McCain camp hits 'insult' by Obama surrogate
John McCain's campaign today is calling on Barack Obama to denounce an attack on the Arizona senator by one of their Senate colleagues, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Rockefeller, an Obama supporter, told the Charleston Gazette that McCain "was a fighter pilot who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit."
"What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground?" Rockefeller is quoted as saying. "He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues."
McCain's campaign had Orson Swindle, a former lieutenant colonel in the Marines who was a prisoner of war with McCain in Vietnam, issue a statement dubbing Rockefeller's comments "an insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America's military."
"Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might," Swindle said. "If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn't dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967."
Swindle added that Obama has a "responsibility to denounce Senator Rockefeller's smear against John McCain's character and military record."
UPDATE: Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "Senator Obama has a deep respect for Senator McCain's service to this country and doesn't agree with what Senator Rockefeller said."
UPDATE: Rockefeller's office just put out a statement saying that the senator called McCain today to apologize for his remarks. Rockefeller said in a statement: "I have deep respect for John McCain's honorable and noble service to our country. I made an inaccurate and wrong analogy and I have extended my sincere apology to him. While we differ a great deal on policy issues, I profoundly respect and appreciate his dedication to our country, and I regret my very poor choice of words."
UPDATE: The McCain campaign isn't satisfied. Spokesman Tucker Bounds says in a statement: “Why does Senator Obama refuse to personally condemn this type of despicable attack? Senator Obama has run for president on the basis that he represents a new kind of politics, yet every day there is another smear that Obama refuses to repudiate.”
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why is the war hero hiding behind swindle? Yes one fact was wrong. But the others remain the same. You bomb, take pictures and run. That's what the airforce do. Too scared to fight like the Army. army folks are the real hero's not the airforce who need a tail to bomb and fly.
Why don't they just ask Rockefeller to denounce his own comment. He is a Senator himself and speaks for himself.
This is just STUPID.
Enough with the ridiculous denouncing wars. These people are acting like children!
Stop freaking responding to everything the McCain campaign wants you to respond to and apologize for. Good Lord! Rockefeller speaks for himself.
Why's John McCain being so sensitive these days? He's running to the Obama campaign like a kid running to his mom because his brother hit him.
McCain needs to
1) fight his own battles instead of running to Obama, and
2) get some thicker skin. I'm sure as President he'd have to endure far worse than what Senator Rockefeller or Ed Schultz said.
A friend of a friend knows a guy who supports Obama. And this guy, it seems, insulted McCain. I demand that Obama apologize!
No Bama No Bama in '08
Hillary Clinton! YES! SHE! CAN!
Rockefeller should have noted how many planes that McCain crashed. Not exactly the best pilot we ever turned out. Terrible student at the academy and a terrible pilot. Certainly I empathize with the pain he suffered at the hands of his captors but the truth is the man is a warmonger who'd bring death to thousands if elected.
We can do better. We can be safer. But McSame seems to believe the military is a hammer that must be used. Diplomacy, espionage, and surgical strikes are what will keep us safe from terrorists. Squandering our resources in god-forsaken Iraq is making us weak and vulnerable.
Oh, my, when the Obama campaign feels their hero has been slighted, they are up in arms until the opposiition candidate and all surrogates have bowed, scraped, and begged forgiveness - even when they've done nothing wrong. Plus, regardless of the issue, the Obama campaign smears the entire campaign as racist. Remember that memo?
But when the shoe is on the other foot - just listen to the racket on this message board trying to downplay a horrendous insult to an American War veteran (remember the Swiftboat guys?) and excuse St. Obama from any responsibility.
The Obama campaign gets more shameless every day.