Axelrod Says Obama Will Counterpunch if McCain Raises Ayres

[JonLP24]

Source: New York Times

NASHVILLE — Senator Barack Obama is prepared to hit back, including with Keating Five scandal if necessary, if Senator John McCain uses tonight’s presidential debate to attack him over his associations with controversial figures like former William C. Ayers, the former Weather Underground leader, Mr. Obama’s chief strategist said this afternoon.

The strategist, David Axelrod, also took a dig at Mr. McCain in a conversation with reporters on the Obama campaign plane, saying that Republicans were off-base to criticize small donations from overseas to Mr. Obama – noting that anyone in the world who buys an Obama T-shirt online would have their payment listed as a donation.

“I know that Senator McCain may not know this, but the Internet – you can get on it anywhere in the world,” Mr. Axelrod said, referring to Mr. McCain’s past statement that he was not savvy about computers.

Republicans have said that the Obama campaign has unfairly sought to make an issue of Mr. McCain’s age, 72. Mr. Obama is 47.


Read more: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/axelrod-s... /

[Richard D]

McCain has already raised the Ayers Issue

And Obama needs to take off the gloves tonight and start slugging. It's about time McCain got really really angry on television, live, so that the public can see who he really is.

[tekisui]

1. Take that as a warning, grampy.

[AndyA]

2. John McCain is getting better about the internets, though.

He learned from Stevens in Alaska that the internets were made up of tubes...so that helped John visualize what it looked like...although he still can't figure out how those typed words travel so fast through the tubes without the letters getting mixed up!

[Name removed]

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[OKNancy]

3. This is what we wanted in a candidate

Someone who would fight back and not be a milquetoast

[golddigger]

4. Who the hell is Ayres?

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. If it does come up, hope Obama points out

that he was only 8 years old when Ayers was busy in the '60s

[radfringe]

11. and slide in

..."about the same age you were when World War 2 was going on, but you don't see me blaming you for that..."

[Democat]

14. He should hold up a cute picture of himself as an 8 year old!

That would diffuse the issue and get him points with everyone, because he was so cute when he was a kid!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. He needs to say that he was only 8 years old

then McCain looks ridiculous

[PsN2Wind]

6. Obama should preface any of his counterpunches

by saying that since McCain, Palin and their surrogates have decided to lie about him that he has no choice but tell the truth about McCain.

[AndyTiedye]

7. The RNC Will Have Their Plants in the Audience. It Will be All Ayers All the Time

[dothemath]

9. counterweights ...........

Yes, they will stack the audience with sycophants as much as they can.
But - there will be plenty of Obama supporters there, too.

The McCain camp is in for a big surprise if they don't realize the
brobdingagian difference between a town hall of McCain's liking that IS
stacked with only his supporters and one that has supporters from both camps.

If a questioner gets out of line, there won't be any shortage of people
that will let the questioner know, in no uncertain terms, that the time to sit
down and shut up has just passed. Nothing like a few fist fights and a few
arrests to liven up the 'debate'. Is this a great country or what?

If I am wrong, and Obama doesn't fight fire with fire and McCain gets
declared the winner both before and after the 'debate', then tomorrow I
will go to my bank, cash out my IRA and bring the money home and put it
in my mattress.

[AndyTiedye]

12. Brokaw Decides Who Gets to Speak, and He is In the Tank for McCain

Brokaw has been working closely with the McCain campaign on this for weeks.
He decides who gets called on. His people picked the audience.

This could be more like an ambush than a debate.

[DrPresident]

16. and you know, that's really the reason why McCain wanted a TH debate

for that very reason.

[Tempest]

8. Someone needs to get to Obama McSame's Iran-Contra ties

McSame has ties to a Iran-Contra group that supported rightwing death squads and had Nazi sympathizers in it.

That'll sink McSame.

[Doremus]

13. I'm sure the Obama camp knows already and will use it if/when appropriate.

Why do people assume they don't know this kind of stuff?

If it's on the internet it's common knowledge already. Obama's camp no doubt has an extensive dossier on McPain of never-before-heard dirt that would make your hair stand on end.

Have faith. They have proven themselves to be up to this task and they will handle it just fine.

[HopeHoops]

10. Oh, I had such a mental image of Obama cold-cocking McCain on stage - whew. I'm better now.

[Name removed]

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