A Campaign of Whiners.
INSTAPUTZ — ... "Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.”... Schmidt also complained of Obama backers’ attacks on McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin." [Politico] ...

McCain Aide Schmidt Blasts New York Times on Conference Call and Gets Smacked Down
The Democratic Daily — ... when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000.” Davis and fellow McCain aide Steve Schmidt took out their frustrations on the NY Times on a conference today: Click here to view the embedded video. Marc Ambinder has some of the text from the call here. Schmidt was just a tad “touchy” about “about being pegged as liars.” Ben Smith noted on Politico that “the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of ...

Stop It Right Now!
Talking Points Memo — McCain camp convenes conference call to demand reporters stop calling them liars.

A campaign of whiners (in addition to liars)
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — Steve Schmidt is the Karl Rove deputy who is now John McCain's whiner in chief (aka he's one of the top TOP guys on the campaign). Schmidt held a conference call today to whine to reporters that they'd better stop calling John McCain a liar. Only problem? Most of what Schmidt told reporters during that call was, uh, a lie. Don't take it from me. Take it from Ben Smith at Politico: ...

McCain Campaign Calls Out The Wahmbulance
Oliver Willis — Steve Schmidt needs his diapers changed, apparently. At least Schmidt is consistent. The errors in McCain strategist Steve Schmidt’s charges against Obama and Sen. Joe Biden were particularly notable because they seemed unnecessary. Schmidt repeatedly gilded the lily: He exaggerated the Biden family’s already problematic ties to the credit card industry; Obama’s embarrassing relationship with a 1960s radical; and an Obama supporter’s over-the-top attack on Sarah Palin when — in each case — ...

I hope Barack bought a big enough tank
Nitpicker — Shorter Ben Smith: Steve Schmidt is full of crap and, if you point out his lies, you get accused of being "in the tank" for Barack Obama.I love this bit: “Any time the Obama campaign is criticized at any level, the critics are immediately derided as liars,” Schmidt told reporters. But as he went on to list a series of stories he thought reporters should be writing about Obama and Biden, in almost every instance he got the details wrong.Audio and more at TPM Election Central.

Et Tu, Politico?
Eschaton — Is McCain's base getting a little cranky? Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy.

And You Wonder Why They Call You Liars?
Comments from Left Field — I just had to laugh; even when the McCain campaign tries to fight back against being labeled as liars, they simply can’t help but actually lie as they do it. From Ben Smith: Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite ...

Whiners
Balloon Juice — ... Pathetic, even by GOP and McCain campaign standards: Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy. The errors in McCain ...

McCain Conference Call Backfires
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire — ... But, according to Politico, "the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: Deepening the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy." ...

The McCain-Press Meltdown
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — ... Their interaction with the press is in complete disarray. Steve Schmidt even lies when trying to point out others' lies. But the end of the Politico piece is amazing: ...

Schmidt Jumps the Shark
Swampland — Ben Smith fact-checks the McCain campaign's ridiculous conference call assault on the press. But it should be remembered that Steve Schmidt is doing this for two (nefarious) reasons: 1. he's hoping to work the refs: if he complains enough about press bias, we mainstream sorts will cower, cringe and try to seek false equivalences between the two campaigns. 2. the more time we spend covering this nonsense, the less we'll spend on the real issues in this campaign. Sorry, Steve. Not buying.

Ben Smith Has Finally Eaten His Wheaties: Calls McCain and His Staff Big Fat Liars
J. Bradford DeLong's Grasping Reality with All Eight Tentacles — ... McCain camp criticism rife with errors: Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy.... ...

"You are in the tank"
Interesting Times — So the McCain campaign, fed up with being called liars, holds a telephone press conference in which they proceed to attack the press for not exploring negative stories about Obama. But, in the process of describing these negative stories, they make the mistake of embellishing the details. Here we see the end result of the McCain camp's decision to go with the flat-out-lie strategy. Would the press have been so willing to highlight these embellishments if they had not gone through several months of outright lies from the McCain team? Not likely. More likely is that the press ...

Old Whine in New Glasses
I Am TRex — ... in the tank for Obama” and has become an arm of the Liberal Media Elites, never mind that Bill Kristol gets to pull his pud on their OpEd page every week.  This declaration of war was made on a bile and invective filled conference call today, where McCrashypants’s campaign manager Steve Schmidt all but soiled himself with rage. Trouble is, they’ve been to the well too many times on this one.  Not even those Gossip Girls at the Politico are buying Schmidt’s soap this week: Sen. John McCain’s top campaign ...

Last Words: Wouldn't Be Prudent
The Caucus — ... completely, totally 150 percent in the tank for the Democratic candidate. It is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic integrity to advocate for the defeat of John McCain.” He accused The Times of being an advocacy group for Mr. Obama — and accused the media of a litany of issues that he contended had not been pursued about Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden. In response, the Obama campaign sent out a list of articles written by this newspaper. And Ben Smith at The Politico has done a quick fact-check of nearly all Mr. Schmidt’s points today. Our own ...

Bullschmidt
Hoffmania! — ... Looks like the bloom is totally off the rose with the smear merchants. McCain campaign leader Steve Schmidt convened a hastily-thrown-together conference call to tell the media to stand up to Obama's lies. Problem: Obama's "lies" are lies made by Schmidt, and the media is on to it. Wow. It's gotta suck to be them. ...

Note to Steve Schmidt
The Reality-Based Community — ... If you're going to hold a conference call to complain about being called a liar, you avoid lying in the course of the conference call. Otherwise, you're likely to get stuff like this written about you: McCain camp criticism rife with errors By BEN SMITH Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen ...

McBush Campaign calls Press into the Woodshed
Martini Revolution — But it is McCain strategist Steve Schmidt who later emerges with his ass flayed: Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy. ~~~ But as he went on to list a ...

First Draft of Ben Smith’s Piece on Today’s Conference Call
Patterico's Pontifications — ... Today, outside a Starbucks in Arlington, Virginia, I found the first draft of Ben Smith’s piece about today’s conference call with Steve Schmidt and other McCain aides: ...

Poking The Monkey
Newshoggers.com — ... in unpleasant consequences.  The McCain campaign looked at some polls and realized the media was not held in very high regard so when they lied if they simply attacked the media for reporting the lies they would gain an advantage.  What they failed to take into consideration was that it's that media that determines what most people see and hear.  They may be finding out that they poked the wrong monkey. From the right leaning Politico: McCain camp criticism rife with errors Sen. John McCain’s top ...

War and Piece — Politico 's Ben Smith : "Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called 'liars.' They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy." Posted by Laura at September 22, 2008 08:57 PM

McCain campaign lies when whining about being called liars
Daily Kos — Funny. Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called "liars." They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record. But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy. The errors in McCain strategist Steve Schmidt’s charges against Obama and Sen. Joe Biden were ...

McCain Campaign At War With Old Media New York Times And New Media The Politico
The Moderate Voice — ... This latest bro-ha-ha is worth looking at in some detail. Ben Smith’s piece in The Politico — the popular and growing new media website that is now apparently considered an enemy along with the New York Times — is the starting point: ...

Facts Matter
The Next Right — ... The Politico's Ben Smith: "[A McCain campaign call] was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may ... deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy." ...

McCain Campaign Guru: N.Y. Times Isn’t ‘a Journalistic Organization’
Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines — ... His statements came after a question from CNN’s Dana Bash, who asked about a Times article that exposed the hypocrisy of one of McCain’s ads. We’ve seen this before: When held accountable, Team McCain often responds by attacking the media. ...

McCain’s Campaign Whines About Mean Ol’ Press Fact Checking His Lies
Crooks and Liars — ... and Fannie Mae. So strategist Steve Schmidt, who is increasingly insane and unhinged and so un-Rove-like in his Rovian tactics, held a conference call to attack the Times. “Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today, not by any standard a journalistic organization. It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day attacks the McCain Campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, and excuses Senator Obama,” Schmidt sputtered. So, hah, if Politico’s Ben Smith’s writeup of the call is any indication, this ...

In the tank
Political Animal — IN THE TANK.... John McCain and Sarah Palin have decided they no longer want to talk to campaign reporters, so yesterday's conference call with Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis -- the top two officials in the Republican campaign -- was a chance for the media to hear what's on the McCain campaign's mind at this phase of the race, and clear the air about the increasingly obvious affinity the campaign has for lying. The Politico's Ben Smith explained last night that it didn't go well. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to notice. Sen. John McCain's top campaign aides convened a ...

MORNING READ
News — ... at The Next Right. As Politico's Ben Smith pointed out, McCain's aides made simple errors about the Times' coverage that they decry. By pushing back against Smith by saying that he's "in the tank," the campaign is merely underscoring its disregard for the truth, writes Political Animal's ...

A McCain Sampler
The Opinionator — ... one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either. It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed? The Politico’s Ben Smith listens to a McCain campaign conference call and concludes that the call was “rife with ...

Bleccchhh
WTF Is It Now?!? — ... manager Rick Davis and Fannie Mae. So strategist Steve Schmidt, who is increasingly insane and unhinged and so un-Rove-like in his Rovian tactics, held a conference call to attack the Times. “Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today, not by any standard a journalistic organization. It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day attacks the McCain Campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, and excuses Senator Obama,” Schmidt sputtered. So, hah, if Politico’s Ben Smith’s writeup of the call is any indication, this media-attacking will backfire! ...

Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute for September 23, 2008
BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash — ...   America has known both Reagan and Clinton, and Sarah Palin is no Reagan and she’s definitely no Clinton!  Never has been, never will be! * * * Who’s “whining” now -- “‘Any time the Obama campaign is criticized at any level, the critics are immediately derided as liars,’ Schmidt told reporters.”  That’s because they are LYING!!!   As my grandmother would say, “the LIARS shoe fits, so now McCain and Palin must wear it”!!! * * * If “Impeachment” is off the table, then certainly “Prosecution” should be on the table!!!  No one, not even Dick Cheney is above the law! ...

Dan Sweeney: Reality Is in the Tank for Obama
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... Anyway, the new catchphrase of the McCain camp was best illustrated yesterday at Politico. Ben Smith, after covering a conference call with McCain chief strategist Steve Schmidt that demanded reporters take a closer look at Obama and rued all this damnable liberal media bias, noted that Schmidt's reasons for looking at Obama were themselves taking some liberties with the truth. When he e-mailed the McCain campaign to check up on this, McCain aide Brian Rogers responded simply "You're in the tank." ...

Press Frustration With McCain Bubbles Over: Is This The 'No Talk Express'?
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... as a non-journalistic institution for writing on the lobbying work campaign manager Rick Davis did on behalf of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Later that day, spokesman Brian Rogers accused Politico reporter Ben Smith of being "in the tank" for Obama, simply because Smith asked the campaign to verify claims it was making about the Illinois Democrat's character and biography. ...

Press Frustration With McCain Bubbles Over: Is This The 'No Talk Express'?
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — ... as a non-journalistic institution for writing on the lobbying work campaign manager Rick Davis did on behalf of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Later that day, spokesman Brian Rogers accused Politico reporter Ben Smith of being "in the tank" for Obama, simply because Smith asked the campaign to verify claims it was making about the Illinois Democrat's character and biography. ...

Barack Obama, Bill Ayers and Ben Smith
Patterico's Pontifications — ... In contrast, Smith felt compelled to nitpick statements by John McCain’s campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt, about the Ayers relationship. Smith added in a separate ...

Too Many Barbs, Not Enough Barbecue
Firedoglake — ... Steve Schmidt has achieved the impossible, something Obama could only dream of: He has actually made the media fall out of love with John McCain.  He curtailed the Fauxverick's informal interaction with reporters on the "Double Straight Talk Express," and instituted a strategy of attacking the media every time they criticize his candidates or point out that they're chain-liars. This was really not a good idea.  The media's love for McCain and his phony Straight-Talking Maverick image was the best thing he had going for him, and it's ...

A Message From John McCain
Open Left - Front Page — ... And you, media. You will report on what I want you to report on. You will do so in the tone that I demand, and with the words that I demand. And if I cancel an interview on a moment's notice, you better not complain about it. Failure to comply will result in ...