With Obama Abroad, McCain Fights for Photo Ops | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008

McCain is losing the war of the photo ops. Even his aides say the campaign has to improve.

Khue Bui for Newsweek

Smile Big: A McCain photo op in St. Louis

By Holly Bailey and Suzanne Smalley | NEWSWEEK

Published Jul 26, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Aug 4, 2008

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John McCain figured he would have a tough time getting attention last week. The superstar images of Barack Obama's overseas tour were made for TV. So McCain's people set up their own Hollywood shot: the candidate would chopper over the Gulf of Mexico to an oil rig off the Louisiana coast, where, flanked by men and machinery, he would give a speech promoting offshore oil drilling to ease gas prices. "We won't catch Obama on pictures this week," admitted one McCain adviser who asked not to be named talking about strategy. "But we can at least try and stay in the game."

It wasn't meant to be. Less than an hour after announcing the photo op, the campaign abruptly canceled, citing Hurricane Dolly, which was swirling near the Texas coast. Worse, a runaway barge along the Mississippi River had rammed into a 600-foot oil tanker that morning, leaving a 12-mile-long oil slick that blanketed New Orleans in diesel fumes.

The campaign's big photo op of the week turned out to be a visit to a supermarket in Bethlehem, Pa.—where McCain was photographed in front of a display of processed cheese. As the candidate roamed through the store, his campaign's lanky cameraman knocked over a shelf of Mott's applesauce. The jars skittered across the floor past the senator's feet. When he paused to take questions from reporters, he was briefly drowned out by an announcement on the store's PA system.

All week, McCain aides had been complaining about what they saw as the media's obsession with the Obama trip. They were also unhappy about the thin attention they were receiving. Even Fox News broke away from live coverage of the senator's town-hall meeting to follow the plight of Lil' Smokey, a black bear cub rescued from the California wildfires.

Yet some McCain advisers privately concede the candidate's troubles are not entirely the media's fault. Since capturing the GOP nomination this spring, McCain's campaign has fought to gain its footing and to find a consistent message that defines why he should be elected. It hasn't helped that McCain has resisted pleas from his aides to cut back on the visually dull town-hall meetings he loves and submit to carefully choreographed events in grander settings, where the pictures tell the story. The senator has a deep distaste for the artifice of modern media-driven campaigns—all this business about standing in precisely this spot and reading precisely this line off a teleprompter exactly the same way a dozen times a day.

His staff can spend weeks organizing an elaborate campaign appearance, only to have McCain ignore his stage directions. A stop at a home-heating-oil plant in New Hampshire last week went awry when McCain stood in the wrong place against staff advice and took questions in front of a bright white oil truck. The result: harsh, washed-out pictures of the candidate. At a press conference earlier this month, McCain aides ordered reporters not to turn to look at the senator as he walked to the microphones, fearing he would catch sight of a familiar face and start talking before he reached the photogenic backdrop.

This is interesting: A good government group is set to ask the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into the two big McCain stories of recent days -- the bundled contributions from Hess executives, and the bundling by Harry Sargeant, the guy who raised cash for McCain from a host of unlikely donors.

The request, which will be made on Monday by Campaign Money Watch, which first flagged the Hess story to us, raises at least the possibility that such a probe could be initiated during the campaign. Barring that, it could keep the stories going in the press a bit.

David Donnelly of Campaign Money Watch confirms to me that they'll make the formal request on Monday, and also is request for a Federal probe in an email that just went out to supporters. Donnelly says that his group's request is being triggered by McCain's letter to the donors whose contributions had been bundled by Sargeant.

Donnelly said that the letter, which advised the donors of the legal ins-and-outs of such contributions, didn't go far enough in trying to determine what had happened.

"What he didn't say was, 'Tell us who was responsible for giving you money to give to me, and we'll urge the authorities to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," " Donnelly said. "The letter raises the question, 'Is the McCain campaign covering for his bundlers?"
Asked why Sargeant, whose company holds a huge contract to deliver fuel to military bases in Iraq, merited an investigation, Donnelly said: "An executive from a company that has a billion dollar contract to deliver oil to U.S. bases in Iraq possibly violated election law to funnel contributions to McCain. We think that warrants an investigation."

And on the Hess matter, Donnelly said: "An office manager for an oil company that stands to gain millions in profits from offshore drilling makes donations for the first time this cycle to McCain, and did it at the same time nine other Hess donors do. That's worth an investigation."

"Drill here drill there drill everywhere" McCain said:

Extend your oil boring PAIN with your vote for McCain

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Posted By: sharenews @ 08/09/2008 11:24:30 PM

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
Saturday, August 09, 2008

With Leaners:

McCain - 47%

Obama - 46%

Without leaners

TIED:

McCain - 44%

Obama - 44%

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that the race for the White House is tied - Barack Obama and John McCain each attract 44% of the vote. When leaners are included, it???s McCain 47% and Obama 46%. With leaners, the candidates have been within one point of each other for nine straight days

Tracking Polls are released at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time each day.
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Posted By: Driver of wagons @ 08/08/2008 9:42:27 PM

This is interesting: A good government group is set to ask the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into the two big McCain stories of recent days -- the bundled contributions from Hess executives, and the bundling by Harry Sargeant, the guy who raised cash for McCain from a host of unlikely donors.

The request, which will be made on Monday by Campaign Money Watch, which first flagged the Hess story to us, raises at least the possibility that such a probe could be initiated during the campaign. Barring that, it could keep the stories going in the press a bit.

David Donnelly of Campaign Money Watch confirms to me that they'll make the formal request on Monday, and also is request for a Federal probe in an email that just went out to supporters. Donnelly says that his group's request is being triggered by McCain's letter to the donors whose contributions had been bundled by Sargeant.

Donnelly said that the letter, which advised the donors of the legal ins-and-outs of such contributions, didn't go far enough in trying to determine what had happened.

"What he didn't say was, 'Tell us who was responsible for giving you money to give to me, and we'll urge the authorities to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," " Donnelly said. "The letter raises the question, 'Is the McCain campaign covering for his bundlers?"
Asked why Sargeant, whose company holds a huge contract to deliver fuel to military bases in Iraq, merited an investigation, Donnelly said: "An executive from a company that has a billion dollar contract to deliver oil to U.S. bases in Iraq possibly violated election law to funnel contributions to McCain. We think that warrants an investigation."

And on the Hess matter, Donnelly said: "An office manager for an oil company that stands to gain millions in profits from offshore drilling makes donations for the first time this cycle to McCain, and did it at the same time nine other Hess donors do. That's worth an investigation."

"Drill here drill there drill everywhere" McCain said:

Extend your oil boring PAIN with your vote for McCain
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Posted By: daveh @ 08/06/2008 5:36:52 PM

McCain fatigue sets in as soon as he opens his mouth. After 8 years of Bush/Cheney/Rove, it is unfortunate that the best the Repubs can offer is McCain of the same. I am so tired of the swiftboating type attacks, and so should you.