Portman: The issues with Obama are his ‘judgment and his truthfulness’
By EditorFormer U.S. Rep. Rob Portman represented Republican presidential nominee John McCain on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday.
Opposite New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who was representing Democrat Barack Obama's campaign, Portman defended McCain's condemnation of his opponent's relationship with William Ayres.
"I think what they've focused on is, two things: One is Senator Obama's judgment and second is his truthfulness," Portman told host Tom Brokaw. "I saw yesterday, there have been nine different explanations about his relationship with Bill Ayres, and when he met him and who he thought he was, and so on."
Portman went on to say that the escalating accusations have come from both sides of the presidential contest.
Asked if he was "comfortable" with McCain's negative ads McCain has been running, he shifted the blame for the tenor of the discussion to the Democrats.
"Senator Obama has run more negative ads in this campaign, than any presidential campaign in history, easily" Portman said. "And far more negative ads than Senator John McCain has run."
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most negative? Get Real
"run more negative ads in this campaign, than any presidential campaign in history, easily"
???? Get real, now. Bush ran the most of all. We mock mc7houses, sure. We criticize his policies, they just talk about personality, celebrity.
This is what repubs do:
they accuse us of they themselves do and hope to go unchallenged and to get away with it.
The one secret we haven't busted yet: How do they convince poor whites to sacrifice their jobs, health and kids' lives in IRaq for extremely wealthy repubs???
For the socially conservatives:
How is anti-abortion gonna get you your job back?
Do the math: America will go broke when keeps lowering taxes and increasing defense budgets. Weak economy means weak army. Unless americans will become international outlaws?
Let's be honest about what
Let's be honest about what this is really all about. It's about race. If it were really about "judgment," then we would equally be asking about McCain's. After all, McCain voluntarily appeared at the Oregon's Citizen Alliance, a domestic terrorist group that feels it is justified in shooting doctors and bombing clinics in the name of saving the unborn.
So while the goal of Ayers' Weatherman was to avoid killing people in protesting what they saw as an injustice (and I am not defending what this group did -- it is despicable) OCA actually intends to shoot people and bomb clinics while they are open.
Both are shameful. But this isn't really about questioning Obama's judgment. It's about winning an election, and McCain/Palin's holier-than-thou crap is just that.
Spelling
It's not Ayres, it's Ayers! I think it's hilarious that the people who are trying to make such a big deal of this guy don't even know enough about him to spell his name correctly.
Another problem with the
Another problem with the larger McCain argument, that Portman repeats, is that it relies on itself as evidence. Portman says that "there have been nine different explanations about his relationship with Bill Ayres." The problem with this claim is that it is merely repeating the same old lies spread by Team McCain.
The fact is Obama has never denied that he knew the guy, has never denied that he served on a charity with him, and has never denied that Ayers held a fundraiser for him a long time ago. Instead, what folks like Portman "different explanations" are simply not true.
The amazing thing about the Obama attacks--whether it be Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers or anything else--is how the attacks themselves become the evidence: Portman said Obama has given 9 different versions, so he must have.
On the other hand, when serious questions about McCain's dubious past-relationships are brought up, or Palin's questionable judgment are brought up, people like Portman call them "political charges" and lies. Undoubtedly, some were. But some were not. Like McCain's association with terrorist sympathizer Shelly Shannon or the report that Palin once welcomed but then sought to thwart that concluded she abused her power as the Governor of Alaska
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