When you’ve got no record to run on, this is the kind of bull you pull.
Days before the anniversary of September 11, on the same morning that John McCain and Barack Obama released a joint statement pledging to avoid politics in light of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, McCain’s campaign accused Democrats of throwing away 12,000 American flags.
“The campaign says the flags were recovered from Invesco Field after the Democrats concluded their convention there,” Fox News reported, “and they are going to be used as part of the warm-up ceremonies before McCain takes the stage” for a rally in Colorado Springs, Col.
But according to a senior official involved in organizing the Democratic convention, the McCain camp is simply lying about the flags.
“All of the flags at Invesco were picked up and put in bags and into storage, along with the unused flags and campaign signs. The flags were going to be donated, and the signs were going to be sent out to be used elsewhere,” the official said, speaking anonymously since he was not authorized to talk to the press.
It is so shocking that Fox News is the MSM outlet pushing this story. Not. It’s sort of like the story Carl Cameron made up about John Kerry back in 2004. Intriguing because this is a news channel whose anchors refused to stand during the pledge of allegiance at the Democratic convention.
DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney on the latest more of the same from the McCain campaign:
“American flags were proudly waved by the 75,000 people who joined Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention. John McCain should applaud that, but instead his supporters wrongfully took leftover bundles of our flags from the stadium to play a cheap political stunt calling into question our patriotism. On the same day he agrees to join Barack Obama at Ground Zero on September 11, John McCain attacks the patriotism of Obama supporters who so proudly waved the American flag at our historic event in Denver just days ago.”
Holy crap, why didn’t you say both the Obama camapaign AND the DNC both denied this dastardly deed.
Clearly nothing to see here, they picked up ALL 75,000 FLAGS!
move along….
Good god! This story TOTALLY changes the recent unemployment numbers!
So duh, is it OK by you then if we criticize Palin for her racist “Sambo” comments?
It’s not fair to pick on duh. His buddies have been absent all weekend, leaving him to pull a triple shift. Jay, Jay Tea, and the rest of the J-crew have abandoned him. That’s why he can’t answer when asked what he does for a living.
I see that John McCain threw away his flag lapel pin. Has anyone checked the RNC garbage cans?
If you haven’t seen it, here’s Triumph at the RNC Convention
I swear, if they were available from cafepress, I’d totally buy a bumper sticker that says, “McCain 08 / Cheney 666.”
To be clear about this, the Republicans are not smearing Obama’s patriotism. They are smearing the patriotism of EACH AND EVERY PERSON who supports Obama.
McCain was tortured. Literally.
Unless the flags were picked up by DNC or Obama campaign authorized personnel, the RNC illegally seized possession of their property.
Incredible, the RNC went to Invesco Field and took DNC property illegally and they are bragging about re-using them for McCain. This is the most idiotic and childish behavior — how old is John McCain again – 72 years old. This must be his fifth childhood.
McCain was tortured. Literally.
And now he favors torturing others without charging them. He runs for office with a “soul mate” who mocks the very idea of giving people a fair trial in her acceptance speech.
“Good god! This story TOTALLY changes the recent unemployment numbers!”
Not to mention the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Hope Obama uses the latter to remind Americans what McCain did the last time there was a Republican banking crisis (Keating 5).
The flag nonsense is juvenile. Seriously, they are a bunch of 4 year olds. I’m sure this legend will be circulated as truth in spam e-mail forwards for generations to come, though.
We should just forget about the past eight years, roll over, play dead and let them take over the county again because they love Jesus and America more than any of us ever could.
They are the super-duper patriotic party!
This is from the same folks who claimed the Clinton WH staff stole all the Ws for keyboards before shrub’s staff moved in. Welcome to Rove’s world.
Well, you know how it is…. The Democrats needed to store the flags in with the empty pizza boxes, water bottles food garbage and other trash while they figured out where their patriotism disappeared to.
Here’s a pick of the “trashed” flags. Notice how they’re rolled up for reuse?
Kinda pathetic that the best conservative bloggers couldn’t figure this out, but some random guy on a video game forum did.
Here are some pictures of actual flag desecration:
Bush’s favorite notepad
Aftermath of the ‘04 RNC
if only the “family values” repubs cared about how McCain threw away Carol
Both sides are spinning this.
Sure, Zython. That makes perfect sense. The alternative — that they were rolled up so they’d better fit in the trash bags that they are in in that photo — is just too ludicrous. And I’m sure it was just a miscommunication that left them lying around for about a week, unclaimed, near the dumpsters.
Look up “unforced error.”
J.
Who cares, they’re only flags.
Look up “unforced error.”
Look up “brainless dweeb seizing on any old crap in hopes of reelection of party which has trashed his country”
Look up “brainless dweeb seizing on any old crap in hopes of reelection of party which has trashed his country”
Hey, it’s Joe Biden! How ya doing, Joe?
J.
Dave in SoCal,
Here’s an UPDATE: If the flags were left there for over a week and no one appears to be coming to get them that’s called “storage.”
If the Republican claim on this issue was legitimate the Republicans would have had a “stakeout” and gotten photos in an all-out “sting operation.” I woulbe be another example of what the Republicans find time to do — avoid speaking on the issues because its the Bush McSame issues – NO CHANGE.
Wouldn’t the reasonable thing for adults to do be to contact the people who had left the flags and asked if you could take them? “Hey, Bob. I notice you’ve got several bags of stuff that you don’t seem to be using. Were you intending to throw those out? ‘Cause if you’re not planning to use them I certainly could.”
This whole thing is just another example, by BOTH sides, of how childish and ridiculous the level of political discourse has become.
List the important things that the government does that affect your life. Is who did or did not store or throw out flags in the top 100?
Hey, it’s Joe Biden! How ya doing, Joe?
Ha ha! Funny joke makes disastrous war in Iraq not real!
Um… aw, you might not have heard it, but US casualties in Iraq are seriously down, Iraqis just took over Anbar Province, and the Iraqi government has met 15 of the 18 benchmarks set for them towards political stability.
Go and look it up, if you like.
You probably won’t like it, though.
J.
If they can just get the US out to begin their repressive anti-US regime.
Oh yeah, that’s right McCain says maybe in a hundred years.
So close, Juhar… but you missed the point entirely.
The actual statement:
Question: “President Bush has talked about us staying in Iraq for fifty years…”
Mccain, interrupting: “Make it a hundred. … We’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That would be fine with me, as long as American, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. It’s fine with me and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintained a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al Qaeda is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day.”
The conditional McCain hung on it, “as long Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed,” makes it flagrantly clear that he is NOT talking about a century of warfare or opposed occupation, but a peaceful presence, like our forces in Japan, South Korea, and Germany. The only ones who don’t or can’t see that are the blind, partisan hacks who only hear what confirms their biases and prejudices.
Astonishingly, Media Matters doesn’t fall into that category:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804030011
Note that they have their own issues with what McCain said then, but even they recognize he didn’t call for a century of war.
J.
Dammit, I forgot to close the italics after “every single day.”
My apologies…
J.
Jay, did it ever occur to you that even with a supposed “peaceful presence,” some people might be opposed to U.S. troops being in Iraq for as long as a hundred years? Did it ever occur to you that it’s pretty idiotic for McCain to support U.S. troops being in Iraq for as long as a hundred years by citing the fact that they have been in Japan and South Korea for 60 and 50 years, respectively (in other words, as if there is no difference between 50 or 60 and 100 years)? Did it ever occur to you that the very fact that these troops would be in a part of the world where “al Qaeda is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day” would make it impossible for no U.S. troops to be injured or killed, at least if they are there for literally decades? Did it ever occur to you that the Japan, South Korea, and Germany analogies are stupid since maybe there shouldn’t be U.S. troops there either? Did it ever occur to you that juhar’s statement, with it’s implication of the U.S. being “in” Iraq, doesn’t contradict even the full context of McCain’s remarks? Did it ever occur to you how stupid McCain looks to imply that being “wounded,” being “injured” and “being harmed” are three entirely separate things?
The answer to all these questions is, of course, no.
JT’s exactly right. McCain did not call for 100 years of warfare in Iraq.
And Obama was not disparaging anyone with his “cling to religion and guns” comments.
Can we drop both of those now?
The conditional McCain hung on it, “as long Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed,” makes it flagrantly clear that he is NOT talking about a century of warfare or opposed occupation, but a peaceful presence
How many Iraqis do you figure we’ll hgave to kill to get to a “peaceful presence?”
And if we can’t leave while it’s violent, and won’t leave when it’s peaceful, where is the contradiction to the 100 years?
BTW, who pays for all this at a $2B a week?
Fine, Daniel, I’ll give you another example: how long have we had troops in Cuba? Here’s a hint: we first went there during the Spanish-American War. That was in a year starting with “18.”
Repack, I’ll give you three circumstances under which we should leave Iraq:
1) It is no longer in our strategic interests to remain.
2) The lawful Iraqi government asks us to leave. (See Saudi Arabia and the Philippines) for examples.)
3) We are defeated on the battlefield and are forced to retreat.
McCain’s point was that calendars are no way to measure these kinds of things. And he was right.
Sean, you may be right. I’m going to have to go back and look at that statement by Obama and re-evaluate it. Until then, I’ll stop using it, on the chance you might be right and I might be wrong.
J.
Jay Tea, there are various places to find all of what Obama actually said and the point he was actually trying to make. This one is not atypical:
If their is legitimate criticism to be made of either McCain’s or Obama’s remarks it is that their points were not made as clearly as they could have been. But neither man said what their partisan opponents are spinning it as.
Thank goodness nothing like this happened at the RNC. Arresting people for showing the peace sign is not only acceptable, but necessary. Damn terrorists.