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DEL.ICIO.USRalph Reed on a close race, on vice presidential choices, and on McCain’s adopted daughter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican presidential candidate John McCain is only a few hours away from his fund-raiser in downtown Atlanta.
Democrats have made much fuss over Ralph Reed’s participation in raising money for the event, and will continue to do so with a press conference this afternoon.
But Reed is playing it relatively low-key. At noon, he was speaking at a gathering of the Atlanta Rotary Club, paired with AJC editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker.
Tucker has her own space elsewhere on this web site, and it would be presumptuous for the Insider to interpret her to the rest of the world.
As for Reed, except for one area, the GOP strategist kept himself well in the mainstream of punditry, listing — of course — to the Republican side:
“Everything points to a close election. At least as close as ’04, maybe — I’m sorry to say — as close as 2000,” Reed said.
“What you’re looking at is a jump-ball election. Barack Obama in the last 30 days has aired 10,000 television ads in the state of Florida, at a cost of $6.5 million. It’s 18 percent of his entire national media buy in the last 30 days. There’s two polls out in the last week which show four and five points, respectively. That is a candidate that is not closing the sale.”
On McCain’s vice presidential possibilities:
“I like Romney because of the economic and business background. [Gov. Tim] Pawlenty is a very attractive guy out of Minnesota. I like [Louisiana Gov.] Bobby Jindal. I think he’s got more places to go than Obama. But I’ll warn you. You’re probably going to be surprised. A lot of the time, the lists are deliberately out there to throw people off the real scent.”
But here’s what will have Ralph Reed watchers talking:
”Just speaking as a strategist, not as a partisan, if I were part of McCain’s campaign team, the thing that I would be most excited about what happened Saturday night at Saddleback Church was McCain filling in the personal details.
“The story about having to decide not to violate the code of honor at the Hanoi Hilton and leave out of turn….
“His story about Cindy coming home with the child they adopted from Mother Theresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh.
“How many people have had their spouse visiting Bangladesh, and they’re presented with a child — they’re told that it’s going to die unless somebody takes it home. And she literally meets her husband at the airport and says, ‘Meet your new daughter.’ And they have raised that daughter as their own.”
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Comments
By SpaceyG
August 18, 2008 3:38 PM | Link to this
Republican push-pollers and the fetus-hysteria crowd, and Reed knows exactly who they are, have Islam and late-term abortion to whisper about this go ‘round. Between the Jolie-Pitts, Madonna, and the McCains, adopting foreign brown children just doesn’t have quite the same, uh, emotional “impact” on white trash southern voters as it once did.
By AnnapolisMD
August 18, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this
“I like [Louisiana Gov.] Bobby Jindal.”
Jindal has recently stated that he will not accept a VP offer.
Mr Reed commented on how wonderful “His [Sen. McCain’s] story about Cindy coming home with the child they adopted from Mother Theresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh.” was.
Mr. Reed forgot to mention the story of how Sen. McCain cheated on his first wife (the one that waited faithfully at home with their children while he was in captivity) with Cindy.
Nice. Real nice.
By AnnapolisMD
August 18, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this
“I like [Louisiana Gov.] Bobby Jindal.”
Gov. Jindal has recently stated that he will not accept a VP offer.
Mr Reed commented on how wonderful “His [Sen. McCain’s] story about Cindy coming home with the child they adopted from Mother Theresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh.” was.
Mr. Reed forgot to mention the story of how Sen. McCain cheated on his first wife (the one that waited faithfully at home with their children while he was in captivity) with Cindy.
Nice. Real nice.
By The Snark
August 18, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this
Sen. McCain is lucky that he is not facing the attack machine which his party has perfected over the last 20 years. for once, they wouldn’t have to make up lies. His personal life would provide enough cannon fodder for the Karl Rove crowd to keep them busy for a century.
By Dave
August 18, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this
Sam Nunn is not only a foreign affairs expert, he is THE expert when it comes to Russia and Russian policy. At this point in time, there is no better choice to complement Obama and counter McCain than Sam Nunn.
It would give Obama the election, whether the far left likes it or not.
By Dave
August 18, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this
Sam Nunn is not only a foreign affairs expert, he is THE expert when it comes to Russia and Russian policy. At this point in time, there is no better choice to complement Obama and counter McCain than Sam Nunn.
It would give Obama the election, whether the far left likes it or not.
By Copyleft
August 19, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
Why do people keep reporting on what Ralph Reed says, as if he has any relevance or credibility whatsoever?
By Luanne
August 21, 2008 6:51 PM | Link to this
Many news outlets are reporting that Cindy McCain did not actually meet Mother Teresa. An unfortunate lie, included in campain literature, no less.
By Churchill
August 21, 2008 7:57 PM | Link to this
She did meet her, Luanne. It is panic time for the Obama folks and they are using the memory of Mother T. to attack a good woman and by association her husband. This will backfire on Obama. Mark my words. The libs are getting desperate.
By Cherokee
August 21, 2008 10:20 PM | Link to this
a “good woman”?
Good women don’t steal drugs for their own use.
Good women don’t involve themselves with married men.
Good women don’t embellish adoption stories (It’s a good story anyway, why did she have to lie by embellishing the story?)
Is any of this relevant to whether or not he is qualified to be President? Probably not. But please spare me the “poor li’l Cindy McCain” posts.
By Churchill
August 21, 2008 11:55 PM | Link to this
You will not be spared. Cindy McCain is a lady. Sure she has made a few mistakes. So what. She corrected them. You guys are just scared to death because Obama is falling in the lastest polls. McCain is surging and his surge is working like the surege in Iraq. You guys hate that surge too. Peace.