McCain Camp's Salter Emails Newsweek about Planned Attacks against Obama

FROM SALTER'S EMAIL TO NEWSWEEK:

A useful way to read the piece would be to try to imagine you were a Republican reading it. The characterization of Republican presidential campaigns as nothing more than attack machines that use 527s and other means to smear opponents strikes us as pretty offensive. Is that how Ronald Reagan won two terms? Do they really think other Republican presidential candidates were elected because they ran dirtier campaigns than their opponents? Or could it be that they were better candidates or ran better campaigns or maybe more voters agreed with their position on important issues? From the beginning of their article, Evan Thomas and Richard Wolffe offered a biased implication that Republicans have won elections and will try to win this one simply by tearing down through disreputable means their opponents. You can see why many Republicans and voters and our campaign might take issue with that.

Suggesting that that we can expect a whispering campaign from the McCain campaign or the Republican Party about Senator Obama’s race and the false charge that he is a Muslim is scurrilous. Has John McCain ever campaigned that way? On the contrary, he has on numerous occasions denounced tactics offensive tactics from campaigns, 527s and others, both Democratic and Republican. By the way, which party had more 527 and other independent expenditure ads made on its behalf in 2004? It wasn’t us.

By accepting the Obama campaign construct as if it were objective, Evan and Richard framed this race exactly as Senator Obama wants it to be framed – every issue that raises doubts about his policy views and judgment is part of a smear campaign intended to distract voters from the real issues at stake in the election, and, thus, illegitimate. And even if Senator McCain might not be inclined to support such advertising, if he can’t stop them from occurring then he will have succumbed to the temptation to put ambition before principle. How this notion could appear credible after MoveOn, the AFL-CIO and the DNC launched negative ad campaigns weeks ago, and after leaks from the Obama campaign that they would soon start running negative ads against McCain, is mystifying. When a conservative talk show host emphasized Senator Obama’s middle name, Senator McCain immediately denounced it himself in the strongest possible terms. When a left wing radio host called Senator McCain a “warmonger;” when Senator Rockefeller disparaged Senator McCain’s war record; and when Howard Dean consistently accused Senator McCain of corruption, dishonesty and various other smears, the response from the Obama campaign has been either silence or a spokesperson releases an anodyne statement saying they don’t agree with the characterization.

...

Senator McCain is not going to referee ads run by groups outside our control. The other side has no intention of reciprocating and has shown every inclination to tolerate and even encourage such attacks against us. Of course, he will denounce any use of race or calumnies against his opponent by anyone. But he won’t play traffic cop anymore. The other side uses the same tactics, with no opposition from the Obama campaign that I have seen. Also, were he to do so and be unable to discourage independent expenditures run by people who have no relationship with him or our campaign, (and, in some cases, had previously run attacks against him) the Obama campaign will denounce him as a phony or weak. If Evan and Richard’s piece represents a general attitude among their colleagues, the press will agree.

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/05/12/newsweek-must-read-the-coming-onslaught-against-obama-and-the-mccain-camp-s-response.aspx

Let me see...

Ronald Reagan:
1980: Reagan essentially commits treason to win the election. He sends running mate Poppy Bush to Teheran to cut deal with Iranians: hold the hostages until after the inaugural, and we will sell you weapons.

1984: Reagan casts opponent Walter Mondale as too old and feeble to be president, even though Reagan was born in 1911 and Mondale in 1928. Denounced Mondale as someone who wants to raise your taxes, not mentioning that Reagan had already done just that.

Poppy Bush:
1988: Bush makes rapist Willie Horton into Michael Dukakis' running mate.

Bush the Younger:
2004: Demonizes John Kerry on everything from his Navy service (don't ask) to his wife.

And as I remember, the Bush 527s really didn't need to run many ads--the fucking media gave them all the free airtime they could ever want.

Too many people to this day are unaware of the fact that Reagan commited treason to get elected, and again with Iran/Contra.

Last night on "American Dad" they did a hilarious recap of the Iran/Contra scandal ala "Schoolhouse Rock." The sad part is, it was far more accurate and concise than any coverage of it in the MSM was.