:48 AM)

Next >>

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=1216686