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By Nedra Pickler
Associated Press
POSTED: 08:52 a.m. EDT, Sep 12, 2008
NEW YORK: John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out today from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career.
The new fighting spirit comes as McCain has been gaining in the polls and some Democrats have been expressing concern the Obama campaign has not been aggressive enough. Obama's campaign says the escalation will involve advertising and pushes made by the candidate, running mate Joe Biden and other surrogates across the country.
''Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign,'' Obama campaign manager David Plouffe says in a campaign strategy memo. ''We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain's attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people.''
The newest ad showcasing their hard line includes unflattering footage of McCain at a hearing in the early '80s, wearing giant glasses and an out-of-style suit, interspersed with shots of a disco ball, a clunky phone, an outdated computer and a Rubik's Cube.
''1982, John McCain goes to Washington,'' an announcer says over chirpy elevator music. ''Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't.
''He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail, still doesn't understand the economy, and favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class,'' it says. It shows video of McCain getting out of a golf cart with former President George H.W. Bush and closes with a photo of him standing with the current President Bush at the White House. ''After one president who was out of touch, we just can't afford more of the same.''
Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said the campaign was not making an issue of the 72-year-old McCain's age, but the time he's spent in Washington.
''Our economy wouldn't survive without the Internet, and cyber-security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats,'' Pfeiffer said. ''It's extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn't know how to send an e-mail.''
McCain has said he relies on his wife and staff to work the computer for him and that he doesn't use e-mail.
The ad is being coupled with another positive spot that highlights Obama's change message, arguing he will provide better health care and tax breaks and bring people together.
A spokesman for the Republican National Committee, Alex Conant, accused Obama of ''trying to destroy'' McCain and running mate Sarah Palin with personal attacks.
''This is more evidence that Obama's politics of hope is just empty words,'' Conant said in a statement.
Obama has already been showing a newly aggressive tone on the campaign trail in the past week, fighting back against the notion that McCain and Palin will bring change to Washington. Some Democrats have privately groused that Obama is attacking Palin and arguing that job should fall to Biden.
Plouffe made it clear in his memo that the vice presidential nominee will be at the center of the debate going forward. ''Senator Biden will be integral to that effort, both in pushing back on the lies that we'll continue to see from our opponents, and in keeping the debate focused on delivering for everyday Americans,'' Plouffe wrote. He argued that the campaign welcomes a debate over who is best equipped to change the country.
Obama's campaign says the escalation is not in response to the changing dynamics of the race, but part of a planned strategy timed to the final weeks of the campaign after mourning the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. They insist that although McCain may have gotten a bump in national polls since his pick of Palin, Obama still is best positioned in battleground states for an Electoral College win.
Still, Obama has been playing defense as McCain has tried to grab the change mantel, created new enthusiasm with his pick of Palin and accused Obama of maligning her when he said putting lipstick on a pig is still a pig. In fact, Obama had not been talking about Palin when he made the statement, but heated accusations between the two campaigns over the flap dominated national coverage of his trip to the battleground state of Virginia this week.
The campaign was heartened that Virginia media focused instead on Obama's planned message of reforming schools and drawing contrasts with McCain over education policy. Aides say Obama will continue to highlight differences on issues — like tax policy during a visit to New Hampshire today — with the constant theme that Obama will bring change while McCain is no different than Bush.
NEW YORK: John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out today from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career.
The new fighting spirit comes as McCain has been gaining in the polls and some Democrats have been expressing concern the Obama campaign has not been aggressive enough. Obama's campaign says the escalation will involve advertising and pushes made by the candidate, running mate Joe Biden and other surrogates across the country.
''Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign,'' Obama campaign manager David Plouffe says in a campaign strategy memo. ''We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain's attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people.''
The newest ad showcasing their hard line includes unflattering footage of McCain at a hearing in the early '80s, wearing giant glasses and an out-of-style suit, interspersed with shots of a disco ball, a clunky phone, an outdated computer and a Rubik's Cube.
''1982, John McCain goes to Washington,'' an announcer says over chirpy elevator music. ''Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't.
''He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail, still doesn't understand the economy, and favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class,'' it says. It shows video of McCain getting out of a golf cart with former President George H.W. Bush and closes with a photo of him standing with the current President Bush at the White House. ''After one president who was out of touch, we just can't afford more of the same.''
Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said the campaign was not making an issue of the 72-year-old McCain's age, but the time he's spent in Washington.
''Our economy wouldn't survive without the Internet, and cyber-security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats,'' Pfeiffer said. ''It's extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn't know how to send an e-mail.''
McCain has said he relies on his wife and staff to work the computer for him and that he doesn't use e-mail.
The ad is being coupled with another positive spot that highlights Obama's change message, arguing he will provide better health care and tax breaks and bring people together.
A spokesman for the Republican National Committee, Alex Conant, accused Obama of ''trying to destroy'' McCain and running mate Sarah Palin with personal attacks.
''This is more evidence that Obama's politics of hope is just empty words,'' Conant said in a statement.
Obama has already been showing a newly aggressive tone on the campaign trail in the past week, fighting back against the notion that McCain and Palin will bring change to Washington. Some Democrats have privately groused that Obama is attacking Palin and arguing that job should fall to Biden.
Plouffe made it clear in his memo that the vice presidential nominee will be at the center of the debate going forward. ''Senator Biden will be integral to that effort, both in pushing back on the lies that we'll continue to see from our opponents, and in keeping the debate focused on delivering for everyday Americans,'' Plouffe wrote. He argued that the campaign welcomes a debate over who is best equipped to change the country.
Obama's campaign says the escalation is not in response to the changing dynamics of the race, but part of a planned strategy timed to the final weeks of the campaign after mourning the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. They insist that although McCain may have gotten a bump in national polls since his pick of Palin, Obama still is best positioned in battleground states for an Electoral College win.
Still, Obama has been playing defense as McCain has tried to grab the change mantel, created new enthusiasm with his pick of Palin and accused Obama of maligning her when he said putting lipstick on a pig is still a pig. In fact, Obama had not been talking about Palin when he made the statement, but heated accusations between the two campaigns over the flap dominated national coverage of his trip to the battleground state of Virginia this week.
The campaign was heartened that Virginia media focused instead on Obama's planned message of reforming schools and drawing contrasts with McCain over education policy. Aides say Obama will continue to highlight differences on issues — like tax policy during a visit to New Hampshire today — with the constant theme that Obama will bring change while McCain is no different than Bush.
Comments
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Posted 09:22 AM, 09/12/2008
how many people in their 70s know how to use a computer? Very few. What a stupid thing to bring up.
Posted 10:41 AM, 09/12/2008
My aunt for one. She is the same age as McCain and I do get frequent e-mails from her.
Posted 11:23 AM, 09/12/2008
My grandfather is almost 80 and has taught himself to use a computer very well. He surfs the internet and does email like a pro.
Posted 11:32 AM, 09/12/2008
“Republican presidential nominee John McCain,keeps saying his running mate, Sarah Palin, killed the federally funded Bridge to Nowhere when, in fact, she pulled her support only after the project became a political embarrassment. He accuses Democrat Barack Obama of calling Palin a pig, which did NOT happen. He says Obama would raise nearly everyone's taxes, when independent groups say 80 percent of families would get tax CUTS instead.” –AP Sep 12, 2008 (Mark Halperin)
Posted 12:23 PM, 09/12/2008
well that's good that some have learnt how to use one. But I've known several that I have had to teach and several that prefer not to learn it. You shouldn't put a person down because they don't know how to use a computer. How many people know how to read a map, use a compass, sewing machine. There are people who don't even know how to wash clothes, change a tire and so on.
Tepplin, DC
Posted 12:50 PM, 09/12/2008
The president should know how to use a computer, of all things, because technology is the future for our economy and the world. McSame is unqualified for the job. But what else should we expect from the party that wrecked America?
Tepplin, DC
Posted 12:56 PM, 09/12/2008
t, you miss the point. People SHOULD know how to read maps. They should know how to use a compass. And arguably they should know how to wash their clothes and use a sewing machine. What's wrong with becoming self-sufficient, being open to learning and educating onesself in this country? The way you put it, it's like it's perfectly okay to be ignorant and stupid. Even when ignorance and stupidity have gotten us into this giant economic mess, a mortgage crisis because people can't read the fine print, leaders who can't lead because we choose celebrities and empty suits instead, corrupt businessmen who get off scott free because we don't know our laws, and so on. Certainly, the President of the US should at least be capable of doing most if not all of these things, because an intelligent, well educated leader can foster positive developments that a stupid one (i.e. Bush) cannot.
Posted 03:00 PM, 09/12/2008
then the leader of the country should not be some rich snob. Tell me how many of the well to do know how to change a tire, cook or do any of the basics? There isn't many, this one company I use to work for, the CFO had a flat tire, he was going to call a tow truck cause he didn't know how to put the spare on. I work in desktop and network support, do you know how many people there is out there that don't know anything about PCs? There are heads of companies that have no idea. I deal with people like this every day, Should I go around telling them they are stupid, that they shouldn't have their positions? You tell a person to defrag their PC they give you a dumb look. You ask them if they have a flash drive, thumb drive or anything like that and they have a blank look on their face. I deal with this type of stuff every day so no I don't think it's a big deal not to know about computers. Half the people in change of the larger companies in this country have no idea how to use one.
Posted 03:38 PM, 09/12/2008
After Eight years of Bush-McCain policies, we need real change. And not from the guy who voted with Bush over 90% of the time.
akron, oh
Posted 04:32 PM, 09/12/2008
>> how many people in their 70s know how to use a computer? Very few. What a stupid thing to bring up. My mother never finished high school, is near 70 and is now online.
Posted 01:46 PM, 09/17/2008
From Dreams of My Father: 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.' From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race.' From Dreams of My Father: 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.' From Dreams of My Father: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.' From Dreams of My Father: 'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself , the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.' And FINALLY the Most Damming one of ALL of them!!! From Audacity of Hope: 'I will stand with the Muslim s should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.' Think you know who this man is? This possible President of the United States ?? Read Below and ask yourselves, is this REALLY someone we can see as the President of our great nation!!!! Below are a few lines from Obama's books; In his words * If you have never forwarded an e-mail, now is the time to Do so!!!! We CANNOT have someone with this type of mentality running our GREAT nation!! I don't care whether you a Democrat or a Conservative. We CANNOT turn ourselves over to this type of character in a President. PLEASE help spread the word!
Posted 02:21 PM, 09/17/2008
So Senator McCain does not know how to use the computer. That is NOTHING to waste time speaking about. There are alot of ways of communicating this day & age without a computer!
