McCain Palin Campaign Rallies: Calls To "Kill" That "Terrorist" Obama

McCain Palin Campaign Rallies: Calls To "Kill" That "Terrorist" Obama

McCain Palin Campaign Rallies: Calls To “Kill” That “Terrorist” Obama

October 6th, 2008
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

Independent voters and many thoughtful Republicans and Democrats have over the past 8 years decried the deterioration of American national election rhetoric. Now the campaign of Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to be sparking ominous reactions from some supporters.

The two incidents have gotten some press and blog play. What’s troubling is if it reflects an unleashing of passions that might be the kind better left leashed and unprovoked by rhetoric taken by some partisans to mean Obama is dangerous to the United States.

Despite stories and posts characterizing the political scene, the national political context of these incidents remains murky and often contradictory — despite the up or down poll-influenced perspectives of partisans and pundits.

On one hand, there are signs that independent voters are moving towards Obama in greater numbers than before due to the economic crisis and the debates. On the other, a new CBS News poll, taking into account the impact of the Vice Presidential debate, shows Obama’s lead has shrunk from 9 points Wednesday to 3 points.

Yet, Gallup still has Obama ahead by 8 points in its daily tracking poll and CNN finds Obama is widening his lead overall. The bottom line: a lot can still change.

One shift: there are signs the campaign has now moved into truly ugly — and potentially dangerous - territory.

At a campaign rally, McCain asked who “is the real Barack Obama” and a follower shouted out “terrorist” — which elicits a facial response from McCain but no comment from McCain about how Obama is not a terrorist. Here’s the You Tube:

And at Florida Palin rally, a supporter shouts out a suggestion about what to do to Obama: kill him. No apparent response from Palin:

It was time to revive the allegation, made over the weekend, that Obama “pals around” with terrorists, in this case Bill Ayers, late of the Weather Underground. Many independent observers say Palin’s allegations are a stretch; Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with Ayers, now an education professor, and has condemned his past activities.

“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.

“Boooo!” said the crowd.

“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.

“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.

“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.

Palin went on to say that “Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers’s living room, and they’ve worked together on various projects in Chicago.” Here, Palin began to connect the dots. “These are the same guys who think that patriotism is paying higher taxes — remember that’s what Joe Biden had said. “And” — she paused and sighed — “I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America, as the greatest force for good in the world. I’m afraid this is someone who sees America as ‘imperfect enough’ to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.”

No one seriously believes McCain really thinks Obama is a terrorist. And no one would seriously believe Palin really wants Obama physically harmed. But in both instances if they heard such rhetoric they could have stopped and tried to push it back a bit.

It’s not illegal. It’s not ethical. But it will likely be a reason why some people who might agree with them on policies will vote against them — particularly if these voters had hoped that in January the U.S. might move into a new era where opponents were no longer labeled dangerous to the Republic. And that the new era would be prefaced by a spirited campaign debate based on critical national issues.

Meanwhile, a new poll finds independent voters are now shifting towards Obama. Will these new attacks on Obama and press coverage of not just the attacks but the apparent strategy behind them — McCain officials quoted as saying they wanted to turn a page on the economy and get the discussion back to Obama — spur on a shift even more? Or will independents be persuaded by the attacks? Will polls tighten even more because negative campaigning works? The poll:

Independent voters are starting to swing behind Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who continue to benefit from economic turmoil and the public response to their debate performances, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The survey, conducted over the weekend, was full of good news for the Democratic presidential ticket. Sen. Obama increased his advantage over Republican rival John McCain when voters were asked which candidate they prefer to handle economic issues at a time when a growing percentage of voters said that was their top concern heading into the election. More voters said they are “more reassured” by how Sen. Obama was responding to the financial crisis than by Sen. McCain.

Sens. Obama and Biden have a six-point lead, with 49% of registered voters saying they would vote for them, compared with 43% for Sen. McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. That is up from a two-point advantage in the previous Journal poll, two weeks ago, and parallels other recent national polls. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

“McCain has absorbed a very tough one-two punch — the financial crisis, then the debates,” said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who conducts the survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart. “These two things have clearly led to a momentum shift in this campaign where Obama has started to slowly stretch his lead.”

Independent voters are among the most important voting blocs because many of them would consider voting for either candidate. In the Journal/NBC poll two weeks ago, independents favored Sen. McCain by 13 points. The new survey finds Sen. Obama leading by four points.

But, the Journal notes, the campaign is hardly over: Obama could still make a major mistake and the polls — polls that have shifted so much this campaign season — could shift once again. For instance, the mainstream media is now finding some bogus Obama campaign donors.

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