The Blog Formerly Known As Vote '08

WHAT OBAMA SAID:

“I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions” - speaking to members of Congress yesterday, according to the Washington Post.

REACTION:

“It appears that he is beginning to believe the over-the-top hype that he really is the Obamessiah for America.” - NewsBusters

“Wow, the arrogance in that. The hubris, the astounding hubris of it all is overwhelming to anyone that knows even a tiny bit of human history. This is the sort of thing if said by a Republican would be hung around that candidate’s neck like a mill stone. The epithet of “arrogant” would be the tail pinned forever to him and would appear in every single news story. Should a Republican bespeak of himself in such terms, he’d be branded the next Hitler leading us all to ruin.” - Publius Forum

CLARIFICATION:

“His entire point of that riff was that the campaign is NOT about him,” says a House Democratic staffer. The Post “left out the important first half of the sentence which was something along the lines of ‘it has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. Its about America. I have just become a symbol.’”

Other staffers with whom I spoke back that up, and a Democratic Congressman who isn’t a particular fan of Obama agrees, saying that Obama preceded that quote with something along the lines of, ‘Those people in Germany weren’t excited about me.  They were excited by the prospect of America getting back to being all it could be.” - ABC News’ Political Punch

WHAT McCAIN SAID:

MCCAIN: No, I have said and will say, I will say that everything has to be on the table, if we’re going to reach a bipartisan agreement. I’ve been in bipartisan negotiations before. I know how you reach a conclusion. We all have to sit down together with everything on the table.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, that means payroll tax increases are on the table, as well?

MCCAIN: There is nothing that’s off the table. I have my positions, and I’ll articulate them. But nothing’s off the table.

I don’t want tax increases. Of course I’d like to have young Americans have some of their money put into an account with their name on it. But that doesn’t mean that anything is off the table…

STEPHANOPOULOS: With their payroll taxes diverted into accounts.

MCCAIN: I say that everything is on the table that has to be on the table, the way Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan did. - Interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week last Sunday

REACTION:

“This statement was particularly shocking because you have been adamant in your opposition to raising taxes under any circumstances…. your comments yesterday send American taxpayers and businesses a mixed message about where you stand on this issue.” - an open letter to McCain from the Club for Growth

“Such mistakes also help explain the continued lack of enthusiasm for Mr. McCain among many conservatives. Meeting with us last December, before the primaries, he declared that “I will not agree to any tax increase,” repeating the phrase for emphasis. He did not say any tax increase with the exception of Social Security. If Mr. McCain can’t convince voters that he’s better on taxes than is a Democrat who says matter-of-factly that he wants to raise taxes, the Republican is going to lose in a rout.” - today’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal

CLARIFICATION:

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video. (Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman, on Fox News - key soundbite starts at about 2:05 in - saying McCain didn’t really mean what he said when he said it)

Your turn, dear reader! Which gaffe was the bigger one? Which will cause more damage? Tell us in the comments section!

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