McCain’s “week of pandering”

Robert Gibbs, the Communications Director of the Obama Campaign, held a conference call to discuss and highlight Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) supposed “week of pandering.” Gibbs said that McCain continually says one thing to one audience and a complete different thing to another audience.

Gibbs explained that when talking to fellow republicans McCain said that he would not vote for his own immigration legislation. However, when he held a secret meeting with a group of Hispanic leaders in Chicago, McCain assured them that he would push through Congress to vote for comprehensive immigration reform. Gibbs said that he cannot understand how McCain can be comfortable saying one thing to a group of conservatives and the complete opposite to a group of Latinos.

Gibbs said that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has a good strategy for reaching out to Latino communities. He said that Obama’s campaign team has a number of prominent Latino surrogates who will help fulfill Obama’s promise to run a vigorous campaign in Latino communities. Gibbs said that Obama’s strategy is far stronger than McCain’s and is positive that it will be successful.

Gibbs also explained that McCain not only changed his view on the issue of immigration, but also on off shore drilling. McCain supported the ban on off shore drilling in California time and time again, but recently, he has “flip-flopped” this view and created a new policy to support lifting the ban on off shore drilling. Gibbs said that there is a big difference in who McCain wants people to believe he is and who McCain actually is.

McCain is providing the American people with “gimmicks”

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a conference call with the Barack Obama campaign, that John McCain (R-Ariz.) has spent the week exhausting himself with a double talk dance and presenting new and opposite views on many of his policies.

Kerry outlined several positions that McCain has changed on over the past few weeks such as torture, offshore drilling, drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). McCain said that he would “be more than happy to examine that again” even though he previously said it wasn’t worth the time. Kerry said that the U.S. has only three percent of the world’s oil and John McCain used to know his stuff and argue is points well, but now “running for president has evidently provided an opportunity for double talk” or more of the Washington game at the expense of the interest of the American people.

Kerry said that before McCain can start debating with Obama, he needs to finish debating with himself. The fundamental distinction between Barack Obama and John McCain is that Obama understand that you can’t drill your way out of this crisis but that you need alternatives, Kerry said. McCain is offering the same Bush mentality that oil can solve every problem. The United States cannot have leadership that pretends there is a solution for getting more oil and gas through U.S. sources that will help the current crisis, the leadership need to be focusing on alternative energy solutions, he said.

St. Paul Minnesota Mayor, Chris Coleman agreed with Kerry’s remarks and said that McCain’s gas tax holiday is “the biggest gimmick McCain has put out there.” Whereas Obama has proposed significant and real steps towards a more secure future, McCain has only proposed more Washington gimmicks and flip flopping policies.

McCain campaign: Barack Obama, a typical liberal

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) while speaking on a conference call with reporters lambasted Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for being “a typical young liberal who did what was necessary to excel.” Thompson who was joined by McCain senior foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann joined in with Thompson in critiquing the senator from Illinois on his foreign policy.

The contention between the McCain and Obama campaigns came after the Supreme Courts 5-4 ruling that would give prisoners at Guantanamo Bay the right to challenge their detention in the American courts. While both McCain and Obama have pledged to close down Guantanamo Bay they differ on whether or not to conduct military tribunals. Sen. Obama supports allowing the detainees to use the court system while Sen. McCain would like to see the tribunals resurrected.

Thompson chastised Sen. Obama for supporting a measure that theoretically would allow Guantanamo detainees the right to the American courts. “Instead of approaching this from a military standpoint he wants it from a civil standpoint,” said Thompson. Thompson added that this was the same mentality and procedure under President Clinton and that it didn’t work.

Obama was also accused of being a flip flopper on the issue of the death penalty for Islamic extremists. Thompson said that Obama has vacillated on the issue and that he is just another “typical politician.”

McCain, Obama campaigns battle over nuclear arms

Representatives from the campaigns of both Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaking at the Arms Control Associations annual luncheon argued their candidates position on nuclear weapons in a changing world. John Holum the former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under Former President Bill Clinton speaking on behalf of Sen. Obama told the audience that Obama would place a high emphasis on prevention. “To Sen. Obama a nuclear free world is not just a dream on the horizon but an idea we can achieve,” said Holum.

Stephen Biegun a Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Governmental Affairs for Ford Motor Company representing the McCain campaign chastised what he viewed as the Obama campaign unfairly trying to tie Sen. McCain to President Bush. “The good thing is that John McCain is not President Bush, he’s John McCain.”

Biegun agreed though with the Obama campaign that engagement over nuclear disarmament is key with other nations but that civilian nuclear energy needs to be harnessed. “We will look to engage Russia on reduction of their weapons and will use civilian nuclear energy as an important way to contribute to the energy in America.”

While the two men remained civil throughout the exchange the idea that Sen. Obama would meet with the Iranians with no preconditions drew strong criticism from Biegun. “Meeting with no pre-conditions in the first year Obama would give the Iranian President more credibility than he needs.” Holum countered by saying “the absence of diplomacy has not worked (referring to the Bush Administration).

Team McCain fires back on Obama's remarks

Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign held a press conference call to discuss Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Senator Barack Obama’s remarks in Flint, Michigan. Senior economic policy adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin and Republican National Committee (RNC) Victory 2008 Chair Carly Fiorina answered questions from callers on issues ranging from free trade to the Iraq war to education policies.

With regards to free trade, Fiorina highlighted McCain’s view that ‘competitiveness requires competing’ and ‘competing involves free trade.’ She pointed out that Obama thinks the free trade agreement should be voted against. Fiorina feels Obama is implying that America cannot compete with the rest of the world. She said that McCain, on the other hand, believe Americans can compete and he has been calling for training camps as well as a world class infrastructure. In the event that trade agreements are violated, Fiorina said McCain will prosecute agreements and ensure that they adhere to World Trade Organization guidelines. Fiorina said that Obama feels there is a problem with the U.S. Global Resources (USGR) bureaucracy and that his decision to vote against free trade with Colombia has caused problems.

McCain was also quoted on being critical of oil company profits. He proposed to treat oil companies like other businesses. When questioned on the rationale behind drilling along America’s coast, Holtz-Eakin pointed out that this equates to more oil for American consumers. Fiorina also said it would be good for Obama to see the ground situation in Iraq and Afghanistan as he might acknowledge its success and change his position. Fiorina pointed out that McCain was gratified that the surge was working.

According to Fiorina, McCain feels that the ‘no child left behind’ policy is imperfect. McCain felt that teachers must be motivated with incentives to improve levels of teaching. As a supporter of the G. I. bill which provides college or vocational education for returning veterans, McCain also proposed that those benefits should be transferable from veterans to their families. Fiorina also said that McCain feels parents should have the power of choice whether to enroll their children in public, private or charter schools as it invokes ‘discipline of competition.’ McCain was impressed by charter schools and their ‘culture of success.’