Obama Ad Links McCain To Keating Scandal

Link

October 5, 2008


Democrat Barack Obama, reacting to Republican charges about his links to a 1960s radical, fired back late Sunday with a Web video about John McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal from the early 1990s.

The short video, being e-mailed to millions of Obama supporters, summarizes a 13-minute Web "documentary" that the campaign plans to distribute Monday, spokesman Tommy Vietor said. He said McCain's involvement with convicted thrift owner Charles Keating "is a window into McCain's economic past, present and future."

The video release capped a day of complaints and warnings from Obama supporters. They said McCain was inviting a harsh examination of his past by having his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, repeatedly criticize Obama's association with Bill Ayers, a founder of the Vietnam-era radical group, the Weather Underground.

Palin said Obama sees America as so imperfect "that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." She was referring to Ayers, whose strongest tie to Obama appears to be a 1995 meet-the-candidate event he hosted early in Obama's political career.

Weather Underground members were blamed for several bombings when Obama was a child. Obama has denounced Ayers' radical views and activities.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat and Obama supporter, warned against McCain's strategy on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday.

"If we are going to go down this road — you know, Barack Obama was eight years old, somehow responsible for Bill Ayers," he said. "At 58, John McCain was associating with Charles Keating."

"If we really want to talk who is associating with who, we will," Emanuel said. "The American people will lose in that transaction."

A short time later, speaking to thousands of people in Asheville, N.C., Obama said McCain and his aides "are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance. They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time."

Noting the nation's serious economic problems, Obama said: "Yet instead of addressing these crises, Senator McCain's campaign has announced that they plan to turn the page on the discussion about our economy and spend the final weeks of this campaign launching Swiftboat-style attacks on me."

Just months into his Senate career, in the late 1980s, McCain made what he has called "the worst mistake of my life." He participated in two meetings with banking regulators on behalf of Keating, a friend, campaign contributor and S&L financier who was later convicted of securities fraud.

The Senate ethics committee investigated five senators' relationships with Keating. It cited McCain for a lesser role than the others, but faulted his "poor judgment."

Also Sunday, Obama unveiled a TV ad on the economy that says McCain was "erratic in a crisis." Some see that as a reminder of McCain's age, 72.

The day's events seemed to point to rising rhetorical heat in the campaign's final month. McCain adviser Greg Strimple recently predicted "a very aggressive last 30 days" of the campaign.

"We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama's aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans," he said in a conference call with reporters.

Not sure how this will play out; I think Obama would have been smarter to take the high ground.

If that's what they're running, it's a crap ad. The average voter isn't going to know what they're talking about.

Say what you want about motives and truth, at least the republicans will have an effective ad. Obama, Ayers, Terrorist. Repeat it enough and you end up with Obama, Terrorist.

This ad gives you some guy in giant glasses and the AIG logo.

I feel a bit confused. The ad doesn't even try to explain what the Keating 5 scandal was all about, and it doesn't end with "I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message". Does that mean it was made by independent groups, without the approval of the Obama campaign? That would make more sense since sending out a smear ad the day after Obama himself has accused McCain of trying to distract voters with smears would totally counter that message. Something just doesn't add up...

retina said:

Mars23 said:

It's Obama's campaign.

1. The obvious. "Paid for by..." same fonts, links to his offical page, and the before mentioned donation link.
2. If this were a 501 or 529 type group, this would be so illegal, the campaign would have shut them down immediately.
3. Let's say all that got by them, then someone also hacked their official youtube page and posted the video.

Perhaps the "full documentary" will make more sense.

Mars23 said:

retina said:

Mars23 said:

Nope, it is Obama's campaign, it even has a donation link.

http://www.keatingeconomics.com/

A donation link doesn't mean anything, but it does say "Paid for by Obama for America". Again though, that doesn't make any sense since it goes completely against the response the campaign chose only 24 hous earlier. Besides, the clip seems like it's lifted from a documentary rather than being narrated in the same style as the other Obama ads. I still smell a rat here. But I guess we'll see in the coming days what's true and what isn't true.

I found it on the Obama website. Releasing this video is an absurd strategy since they're now doing exactly the same kind of thing that Obama so strongly criticized McCain for doing. The video itself is weak and won't have any real effect, and the Obama campaign now risk being called hypocrites. Wonderful.

John Kerry tried the "lets ignore them and focus on the issue" and that did not work. He got swiftboated.

I think Obama is just trying to show that McCain has ties to bad people too. As long as that does not become the focus for Obama, like it is for McCain, then that is okay. I think its good to lash back but then return to the issues.

It is unfortunate that either side feels it has to resort to character assassination.

The biggest issue here is that this was fully investigated by multiple counsels and McCain was cleared of any guilt.

I still think Obama is going to win this election (unfortunately), but if he is not careful, he could lose it for himself. Obama and Biden both are coming out with attacks that are strong and untrue.

I loved it when Kissinger came out and basically said, Obama is moron and no I did not assert that the president should sit down with Iran....

seekingtruth said:

seekingtruth said:

Keating 5 Member is Obama Surrogate