Wow. This is what the swiftboating has done to some on our side:

[beachmom]

It's made them bent on revenge. Many bloggers have gotten themselves all excited about a McCain story told about his days as a POW and whether he was truthful about it. For me, I find it all inconclusive, and anyway, it can't be proven/disproven regardless. Oddly enough, the McCain campaign responded to the speculation and went after Daily Kos. The response is actually funny to me, and is Exhibit A of how not to "fight back" IMO. This diary is about that:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/18/181010/673/553/569994

This person weighed in, and expressed my feelings. Even if you 100% don't agree, look at the responses to that comment.

please let this end here (6+ / 0-)

There's no winning this for us. this is an un-provable claim on our part, the best we can do is say that it sounds like something another dude wrote and that he didn't use the example at many events in the past--this is not nearly strong enough evidence to beat the RNC and the media, known to say shit like "are you questioning john mccain's integrity?"...

Please, people, zoom out your vision from this situation and realize how Malkin-esque this has become ON OUR PART. Let's nail McCain for supporting the killing of a million Iraqis and 4200 Americans, for supporting murder-by-spreadsheet health insurance, for lying in his constant greenwashing, and for being so rich and entitled that he has no idea of the economic status of the country. Whether or not the Geezer makes up some very insignificant and unprovable war stories is irrelevant. This won't help us, and it is at the Limbaugh level of discourse to get so interested in this.

by stanbio on Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 03:57:54 PM PDT

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/8/18/181010/673/166#c166

Disagree--this is a Swiftboat moment (18+ / 0-)

for McSame. His whole case for being president is that he was a POW. If he's suspected of juicing up that story it will greatly tarnish his great American hero image.

They know this, that's why they are scrambling so fast to discredit the story.

Never give up! Never surrender!

by oscarsmom on Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 04:02:35 PM PDT

BINGO!!! Just like Kerry was..

we should cast some doubts where we can.

Plant the seeds.

SANKOFA(Akan) "One must return to the past in order to move forward."

by MariaWr on Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 04:59:19 PM PDT

Oh why don't you grow a pair already.. (11+ / 0-)


We are not Obama surrogates. We are at the most an unofficial 527 that is not affiliated with the Obama campaign and therefore he is not responsible for the content of our diaries. The McCain campaign is foolish to waste precious resources on us. Besides, we are obviously getting under their skin since this is the second time they've lobbed that ridiculous D&D reference our way.

If you want to hit McCain over any of the points you mentioned then go right ahead. That does not preclude us from going for his jugular.

If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs, your name must be Barack Obama.

by eclecticbrotha on Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 04:24:12 PM PDT

We complain about the media, but clearly, some people still don't get what swiftboating is, and most importantly, don't get that it is WRONG.

[wisteria]

1. I personally think we should leave his time in the service alone.

There are plenty of other things to go after him with. It wasn't right when they did this to Senator Kerry, it isn't right now. McCain did serve his country and he was tortured by our enemy at that time. We should be above gutter politics and tactics.

[beachmom]

2. Mr. Swiftboater, Bud Day, has now weighed in:

"We were bringing each other up to date, he was telling me how he had been tortured," Day said. The guards had "busted his arm," and "John was complaining that they'd treated him like an animal." Day said "the only friendly thing the ever did was hit me on the leg instead of on the head." But, according to Day, McCain wouldn't condemn them all, telling the other men of the occasional act of decency he'd witnessed from his captors. Day says McCain told him how one of those guards had "made a cross with his foot and wiped it out."

I am sorry, but Bud Day is not a credible source given his past.

Ugh. I have begun to revise slightly what this is all about: it is not about McCain's military service or suffering as a POW. Frankly, his original xmas story (where he refuses to go to a church service cooked up as propaganda & then yells obscenities at the guards) is MUCH better and sounds more like the truth. The issue here is the question of whether or not he is just pandering to Evangelicals.