CHAPTER 4

Going Into Battle

McCain's inner circle altered the style, feel and direction of the campaign. The candidate's best hope was to bring down Obama.

By Evan Thomas | NEWSWEEK
Published Nov 6, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Nov 17, 2008

« Return to Article

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: Fiona26 @ 11/28/2008 6:29:57 PM

    Willie Horton was a convicted murderer. He was in prison for life without possibility of parole. Whoever wrote this article referred to him as a convicted rapist only. Willie was free to do whatever he wanted on his weekend furloughs . MIchael Stanley Dukakis would not even meet with the Maryland couple who were held at knifepoint and the wife was repeatedly raped. The Lawrence Eagle Tribune won a pulitzer for there coverage of the sister of the young man killed by Willie. She got the furlough program cancelled not Dukakis.
    Can't Newsweek with all their staff weed out the glaring errors.

  • Posted By: Clatech @ 11/06/2008 11:12:28 AM



    Richard Pryor had keen insight when he said "White people are so stupid"

    I???m so fed up with our corrupt political system after breaking my back for years building my business and fighting from going bankrupt, a bunch of naïve Americans elect an even more naïve career politician, president. I and many of my business partners have decided to pack it in, I???m laying off 50 plus workers starting next month and retiring. No way in hell am I going to pay this numskull???s capital gains tax and run my business into the ground before I can cash out!

    • Posted By: ex_republican @ 11/06/2008 11:54:07 AM

      I am so fed up with people who think they should pay a lower tax rate on capital gains, than I do on the money I get out of bed and go to work for. It is supply side rubbish that low business taxes create jobs. That is only true if there is unsatisfied demand and you as a business owner should know that. If you cannot sell to your capacity now, you certainly aren't going to use a tax cut to create more jobs and more capacity. Now, I can make an effective argument for no business taxes at all, as long as all profit is taxed when it is distributed from the business to an individual in any form. (Salaries, Dividends, Realized Capital Gains, ALL PERKS).

      Our economy is 2/3 consumer driven and will not be healthy unless the lower and middle classes are healthy, now matter how much we cut business taxes.

      • Posted By: ex_republican @ 11/06/2008 12:02:22 PM

        As my wife and I have income well over 250k, so we will definitely pay more tax with Mr Obama as president, and well we should. Somebody has to pay the bills, and the people working minimum wage, no benefits, small business jobs certainly don't have the money to do it. We as a country need to stop taking care of businesses and take care of our people. That will, in turn, take care of our businesses.

        • Posted By: torresc @ 11/11/2008 7:21:01 PM

          I really don't understand how you and your wife have incomes well over $250k with your views. I don't know what fantasy world you live in. Somebody has to pay the bills? Have you noticed all the job cuts going on? Have you seen the number of business going under? What kind of bubble are you hiding in? Your comment "We as a country need to stop taking care of business and take care of our people" it's like saying why help parents out let the children fend for themselves. And yes we need to take care of our people and the only way of helping them right now is by ensuring that they keep their jobs. I don't know any simpler way of putting it but if you don't help business out at the pace our economy is going well we just wont have an economy to worry about. The elections are over and we know who won but it's time to wake up and realize what we are going thru. I???m glad you are so generous but corporate America is also hurting and hurting bad right now. I don???t want their expenses passed down to me and I???m sure most people don???t want to see the price of goods to go up also. Gas is finally coming down to a manageable price but what do you think that these companies are going to do if their taxes are raised. Do you think that they want to cover that extra cost or do you think that they will pass this down to us the consumers or possibly cut more jobs? Why don???t we ask the 7,000 people at American Express or the 9,500 at DHL that are loosing their jobs if they would rather have a small income tax saving or their job back? And just how many people do you think will loose their job if General Motors goes out of business? Well I can guess well over 500k.Would a tax increase on these companies that are laying people off help them? No it wont, I don't own my own business, my household income is under $70k and yes I would get some benefit from the tax plan that Obama has planned for middle income families but would I rather feel more comfortable with my employer keeping my job? I know what my answer is, and I would love to live in your fantasy world but reality is holding me back.

          • Posted By: Zig Zag @ 11/14/2008 7:55:13 PM

            If anyone is living in a fantasy wolrd, it's you. Stop spouting that tired old trickle down theory. Somewhere along the way the republican party took a hard right - the focus became on taking care of yourself and your family and forgetting about everyone else. That is not what America is all about.

            If your household expenses suddenly go up, you have to cut back on spending or find a higher paying job. If you couldn't do either of the two, you'd go bankrupt.

            Well, running a country isn't that much different. Our expenses have gone up - it's called the Iraq war and a $700 Billion financial bailout package. And while there is some opportunity to cut expenses, it is not enough. So the only other option is to find a way to increase revenue - which means raising taxes. Or, more appropriately, rolling back the ridiculus tax cuts that Bush implemented during his presidency.

            I happen to be in the $250K+ category myself. Would I like to keep more of my money? Sure. But am I suddenly going to be in the poor house if my taxes go up? No. And if higher taxes help those who are less fortunate than I am - I can live with that.

  • Posted By: Omaar @ 11/13/2008 6:38:25 PM

    Sarah Palin Running for President !!!!!


    Ha !!

    Did Palin SEE the STATES in which she an John McCain WON ??

    Southern, Mountainous, Rural, Appalachian & Mid-Western States !!!

    She Caters to the Fearful & Uneducated...

    Look for Mitt Romney-Tim Pawlenty ...

    Tim Pawlenty-Jindal...Romney-Huckabee...

    Huckabee-Jindal...

    Huckabe-Pawlenty and Throw in the ....

    Fat A!! Whore Monger, Southern Immoral, Republican....

    Newt Gingrich for Big laughs an even Bigger Let Down in 2012.....

    Now Imagine Sarah Palin on a stage answering Questions, "The way she wants to" against the men I just listed above....


    She won't make it...she can't cut it and she needs to keep her Alaskan A!! where she can say and do ...Anything and thats not washington D.C.....


    Thats Alaska

    Note: Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski has the Legal Background & Political Pedigree on her side and she's Pro-Choice, something the Republicans Desperately NEED, to cater to the CENTER...

    Murkowski could also stand her own against the Republican Men, I just mentioned above and not look or Sound ..STUPID during the process

    Sarah Palin: "The EarMarks Queen of the Frozen Tundra" ...

    Sarah Palin: "The Alaskan Baroness of Pok Barrell Spending"

    Sarah Palin: "The Alaskan Windfalls Profiteer of the Atric Wasteland"

    Give me an the Free Thinking World a damn Break, From The "Moose Stew Mistress"

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/10/2008 2:50:40 AM

    It is disturbing that McCain got as many votes as he did. McCain can't say he is going to be CHANGE after he voted for and supported Bush's stupid and corrupt decisions. For McCain to suggest for himself and copy Obama's theme of change was utterly stupid. Though a gracious concession speech by McCain, alas, it was not his time, his time was in 2000. McCain sold his soul when he aligned himself with the very people who caused him to lose the GOP nominee in 2000 by using dirty underhanded tactics.

    • Posted By: torresc @ 11/11/2008 8:05:49 PM

      You are correct, how in the world did he manage to get so close in total votes? I mean he got out spent 5 to 1. He had the media against him, I wonder if the media left him out due to the massive amount of money Obama was spending in ads with them?

      • Posted By: AskPlus @ 11/12/2008 5:09:43 PM

        The media left him out because he was boring. He mis-manged his campaign with a three-month advantage - and spent poorly. Top that with going against every thing you said you were for, tap a crazy lady as VP, and you get to lose against a youthful, really, really smart guy with a scary middle name.

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/10/2008 2:49:06 AM

    Too bad for McCain that Bush lied to the Hispanics that were hurriedly grouped up and registered as Republicans in 2000 and more so in 2004. If it were not for Bush's empty promises to the Hispanics, McCain would have done far better with this group.

  • Posted By: Rich LaHaye @ 11/08/2008 11:07:16 AM

    Once, twice three times a looser.
    McCain wanted to get to the top at any cost. Core values? His "McCain / America First" behavior said it all.
    All he cared about was winning at any cost. HE DECIDED to do, say or smear - whatever it took.
    His speeches were as rambling as his as his thought process. (scary)
    The media let him get away with an enormous amount of gaffs and misstatements. Reagan was derided for ever showing any signs of confusion or age. Not so with McCain - He said ANYTHING and we were expected to just take it cause the "MAC was back" (?) After eight long years most Americans saw through it all and decided to go another way. I too am MORE proud than at any time in my life of this country. Republicans: set down and shut up. Take your rabies shots, send the wacky fundamentalist packing and MAYBE you'll come through this. If not this is one more Republican that will NOT be associated your GOP ever again. "I Didn't leave the Republican Party - It left me"

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/07/2008 7:09:44 PM

    If McCain didn't want negative publicity, then HE should NOT have been negative towards Obama first, old John created his own negative publicity. Because McCain considered changing parties after Bush and Fallwell degraded him and Cindy so bad in 2000, I was shocked when McCain became so brutally negative towards Obama. Didn't McCain learn ANYTHING about dirty politics?

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/07/2008 7:05:00 PM

    McCain should have picked a better VP and NOT run such negative campaign strategy. McCain has no right to slam someone else's character when he has lied at his job and he committed adultery while married to his first wife. His take on Iraq which is to just carry on the corrupt Bush war is wrong, plus his support for corporation tax cuts which send jobs overseas is certainly not a patriotic decision.

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/07/2008 7:02:03 PM

    A gracious concession speech by McCain. Alas, it was not his time, his time was in 2000. McCain sold his soul when he aligned himself with the very people who caused him to lose the GOP nominee in 2000 by using dirty underhanded tactics. McCain's # 1 problem-BUSH, his second biggest problem-Palin.

  • Posted By: jlgab @ 11/07/2008 7:01:44 PM

    It is a bit disturbing that McCain got as many votes as he did. McCain can't say he is going to be CHANGE after he voted for and supported Bush's stupid and corrupt decisions.

  • Posted By: rube @ 11/07/2008 1:33:17 PM

    Its about policy as well as character, McCain showed little of each to take the nation forward from
    the failures of his own political theocracy!
    We can only hope that that the days of reactionary ???gut driven fist swinging
    quasi-colloquial tainted political figures" are over! RIP to these anti-intellectual
    self righteous dogmatic fanatics!

    No matter what nation that extols any sort of extremism the results are the same???
    war, anarchy, intolerance- the quality of life is lost!
    We as a nation have the social economic scares of the past eight years to prove this!

  • Posted By: Eleanora53 @ 11/06/2008 6:43:39 PM

    This is an excellent article; a compelling well-woven narrative. I'm especially impressed by the editing that so seamlessly blends stories from a diverse group of journalists. The themes come across clearly: The Obama campaign was disciplined from the top down, the McCain campaign was fractious and fractional from the beginning and always out of step with its mercurial candidate, the Clinton campaign blew itself up, undermined as much by the Cintons (certainly, Bill) as some of their strategists. Award-winning writing, I predict!

    • Posted By: ellisah @ 11/07/2008 12:03:06 PM

      Totally agree. Well done!

  • Posted By: ksemper @ 11/07/2008 11:25:36 AM

    I do not understand the relevance of quoting the jay z song? Was it not sufficent to just name the song and the artist? was it really necessary to quote vulgar laced lyrics? did bho say he got the move from jay z? are you implying he listens to this sort of music and condones the language?

  • Posted By: ksemper @ 11/07/2008 11:22:34 AM

    What exactly is the relevance of quoting a song by Jay Z besidets the obvious which was to use the word "***"? Do we know for certain that he was imitating a rapper?

  • Posted By: pgadia @ 11/07/2008 1:07:33 AM

    Mr. Mccain conviction to win the White House is short of cash and lack of strategy... I've just heard many votes for Mr. Obama want tobe part of the history of an African American as President here in the U.S. and not on their values of life. Here in California many voted for him but against same sex marriages. As the article about the Mccain circles to bring down Mr. Obama, the election is over and this kind of message flowing around will makes the divide greater and the African American to be more alieanated with the Republican party... and I believed this is what is all about making the Republican party as the enemy of the new Administration even the new President elect not yet in office. Politics do their job anyway when comes election time, but to write news like this is to insunuate division and bipartisan cruel words is not true jornalism. It's not journalistic professionalism and closed minded.

  • Posted By: slickfox @ 11/06/2008 8:44:47 PM

    The handwritten prayer left by Barack Obama in the cracks of Jerusalem's Western Wall; Lord _ Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will. The prayer has been answer !

  • Posted By: GA_Girl @ 11/06/2008 5:10:45 PM


    ex-repoublicam:
    I want to give you a big hug. I wish there were more people in this country that think like you do...realistically!

  • Posted By: africana @ 11/06/2008 2:11:32 PM

    This is an excellent cliff-hanger. If it is true - and I rather assume it is - it is the best kind of reporting ever. It is an excellent piece of editing and collating information from myriad sources and building a strong and coherent narrative. I am not American and so could not vote anyway, but I like McCain a lot better for reading this. I would have voted for Obama not because of his domestic policies as such - they do not speak to me as they speak to Americans, but because of his message about the need for change. In voting for him, America came to its senses

    But I feel a tad sorry for McCain.

  • Posted By: MzKeke @ 11/06/2008 11:40:56 AM

    I love this series! I've read every chapter so far.. it's so great to read these behind the scenes since I followed this campaign since Oct 2007. Thanks Newsweek, looking forward to Chapter 5!!

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse