McCain apology angers conservative host

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

CINCINNATI, Ohio (CNN) -- A conservative radio talk-show host said that "he's had it up to here" with Sen. John McCain after the GOP presidential candidate repudiated the commentator's remarks about Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at a campaign event.

Commentator Bill Cunningham comes under fire over remarks about Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

"John McCain threw me under a bus -- under the 'Straight Talk Express,' " Bill Cunningham told CNN on Tuesday, referring to McCain's campaign bus.

Earlier Tuesday, Cunningham spoke at a McCain campaign event in Cincinnati and called Obama a "hack, Chicago-style Daley politician."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/27/cunningham.mccain/index.html

---

Great way to keep a one-day story going, and going, and....

[ReformedChris]

1. Slipping Ratings contributed to him wanting attention like this, RW talkers are desperate.

He said ridiculous things and half the audience knew it was wrong. He made a horses ass outta himself. They all despise McCain for not being the perfect Fundie Conservative and he went in knowing he wanted to stir the pot. I hope his ratings continue to slide, and slide, and slide until he is off the air.

[LTR]

17. Cunningham has to make up for his own shortcomings by acting like a complete ass

Anyone care to guess what those shortcomings are?

[maseman]

21. Can't stand Willie

But his ratings are not slipping. I have a first hand look at Cincy radio ratings and his show on WLW is doing quite fine.

His audience expects this kind of stuff from Willie. He's a blowhard and a big mouth who is a racist. But he gets ratings. I think this will not help McCain as he needs as many independents as possible and this will not help that cause one bit.

[ReformedChris]

22. His weekend show (Which I have no idea about) is getting pulled off stations due to low ratings..

According to another RW talker on the radio. Bill needed to get attention to pull up ratings in other markets outside of Ohio. It is always easier to get ratings at the Home Fort. I hope this backfires on him, because he has some apologists that are just plain stupid.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Poor Bill - he's become irrelevant outside of his sick world

Too funny.

[TwilightGardener]

3. McCain really needs to stay in the news, doesn't he? This is so fake and contrived, it's

like a WWF match--now McCain and this guy will be smack-talking each other, all to make McCain look like a hero for defending Obama, and idiot Democrats (some here on DU) will fall for it.

[DS1]

4. WWF is exactly what I was thinking

and similar to those manufactured disputes between Nascar racers to build up a storyline and give the race announcers something to yammer on about

[zbdent]

10. I do believe that the Repuke party looked at "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

in the 90s and said, "That's how we'll act ..."

despite the fact that "firebrand" and "renegade" Austin had the full blessing of Vince McMahon ...

(Similar to the NWO storyline in WCW, too, so it's not limited to the WWE, but the WWE made 'rasslin' more ridiculous in the 80s than it ever was, and the marks/jabronies ate it up)

[dbackjon]

5. All orchestrated by McCain campaign

[tularetom]

6. Um it smells like a scam to me

You can't tell me this wasn't all pre arranged. McLame gets to look statesmanlike and yet the "Hussein" and "kumbaiya" bullshit gets tossed out there again. If it were the bush administration I'd doubt their competence to pull off something like this but McCain & crew have yet to prove their stupidity so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and accuse them of staging this.

[bemildred]

8. That was my take. nt

[Virginia Dare]

11. Yup...n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. I'm not buying it either.

Works out too well for all the involved parties for me think it was anything other than prearranged.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. Why would they do this?

I've post this elsewhere, and I'll post it here.

Why would McCain, whose biggest liability right now is his lack of support from the right wing, throw a prominent right wing radio host under the bus? Why would he tell the Freeper base of the Republican Party that he would rather apoligize to Hillary Clinton that support one of their own?

This dust-up isn't good news for McCain. And the vitriol spewed by Cunningham toward Obama doesn't hurt his campaign -- it just tells the moderates (and anybody with an ounce of decency) that the Republican Party is the home of hate-mongers. There's no upside to McCain in all of this.

I think we give Republicans WAY too much credit.

[tularetom]

15. You may be right - but yet

It was not really a well known radio wing nut that got thrown under the bus. It was some class Z local Limpballs wannabe. These assholes are a dime a dozen. I don't think McCain would risk his already shaky right wing support for a well known talker unless....

All the right wing outrage from Coulter Limbaugh Glen Beck and others about McCain is also a scam to get him to make some concessions to them so that they can then boast of their tremendous clout with republican candidates. "Don't forget WE got McCain to change his position on..........".

I share your feeling that maybe we tend to overestimate their competence, but that one seems within their abilities to pull off.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

18. 50,000 Watts

Bill's show is on WLW in Cincinnati and it can be heard from Denver to Boston. The show is syndicated to 300 outlets, and WLW is also on XM (or Sirius, I forget which). So this is a guy with a great, big megaphone and a following.

If this was a calculated move, it's risky as hell.

[LTR]

16. McCain's pushing for moderates and independents

Let's face it, the hardcore wingnuts will always hate him because he's not divisive enough. He's not part of the asshole crowd, who don't even see the irony of labeling people who disagree with them as 'traitors.' It's a lost cause.

For a relatively non-divisive candidate like McCain, his strength lies in attracting undecideds, moderates and independents. The freeper crowd isn't that big, though they are more vociferous. But the big prize this year are the people who are turned off by the AM talk radio version of the Republican party.

McCain claims he wants to run a clean campaign this year, but call me skeptical. He'll have others do his dirty work (i.e. 527 groups).

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

19. Bush's 19% Supporters

and those wingnuts that McCain appears to be pissing off something fierce (whether intentionally or unintentionally). In a close race, I don't know if he can afford to give up the low-hanging fruit in favor of voters he'll have to fight for - especially if Obama is the nominee.

[classysassy]

7. Another

lying,sick m'fer, in the mode of Duke Cunninhgham.

[spanone]

9. looks like life angers that pig

[Virginia Dare]

12. "I'm going to join Ann Coulter and support Hillary Clinton"...

what a flockstick this guy is, and McCain is too for giving this guy a forum.

[rocktivity]

20. He shouldn't take it so hard--McLame apologized to the PRESS, not the audience

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS!



:eyes:
rocknation

[Supersedeas]

23. Never me him, never met Paxson, Bush never met Abramoff, they never meet who they meet