Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
The McCain campaign actually calls this ad "Dishonorable" and that is precisely what it is. Palin tried the same thing after the debate the other night, accusing Obama of smearing American troops based on this one out of context quote. Here's the commercial:
Here's the full quote from Obama:
"We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there."
Republican officials immediately cranked up the stupidity machine and said "OMG, he's saying our troops are just killing innocent people!"
The suggestion whispered by Obama's opponents was that he was maligning the efforts of troops fighting in Afghanistan by stating they are "just" out there killing civilians.The Republican National Committee simply repeated the comment as one of their "They Said It!" series used to highlight statements by opponents that supposedly put them in a bad light. RNC Chairman Mike Duncan followed up later in a statement demanding that Obama apologize for his "offensive" statement.
"It is hard to imagine that anyone who aspires to be commander in chief would say such a thing about our brave men and women in uniform," Duncan said. "Obama owes our armed forces an apology - today."
AP debunked this one two months ago.
A check of the facts shows that Western forces have been killing civilians at a faster rate than the insurgents have been killing civilians.The U.S. and NATO say they don't have civilian casualty figures, but The Associated Press has been keeping count based on figures from Afghan and international officials. Tracking civilian deaths is a difficult task because they often occur in remote and dangerous areas that are difficult to reach and verify.
As of Aug. 1, the AP count shows that while militants killed 231 civilians in attacks in 2007, Western forces killed 286. Another 20 were killed in crossfire that can't be attributed to one party.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his concern about the civilian deaths during a meeting last week with President Bush.
Bush said he understands the agony that Afghans feel over the loss of innocent lives and that he is doing everything he can to protect them. He said the Taliban are using civilians as human shields and have no regard for their lives.
"The president rightly expressed his concerns about civilian casualty," Bush said of Karzai. "And I assured him that we share those concerns."
This is only going to get worse over the next 4 weeks.
Comments
If McCain does win I think he should be called the Commander in Sleaze.
Posted by: Skip Evans | October 7, 2008 9:27 AM
If McCain wins, I'm going to start rioting.
Posted by: schism | October 7, 2008 10:03 AM
Negative wins. People don't often read the rebuttals and the first negative ad sinks its emotional claws in and they stay even after a person realizes its wrong (and many people never will realize this).
Obama needs to hold his gut and go on the offensive. Stop acting lovey dovey and play to win.
Posted by: Adrian | October 7, 2008 10:40 AM
Lest you forget, there is still time -- 114 days -- for Bush to bomb Iran. Things can go lots wronger before his time runs out.
Posted by: Nattering Nabob of Negativism | October 7, 2008 10:57 AM
And don't forget that in the case of at least one of these "defunding" votes, the same funds were appropriated in a diffferent bill later on. More lies. Yes, some Dems voted against these bills which included funding for the troops, yet the troops still got funded beause these same Dems voted for other bills that included the same funding.
As for Iran, rumor used to be we'd bomb it if Obama won. I don't think that's gonna happen. Even though a lot of top brass has been shifted out of their jobs for speaking critically of attacking Iran, there's still a lot of reluctance in the armed forces.
Posted by: Bacopa | October 7, 2008 12:47 PM
No, this is what's been going on in Afghanistan:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/02/60minutes/main4494937.shtml
An excerpt:
Delta developed an audacious plan to come at bin Laden from the one direction he would never expect.
"We want to come in on the back door," Fury explains. "The original plan that we sent up through our higher headquarters, Delta Force wants to come in over the mountain with oxygen, coming from the Pakistan side, over the mountains and come in and get a drop on bin Laden from behind."
But they didn't take that route, because Fury says they didn't get approval from a higher level. "Whether that was Central Command all the way up to the president of the United States, I'm not sure," he says.
The next option that Delta wanted to employ was to drop hundreds of landmines in the mountain passes that led to Pakistan, which was bin Laden's escape route.
"First guy blows his leg off, everybody else stops. That allows aircraft overhead to find them. They see all these heat sources out there. Okay, there a big large group of Al Qaeda moving south. They can engage that," Fury explains.
But they didn't do that either, because Fury says that plan was also disapproved. He says he has "no idea" why.
"How often does Delta come up with a tactical plan that's disapproved by higher headquarters?" Pelley asks.
"In my experience, in my five years at Delta, never before," Fury says.
So, now the question that begs for an answer: Was Bush betraying America (and Americans and the military that defends them) or is he just a complete and utter moron? Either way, Dick Cheney should be tried for treason, for allowing the command to go through.
Posted by: Michael | October 7, 2008 1:26 PM
No, this is what's been going on in Afghanistan:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/02/60minutes/main4494937.shtml
An excerpt:
Delta developed an audacious plan to come at bin Laden from the one direction he would never expect.
"We want to come in on the back door," Fury explains. "The original plan that we sent up through our higher headquarters, Delta Force wants to come in over the mountain with oxygen, coming from the Pakistan side, over the mountains and come in and get a drop on bin Laden from behind."
But they didn't take that route, because Fury says they didn't get approval from a higher level. "Whether that was Central Command all the way up to the president of the United States, I'm not sure," he says.
The next option that Delta wanted to employ was to drop hundreds of landmines in the mountain passes that led to Pakistan, which was bin Laden's escape route.
"First guy blows his leg off, everybody else stops. That allows aircraft overhead to find them. They see all these heat sources out there. Okay, there a big large group of Al Qaeda moving south. They can engage that," Fury explains.
But they didn't do that either, because Fury says that plan was also disapproved. He says he has "no idea" why.
"How often does Delta come up with a tactical plan that's disapproved by higher headquarters?" Pelley asks.
"In my experience, in my five years at Delta, never before," Fury says.
So, now the question that begs for an answer: Was Bush betraying America (and Americans and the military that defends them) or is he just a complete and utter moron? Either way, Dick Cheney should be tried for treason, for allowing the command to go through.
Posted by: Michael | October 7, 2008 1:29 PM
Sorry for the double post, apparently the server is quite busy at the moment.
Anyways, I think my point was important enough to repeat.
Posted by: Michael | October 7, 2008 1:33 PM
Unfortunately, these type of ads work because there are so many Americans that aren't the fact checking type. This is particularly common among McCain's base.
Posted by: Godless Woman | October 7, 2008 1:42 PM
Lovey dovey? Are you even awake? What do you call the massive "McCain=Keating" push over the last couple days, complete with website and 13-minute documentary?
McCain is working from the 2004 playbook, shouting "terrorist" and "America Hater" hither and yon while the economy continues to collapse and Obama continues to implicate him in that collapse. People are more scared of losing their jobs than getting blown up this time around, and McCain still doesn't get that. What's more, he doesn't recognize the other difference from 2004, in that rallying The Base isn't going to be enough for the Repubs this time. They need to win over independents, which isn't helped by holding rallies where they whip The Base into a racist frenzy by accusing Obama of being a terrorist sympathizer. Every McCain supporter who screams "traitor" or "kill him" or who calls an African-American reporter "boy" drives a few more independents to Obama permanently. Count on it.
Posted by: Seraph | October 7, 2008 3:31 PM
Tangentially related, this just in from MSNBC:
Contestant McCain has been reported to have criticized the use of $3,000,000 to study grizzly bear DNA. Supposedly as an example of "out of control gummint spending."
Turns out that the study was funded to the tune of $5,000,000 and that McCain voted for it.
Do either the Dems or Reps actually perceive reality? If they do, what is the secret power behind their ability to consistently, and loudly, deny it? Man, if I could only bottle it and sell it!
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 8:44 PM
"The next option that Delta wanted to employ was to drop hundreds of landmines in the mountain passes that led to Pakistan, which was bin Laden's escape route."
Have you ever heard anything quite so irresponsible and callous in your entire life? And the guy is puzzled as to why some sane person nixed the idea.
I say: do both! Drop the landmines, then parachute this clown in (with oxygen, natch) and see if he understands, after his own leg getting blown off by one of his own landmines, why dropping unmarked landmines from the air on someone else's country is morally wrong.
Posted by: Paul Murray | October 7, 2008 9:10 PM
This confuses me. You just told a story about McCain's hypocrisy, with no counterbalancing story for Obama, and yet your conclusion was "a plague o' both their houses".
How does that follow?
Posted by: Seraph | October 7, 2008 9:11 PM
Well, Seraph, because the debate just started and it was my first reaction to it.
As this session of assertion progresses their will be moments to attack, or praise, either candidate. At this moment, I have not heard all they will say tonight (something to do with the arrow of time).
Generally speaking, throughout this campaign I have heard both camps breathlessly claim what we *need* to do. I have yet to be informed on the mechanics of such achievements.
More later dependent on need for sleep.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 9:22 PM
Praise for Obama--he says that energy efficiency is everyone's problem and that energy savings begin at home. As do most things.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 9:34 PM
Praise for McCain--he speaks in favor of tax breaks for families and people who can't miss a paycheck. If you want them to consume you can't tax them to death.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 9:39 PM
And finally, with respect to Obama--he says that energy independence is an issue of national security. Everything we do as a nation is an issue of national security! This is not news, nor newsworthy. But it fortunately is a tacit admission that there are limits to the struggle to keep up with the Jones'. (In the spirit of full disclosure, my last name is in fact, Smith.)
Now, I think I have been equitable. G'night.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 9:51 PM
Obama just interrupted my reverie by bringing up "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb , Bomb Bomb Iran.
Just. Plain. Dumb.
Who hasn't sung that ditty while anticipating a big short-term advantage? If you have, then Obama sez: "You're bad."
Oh?
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 10:18 PM
Oops. I have broken symmetry. Sorry.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 7, 2008 10:33 PM
Crudely -- you're an un-American, treasonous asshole. You're also a psychopath.
Symmetry restored!
Posted by: HP | October 8, 2008 12:30 AM
My dear HP,
You err. I observe that America is the best thing people have ever done and I have always been delighted that I was born in the middle of it in the middle of the twentieth century. I am a patriot, and quite freely and happily so.
As for your other accusations, well . . . oh, shucks.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 8, 2008 8:54 AM