Obama “Lit Into” Ailes At Secret Meeting With Murdoch

Posted by on September 2, 2008 at 3:27 pm. 1 Comments :

Michael Wolff, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, is preparing to release an authorized biography of News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch. The book, appropriately titled “The Man Who Owns The News,” will be out some time between December and February, depending on what source you believe, and the author was given significant access to his subject. In advance of publication Wolff has written an article describing his encounters with the Media Mephistopheles that includes an account of a secret meeting with a reluctant Barack Obama.

“Obama…was snubbing Murdoch. Every time he reached out (Murdoch executives tried to get the Kennedys to help smooth the way to an introduction), nothing. The Fox stain was on Murdoch.”

“It wasn’t until early in the summer that Obama relented and a secret courtesy meeting was arranged. The meeting began with Murdoch sitting down, knee to knee with Obama, at the Waldorf-Astoria.”

This version of events is somewhat curious in that Obama had begun appearing on Fox News as early as January of 2008, six months prior to this meeting. I was highly critical at the time of Obama’s guest shot on “Fox & Friends,” probably the second worst booking he could have made after “The O’Reilly Factor” (on which he has still, so far, declined to appear [Update below]). After an inconsequential chat with Murdoch, Roger Ailes took his place before Obama, and that’s when the fireworks began:

“Obama lit into Ailes. He said that he didn’t want to waste his time talking to Ailes if Fox was just going to continue to abuse him and his wife, that Fox had relentlessly portrayed him as suspicious, foreign, fearsome – just short of a terrorist.”

Ailes, unruffled, said it might not have been this way if Obama had more willingly come on the air instead of so often giving Fox the back of his hand.

A tentative truce, which may or may not have vast historical significance, was at that moment agreed upon.

From the exchange as related here, Obama forthrightly expressed the precise reasons that he was disinclined to show Fox News any respect. But as I noted above, he was not uniformly able to maintain his will power to say “no” to Fox.

However, it is Ailes’ response that is striking in its arrogance. By suggesting that Obama’s standoffish position with regard to Fox resulted in the rancidly slanderous coverage, Ailes is in effect blaming Obama for the dirty work for which Ailes himself is responsible. He is also admitting that the coverage was as predominately negative as Obama contended. That, of course, validates Obama’s decision to stay away from the network in the first place. And perhaps worse than any of that, Ailes is implying that he orchestrated the bad press as revenge for Obama not accepting Fox’s invitations to be abused on their air. Ailes has thus confessed that he believes that it is appropriate for a journalist to bash public figures who don’t obey a demand to appear. This is a position that Bill O’Reilly himself articulated when he threatened Democrats that, “If you dodge us, it is at your peril.” Fox is to journalism what Capone was to the beverage industry.

Elsewhere in the article, Wolff offers some insight into what he believes is an evolving Murdoch who may not be as enamored with either Ailes or O’Reilly as he once was.

“Fox has been his alter ego. For a long time he was in love with the Fox chief, Roger Ailes, because he was even more Murdoch than Murdoch. And yet now the embarrassment can’t be missed-he mumbles even more than usual when called on to justify it; he barely pretends to hide the way he feels about Bill O’Reilly.”

This allegedly stormy forecast for these media titans echoes a report last June in Gawker that queried whether Murdoch was about to fire Ailes. I struck down that theory at the time, and I stand by my position. But perhaps things are not so rosy as I thought. Perhaps Murdoch is evolving in ways I cannot imagine. When Wolff asked Murdoch for advice on who to vote for in November, he elicited this response from Murdoch:

“He paused, considered, nodded his head slowly: ‘Obama – he’ll sell more papers.'”

I guess Murdoch is getting both softer and greedier with age.

Update: Just a few hours after this posting, O’Reilly announced that Obama will appear on his show this coming Thursday. Here is my analysis of this development.

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Bill O’Reilly’s Favorite Outrageous Things

Posted by on September 1, 2008 at 3:56 pm. 4 Comments :

The bottomless fount of hilarity that is Bill O’Reilly has erupted once again. After MSNBC displayed humorous text on screen during a story about John McCain’s inability to remember how many houses he owns, Bill O’Reilly went nuts declaring that it was…

“…one of the most outrageous things that I’ve ever seen in my 35 years of journalism.”

Never mind that O’Reilly hasn’t spent 35 seconds in journalism, he still selectively ignores the much more offensive (and not humorously intended) examples of Fox News’ broadcasts:

A NewsCorpse.com Video:

As usual, O’Reilly injects a ridiculous measure of hyperbole to make a point that makes no sense, sets a new bar for hypocrisy, and reveals how deeply in denial this poor, sick man is. And he has never been one to shy away from hysterically overstating his demented viewpoints (see The O’Reilly Fear Factor: Collected Verses).

It’s not, of course, just O’Reilly. Fox News is famous for their utter lack of self awareness. A week ago they published an ad claiming that “CNN = Partisan Politics.” The ad misrepresented recent polling on viewer behavior in order to arrive at their false conclusion.

But it is O’Reilly who is the star of Fox News, and he certainly lives up to his billing. From his now famous “Do It Live” meltdown that was captured on tape, to his rude and physically assaultive “Don’t Block the Shot” tirade when he was desperate to attract Barack Obama’s attention, O’Reilly is plainly headed for an on air mental collapse that will make Howard Beale look like Katie Couric.


America’s Barack

Posted by on August 29, 2008 at 3:57 pm. NO Comments :

America Is Back!

History was made on August 28, 2008, when Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party to run for President of the United States. On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the manifestation of that dream has come to pass. The fulfillment of this dream is a declaration that we can come back from the dark days of division that characterized the past eight years, and much of the past two hundred. And it is evidence that the people, when inspired, will rise up to take back their country. Barack Obama is merely the reflection of our own hopes and dreams. We are America, and…

America’s Barack

Get Your America’s Barack Stickers and T-Shirts today.

An excerpt from Obama’s acceptance speech:

“For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us – that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it – because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.”

With that declaration I was transformed from a contrarian bent primarily on defeating John McCain, to an affirmative supporter of Obama. My journey meandered through an attempt to draft Russ Feingold, to an advocate of John Edwards new found populism, to settling for an Obama candidacy that seemed at the time to be too conciliatory.

I dedicated myself to expressing my opposition to McCain via my art and words. (see McCain – NOPE). I have developed quite a collection of anti-McCain/Republican pieces. But, until now, I have not created a single piece that was “pro” anything.

That’s changed. I now have a candidate that I can forthrightly support. Someone who represents ideals that have driven my activism for years. My new work reflects that optimism. It’s a strange feeling for me. I know that a speech that articulates the views I cherish does not necessarily evolve into the actions and accomplishments I seek. But it is critical that the words be spoken. The goals cannot begin to be realized without the vocal intention to pursue them. And Obama is saying the right things.

Another speech by Martin Luther King included a phrase that shaped my life as an artist:

“We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative means of protest possible.”

I’m not sure that King meant the arts when he said “creative,” but that’s the way I chose to read it. And it’s one of the first recollections I have of perceiving art as an act of conscience and rebellion. Prior to that I drew a lot of superheroes and hot rods (I was twelve, at the time). I had become radicalized, and I knew that at least part of my work had to be devoted to making a better world.

If Obama continues to speak the sort of truths, and to address the sort of aspirations, that call people to unite for the high ideals illuminated in his acceptance speech, he will radicalize a new generation that will compel him, and his successors, to follow through on the dreams that he, and King, and millions of other compassionate citizens of the world have yearned for.

We ARE back. The people are back. Compassion is back. Justice is back.

America’s BAraCK


To Fox News Hurricane Gustav Is A Political Problem

Posted by on August 28, 2008 at 12:02 pm. 9 Comments :

Currently a top story for Fox News is one that is blaring this headline:

Gustav Threatens GOP Convention Plans

That’s right…The category 3 hurricane that is bearing down on the vulnerable population of New Orleans and the rest of the gulf coast, is identified by Fox News as merely a threat to the GOP. Never mind the millions of Americans in harm’s way who must be pretty anxious considering how awful this administration handled a similar threat a few years ago.

Giving Fox the benefit of a doubt, it may be entirely appropriate to report on the impact of a severe storm on what is one of the biggest events for the Republican presidential campaign. If the headline were simply an unfortunate phrasing that tipped the tone of the article toward an insensitivity that they didn’t intend, it could be forgiven. But the article contains some affirmation of the headline’s myopic self-centeredness. The constricted view is first expressed in a quote from Karl Rove, a FOX News analyst:

“The Republicans can’t seem to get a break when it comes to August and when it comes to the weather.”

According to Rove, it is the Republicans who are the victims of these dang storms. Why does God hate the GOP? Especially when they prayed so hard for him to smite the Democrats. White House press secretary Dana Perino also noticed the hardship that her party faces when she left open the possibility that Gustav could “rain on the Republicans’ plans.”

It really is all about the Republicans. At some point I may even summon up some sympathy for them. Not that they need my help. Fox News is always there to provide some positive reinforcement for the beleaguered Party who has to do battle with a political rock star:

“The Bush administration came under fire for appearing slow to react when Katrina struck New Orleans three years ago. Democratic speakers have reprised that criticism during their national convention in Denver, where so far no serious disruptions have occurred.”

Huh? In an article about a hurricane and its impact on GOP convention plans, Fox News finds a way to inject the totally unrelated notion of Democratic convention unrest. This has nothing to do with anything else in the column. It is purely an egregious attempt to sow some negativity, but with the promise of disruption that may yet occur – it just has not “so far.”

Can this get any more ridiculous? Sadly, yes.


Vote For John McCain For A Prison-Tested President

Posted by on August 27, 2008 at 4:37 pm. NO Comments :

Running for president requires great strength and stamina. The race is long and treacherous. John McCain has been forcefully pushing his argument that he is better qualified for the job than his opponent, Barack Obama. In fact, McCain contends that Obama is not qualified at all. The latest McCain ad says that Obama is “dangerously unprepared” to be president. So what makes McCain so ready to be Commander-in-Chief?

Purely from paying attention to McCain’s press releases and stump speeches, the primary qualification he possesses is his experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He repeats the tale of his captivity with every opportunity that presents itself. Even when there is no opportunity, he labors to wedge the story in anyway. It’s the foundation of his policy positions and his excuse for any mistake he’s ever made. So I thought I’d help him out and produce a poster that features his best case for inhabiting the White House:

McCain is the only candidate who can claim to possess leadership forged by prison. While his comrades were fighting in the jungle, engaging the enemy, developing battle plans, and accumulating command skills, McCain was sitting in a musty cell, enduring interrogations (where he eventually divulged tactical information and confessed to war crimes), and generally following the orders of his captors. What better preparation is there for high office in Washington, DC?

McCain shares a legacy of Republican lawmakers who have run afoul of the law. His own brush with the American criminal justice system came via his association with convicted banker, Charles Keating. And his Navy pilot colleague, Duke Cunningham, is presently serving an eight year sentence for conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. McCain’s more recent band of brothers range from criminal figures like Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy, to convicted obstructer of justice Oliver North, to pardoned perjurer Scooter Libby, to indicted bribery defendant and Senate pal Ted Stevens.

McCain’s own incarceration was not due to any stateside criminality. He was honorably serving his country at war and was shot out of the sky by the enemy. But since he has raised his captivity as evidence of his fitness to be president, then it’s only fair to place it in the context of others whose imprisonment may have enhanced their character and leadership ability as well.

McCain and his campaign staff have sought to grant immunity to McCain for any misdeeds he might perform. They assert that no one who has served his country the way McCain did could possibly ever do anything wrong. (Tell that to Duke Cunningham). But if that’s true, they better open up America’s prison gates and release the thousands of veterans who sadly went astray and committed acts of violence, greed, and drug abuse. Many of their lives were thrown off course as a direct result of their military service. They returned home to poverty and despair, and many were abandoned by their country when they were in need. But with the criteria that McCain has now introduced with which to measure leadership potential, perhaps we need to reexamine the cons and ex-cons whose incarceration has presumably transformed them into the same sort of leader that McCain is.

It’s not particularly surprising that McCain would chose to highlight this part of his resume, because the remainder of his public career was as a senator who was undistinguished other than as a rubber stamp for the Bush administration. That’s why he has to dig back 40 years to find something to recommend him to a new generation of American voters, many of whom weren’t even born when the Vietnam war was being fought. If residence in a prisoner of war camp 40 years ago qualifies one for the presidency, then how much better is it to have a more recent prison record?

To be clear, I am not comparing imprisonment by enemy captors to that of law breakers. One should evoke expressions of sympathy and gratitude, and the other punishment and, perhaps, mercy. But the actual activity engaged in by prisoners is not exactly a prerequisite for executive management. The solitary and monotonous experience of life in a cell may produce some profound lessons, but none of them relate to governing a country. If McCain wants to persuade people that he is more qualified to be president than Obama, he had better find a more persuasive argument.


US News Reporting On Glitches

Posted by on August 26, 2008 at 3:33 pm. NO Comments :

US News & World Report has an item on recent polling of the presidential race:

“One intriguing result from Sunday’s Washington Post/ABC poll (which showed Barack Obama maintaining a narrow, 4 percent lead among likely voters) was the Democratic candidate’s vault over John McCain on the question of leadership.”

Not satisfied to simply publish the results of the poll, US News commenced to spinning vigorously. The article carried the headline: “Obama Moves Past McCain on Leadership-A Polling Glitch or Genuine Trend”

This is the sort of bias that Democrats face throughout the Conventional Media world. When they trail in the polls, the press eagerly report the collapse of the Party. When they lead, it is the result of a “glitch.”

US News characterizes the shift in leadership preference as “dramatic.” But their own reporting seems to imply that it was a steady trend over time:

“In March, those surveyed chose McCain as the stronger leader by a 53-40 margin. In June, McCain had a 47-44 lead. But in the August poll, Obama beats McCain by five points, 49-44. That is an 18-point switch in four months.”

Four months is a good stretch, and plenty of time to observe significant changes in voter attitudes. But US News implies that the shift came too quickly and is thus suspect. And this implication is pushed even though other polls affirm the results seen in the WaPo/ABC poll.

This is the sort of dishonesty in journalism that we’re up against, folks.

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Fox News Ad Says That CNN Is Partisan

Posted by on August 25, 2008 at 11:01 pm. 1 Comments :

In a feat of heroic irony, Fox News published an ad promoting itself that called CNN a partisan network. It is beyond me how they could have completed work on the ad with all the laughing that one would expect to ensue. But they did complete it and it was printed in several newspapers including the Washington Post and News Corp. sister pub, the Wall Street Journal.

The ad relied on data from a Pew study on news audience segmentation. Fox managed to thoroughly misrepresent the results of the survey, and consequently misinform anyone reading the ad. This, of course, is nothing new for Fox who daily misinform their viewers.

The Fox ad highlighted Pew’s finding that 51% of CNN viewers were Democrats and 18% were Republicans. By comparison, 39% of Fox viewers were Republicans and 31% Democrats. From these findings Fox concluded that they were more balanced. Presumably they surmise that the closer the distribution of viewers by party affiliation, the more balanced the coverage. The problem is that balance in viewership is not a measure of balance in news content. Any serious, objective analyst would concede that the content on Fox News is heavily weighted to conservative views. Fox executives Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes have as much as admitted it when they assert that Fox was designed to counter what they believed to be a liberal bias in their competition. It should come as no surprise that such a deliberately partisan enterprise would attract more conservatives and Republicans. And that’s exactly what the Pew numbers reveal, despite Fox’s efforts to misconstrue them.

Left out of the Fox ad was the fact that the 39% of Fox viewers identifying themselves as Republicans is approximately double the amount of every other news network, not just CNN. That disparity alone is revealing. And the 33% of Fox viewers identifying themselves as Democrats is the lowest of all the news networks by a considerable margin.

However the most salient fact to arise from this information is that the ratio of Republicans to Democrats on Fox (39(R) to 31(D)) is the exact inverse of the general population (39(D) to 32(R)).

So the truth is, Fox News is not only not “balanced,” it is the opposite of the profile of American voters. It is the network that is the least representative of the public. And from that they want us to conclude that they are fair and balanced? Sure, CNN’s 51% is an overweighting of Democrats. But at least it reflects the correct majority tilt in the population. The fact that Fox slants its coverage so far to the right explains both its upside down representation of Republicans to Democrats and the exodus of Democrats from Fox to the other networks.

It’s not enough that Fox manipulates the Pew study for their self-serving ads, they are also using it to attack the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. At a press gathering in Denver, Stewart told reporters that Fox’s “fair and balanced” slogan is an insult “to people with brains” and that he was “stunned to see Karl Rove on a news network as an analyst.” An anonymous flack at Fox (even their PR people are afraid to identify themselves) responded by saying that Stewart was “out of touch” and cited their skewed take on the Pew study as support. But then they went further to deliver a gratuitous and immaterial zinger:

“But being out of touch with mainstream America is nothing new to Jon, as evidenced by the crash-and-burn ratings of this year’s Oscars telecast.”

According to Fox, the ratings of a strike-hobbled awards show is now the measure of Stewart’s ability to connect with mainstream America. Never mind the unprecedented success of the Daily Show. And never mind the fact that Fox News has been been bleeding viewers for the past two years and is growing slower than any of their competitors. For a network that is so demonstrably out of touch, as illustrated above, they shouldn’t be flinging insults at Jon Stewart. They may come to regret that.

As an added plus to this deceptive advertisement from Fox, notice that they are using the elephant logo of the Republican Party in the ad. I assume they are not aware that the Republicans have asserted their copyright protection of that image and have threatened to sue those who use it without permission. I wonder if the Party will sue Fox News for this flagrant infringement. I’m guessing they won’t since Fox is a de facto division of the Republican Party anyway.


What Republicans Think Of John McCain

Posted by on August 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm. 1 Comments :

John McCain has released a flurry of hastily produced ads following the announcement of Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate. The ads feature Democrats, including Biden saying uncomplimentary things about Obama. But mostly they feature the desperation of McCain as he grasps for something with which to prop up his pathetic campaign. The latest ad closes with the tag line, “The Truth Hurts.” McCain is precisely correct about that, though not in the way he imagines. There are some serious problems with this advertising strategy that will shortly become evident.

First, the quotes from Democrats were made primarily when they were competing with Obama for the nomination. Most voters are fully aware that remarks made in the heat of a campaign are quickly retracted and forgotten after a nominee is selected. What’s more, McCain is just as vulnerable to such attack ads featuring Republicans disparaging him and his policies. In fact he is more vulnerable, because there are many instances of Republicans bashing McCain throughout the years who were not political opponents. This video presents just a few examples.

McCain’s problems don’t lie just in what fellow Republicans say about him. His vulnerability also extends to the many ill-tempered rants he has directed at his colleagues. For instance:

  • “Fuck you…This is chickenshit stuff.” Directed at Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in an immigration debate.
  • “Only an asshole would put together a budget like this…I wouldn’t call you an asshole unless you really were an asshole.” Directed at Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) while marking up legislation.
  • Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) to McCain during a debate on MIA’s: “Are you calling me stupid?” McCain: “No. I’m calling you a fucking jerk!”

The media, as usual, is continuing to donate airtime to McCain’s propaganda. The recent ads were announced by the campaign, but they have never purchased air time to broadcast them. The thinly disguised intent here is simply to get the press to contribute free air time to McCain. And the press is complying like the little zombie poodles that they are. Therefore, as usual, it will be up to the blogosphere to enlighten the voting population. So keep spreading the word, because the word is the truth, and, as we all know…the Truth Hurts.


Barack Obama Picks Joe Biden – So Does John McCain

Posted by on August 23, 2008 at 3:21 am. 11 Comments :

It didn’t take long for news of Barack Obama’s selection of Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate to stir John McCain’s campaign PR machine. The first comments from McCain’s people were released quickly and contained a fair measure of respect for Biden himself. In fact, they relied wholly on Biden’s assessment of Obama when they were competing for the Democratic nomination:

“There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama’s lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing — that Barack Obama is not ready to be President.”

Clearly McCain has admiration for Biden’s opinions. So McCain presumably would agree just as vigorously with Biden’s assessment of him.

“John McCain remains wedded to the Bush Administration’s myopic view of a world defined by terrorism […] It’s time for a fundamental change, but that’s going to require more than a great soldier. It’s going to require a wise leader” […] “We cannot keep treading water without exhausting ourselves and more importantly doing great damage to our other vital interests around the world and at home. And that’s exactly what President Bush and a President McCain would be asking us to do.”

Apparently there has been no harsher critic of McCain’s lack of judgment than Joe Biden. McCain can hardly praise Biden’s insight with regard to Obama yet dismiss it with regard to himself. Therefore, McCain must agree that his own world view is myopic, unwise, and damaging to our country’s interests.

McCain’s surrogates on his staff and in the press are also busy spinning the Biden announcement. Most of the criticism falls into two categories:

1) The selection of Biden, with his strong foreign policy credentials, is an admission on the part of Obama that he is weak in those areas.

I’m sure they will apply the same logic when McCain selects, for instance, Mitt Romney, concluding that Romney’s economic skills affirms McCain’s ignorance in financial matters.

2) Biden is gaffe-prone due to his willingness to say whatever is on his mind.

In some circles that is called “straight talk” and is painted on the sides of campaign buses.

There is speculation amongst the pundit class that McCain will shortly have ads on the air featuring Biden saying nasty things about Obama. If I were advising the Obama media team, I would suggest that they do it first – with a touch of humor – and add Biden’s more recent criticisms of McCain. This is the inoculation school of campaign advertising and would take the sting out of McCain’s attempts to exploit remarks made by Biden when he was seeking the party’s nomination himself. And of course, be ready with ads of McCain’s VP choice knocking him down a peg or two. Almost every Republican has in the past year, so it would be easy to compile.

Isn’t politics fun?


McCain Photo Leaked From Republican Convention Hall

Posted by on August 22, 2008 at 10:53 pm. 3 Comments :

As Democrats finalize preparation for their convention starting Monday, Republicans are still getting their event organized. However, News Corpse has obtained a secretly taken photo from the tightly secured rehearsal hall:

This photo confirms that McCain’s campaign strategy for the fall is going to rely on his status as a prisoner of war. In 1967, John McCain was shot out of the North Vietnamese sky, crash landed in a lake, taken prisoner, and held in captivity for … 41 years, so far.

McCain can’t refrain from exploiting his terrible ordeal as a prop to boost his electoral prospects. After using his captivity as a cynical and absurd response to his housing controversy, you wonder just how far he will take it. Trapper John at Daily Kos speculated earlier today as to how McCain’s camp would respond to any controversy that might arise:

McCain Accused Of Taking Bribes From Abramoff: “This is a guy who didn’t touch hard currency for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

2003 McCain Arrest for DWI Uncovered: “This is a guy who didn’t have a sip of booze for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

McCain Caught Cheating With 22 Year-Old ASU Intern: “This is a guy who didn’t get laid at all for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

Surprisingly, the media is not being led around on a leash like they usually are. Many are incredulous that McCain would so foolishly dilute the impact of what is his most compelling story.

Time: The McCain campaign’s constant invocation of the candidate’s POW past is weird bordering on irrational […] It’s a head-spinning non sequitur, designed to distract us from something mildly troubling with the assertion of something impressive.

Newsweek: I think they are going to it way too many times…. I think he wisely for many years stayed away from it as a political tool, he really did. But now it not only defines him, it’s become a crutch in the campaign. And I think he is in danger of trivializing it.

Politico: It does seem like they’re flirting with Giuliani/9/11 territory here, in which a subject that seems utterly immune to humor, used as a first resort, suddenly becomes a running joke among your political enemies and your late night comic friends.

Talking Points Memo: The McCain campaign is cranking out all these bills with a little ‘McCain as P.O.W.’ logo on it and is trying to use them to buy their way out of every controversy that comes along. Pretty soon the McCain team’s money won’t be good anywhere.

Huffington Post: …to see McCain resort to playing the POW card when answering legitimate questions, in my mind, cheapens that experience. And by cheapening his own experience in war, he degrades all of our experiences in war. He turns the horrific incidents we’ve all seen, touched, smelled, and felt into a lame excuse to earn political points. And it dishonors us all.

‘Nuff said.