That's Honor We Can Believe in, My Friends
Eschaton — McCain campaign pushed story. John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established -- and even told reporters outright that the "B" carved into the victim's cheek stood for "Barack," according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of ...

McCain Spokesman Implicated In Mugger Hoax
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — And Palin called Todd: John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson." Verrilli also told TPM that the McCain spokesperson had claimed that the "B" stood for Barack. ...

McCain Campaign crosses Rubicon of Brawley-Sharpton
Martini Revolution — Per Talking Points Memo: John McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established — and even told reporters outright that the “B” carved into the victim’s cheek stood for “Barack,” according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain’s ...

The Friday Political Thread: Write It Backwards on Your Face
Hit & Run — ... - Greg Sargent has the ugliest scoop of the week. (If, as seems unlikely, McCain loses Pennsylvania in a squeaker because he underperforms in Pittsburgh, will Ashley Todd become the Steve Bartman of politics?) ...

Once Again, My Chief Flaw Is Insufficient Cynicism
Balloon Juice — ... because of what some crazy volunteer did, and then it turns out the McCain camp was pushing the mugger story after all. I hate people. ...

McCain Campaign fed the Hoax Racist Assault Story to the media!
Crooks and Liars — ... for her wounds. I've been through enough these last few years and know the pain would have been incredible and anyone of us would have begged for a doctor immediately. Well, it looks like the McCain campaign has their fingers all over this phony volunteer attack story and that's big trouble for him. ...

McCain campaign pushed mutilation hoax, even added their own incendiary "facts"
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — ... Now we learn that McCain's Pennsylvania communications director pushed the hoax mutilation story to the media, even claiming that the supposed "B" carved on the victim's face stood for "Barack Obama." Reportedly, McCain and Palin both called the hoaxer to offer their support. Imagine the judgment, or lack thereof, of McCain and Plain. There's that vetting problem again. TPM has more: ...

Local McCain Staffer Pushed Hyped Version Of "B-Attack" Hoax
Newshoggers.com — ... of those too. If you cover one, you should cover as many as possible, but this is a politics blog not a local news blog. I don't intend to denigrate the experiences of those who have been assaulted or mugged, in the least. I've had friends it has happened to, it's an awful experience when it really happens to someone...and I didn't blog about those either. Those who did were mostly dealing in faux-outrage and hyperbole. Now, though, it's real news. TPM has the story. John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director ...

McCain Campaign Pushed Now-Discredited Attack Story
Daily Kos — It comes as no surprise to learn that the McCain campaign was involved in pushing the now discredited Drudge and Fox News-generated deranged-black-man-mutilaties-white-McCain-supporter story. From TPM: John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson." Verrilli ...

Barack Obama mugged me and carved the Black Panther Manifesto onto my face!!! Backwards!!!!
The Poor Man Institute — ... campaign in Pittsburgh, made up a story that a scary black guy mugged her and carved a ‘B’ on her face for Barack Obama, because that seemed like the sort of thing that might happen on planet Earth. Obviously, the young lady in question is very troubled, and I’m pretty sure I used to date her. Obviously, the McCain campaign is equally troubled, and perhaps Joe Biden’s gaffe was more a reference to McLean than McLane. Because, seriously: John McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director told ...

Susan Smith's kids weren't kidnapped by a black man either.
Brilliant at Breakfast — ... I would be willing to feel that this woman is more to be pitied than censured, because after all, as I said, how sick do you have to be to cut your own face to try to influence people to not vote for a black man? Except that the McCain campaign jumped on this and tried to make hay out of it, as Greg Sargent noted: ...

The Hoax Gets Hoaxier
Comments from Left Field — ... The McCain volunteer ATM assault hoax now turns out to be even hoaxier. It seems that McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director made up details about the fake assault that went beyond even what the young woman herself claimed, and well before any of the alleged facts surrounding the incident had been confirmed or were known: ...

McCain Flack Pushed Hoax Attack Story
Politics Daily — ... TPM is reporting that, in the early stages of the Ashley Todd fake attack story, the McCain campaign's Pennsylvannia communications director was pushing unconfirmed details to the media. ...

Is Our College Republicans Learning?
Firedoglake — ... I would love to tie this to the McCain campaign, but so far they don't look guilty of anything more than reckless opportunism by their PA spokesman.  However, I would not be at all surprised if the College Republicans were a part of this - ...

Never Mind
The Mahablog — ... McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director dressed Ashley’s story up even more to feed to the press. The same communications director said that Sarah Palin called Ashley. The national campaign took interest. Then it all went poof. ...

Todd's story
Ben Smith's Blog — ... But Greg Sargent catches McCain's Pennsylvania communications director pushing the story out, an inglorious moment in a truly ugly (and, it appears, criminal) episode. The remaining question -- for which there's no evidence -- is whether Todd told anyone in advance of her stunt. ...

Strange Fruit
The Moderate Voice — ... And then there’s the question of who fanned the flames of this story. The state campaign communications director told the media about this story before the facts could be confirmed. They saw this as a propaganda victory that could turn Pennsylvania and its “racist” voters toward McCain. ...

Ashley Todd
Obsidian Wings — ... to give a shout-out to all the people who held off on this, and to Michelle Malkin, who did a lot to keep this story from getting completely out of hand. To the people who jumped on the bandwagon: think about the responsibilities that come with having an audience. When a story like this hits, you can try to convince people to withhold judgment until the facts are in, or you can lose your head along with everyone else. It seems like a pretty clear choice to me. And to McCain's Pennsylvania communications director: now would be a good time to decide to spend more time ...

Top Five Mistakes of the McCain Campaign in the past Week
Informed Comment — ... 3. Employing the kind of campaign directors in Pennsylvania that will come out and make incendiary remarks about what proved to be a hoax. ...

Still No Apology From McCain... Drudge?
DownWithTyranny! — ... According to TPM, "John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established -- and even told reporters outright that the 'B' carved into the victim's cheek stood for 'Barack,' according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions." ...

Ashley Todd
Political Animal — ... like to give a shout-out to all the people who held off on this, and to Michelle Malkin, who did a lot to keep this story from getting completely out of hand. To the people who jumped on the bandwagon: think about the responsibilities that come with having an audience. When a story like this hits, you can try to convince people to withhold judgment until the facts are in, or you can lose your head along with everyone else. It seems like a pretty clear choice to me. And to McCain's Pennsylvania communications director : now would be a good time to decide to spend more time with ...

Did McCain Official Give Incendiary Version of Attack Story?
PoliGazette — ... I know TPM isn’t the most unbiased of sources, but they’re not the origin of the news.  I seriously hope this isn’t true: ...

What did the McCain campaign push and when did it push it?
Political Animal — ... on the air, "The McCain campaign steered reporters' attention to the story" on Thursday. It sounds like a point in need of clarification. Moreover, Greg Sargent reports that McCain campaign officials in Pennsylvania actively pushed the hoax on local reporters, and promoted quotes from the attacker who didn't exist. John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established -- and even told reporters outright that the ...

I disagree with Fox, but not like you’d think
PoliGazette — ... Now Memeorandum’s top story is that saying that a McCain spokesman had a rather suspiciously detailed account of the “attack” before all the facts were even known. That is, it would appear that he had priveledged information that even the police didn’t know beforehand. The implication is obviously that the McCain campaign had previous knowledge of the hoax and therefore is a participant. ...

Come Saturday Morning: I Don’t Remember, I Don’t Recall
Firedoglake — ... , such as McCain's Pennsylvania communications director Peter Feldman, who according to local reporters pushed the most inflammatory parts of the story even as it was falling apart), ...

McCain campaign ‘steered’ reporters to hoax attack story.
Think Progress — ... that the attacker told the victim, “Oh you’re with McCain, you’re with the McCain campaign? I’m going to teach you a lesson.” ...

McCain Campaign, Right-Wing Media Pushed Ugly, Race-Baiting Hoax
The Democratic Daily — ... UPDATE 2: Well, it looks like Benen was right. The McCain campaign was pushing the story. Greg Sargent reports: “John McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established — and even told reporters outright that the ‘B’ carved into the victim’s cheek stood for ‘Barack,’ according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.” ...

Who Do You Believe?
Talking Points Memo — ... In response to our story, campaign spokesperson Brian Rogers told MSNBC that the campaign didn't provide those details to the local reporters, but that the police did, and the reporters were sloppy in attributing them to the McCain campaign (at the 0:54 mark): ...

'B'-grade hoax reveals Republicans' inner race-baiter
Orcinus — ... in fact does "forever link" the McCain campaign to race-baiting -- especially with news emerging of Team McCain's role in pushing this story out in the first place. ...

Time for Answers
Talking Points Memo — ... As Greg Sargent reported yesterday, McCain Pennsylvania communications director Peter Feldman pushed reporters on a highly incendiary version of Todd's hoax -- providing reporters with quotes from the fictitious attacker and telling them the the "B" scratched on Todd's face stood for "Barack." As the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson ...

Well, the race is on
SteveAudio — It's Official ... McCain Campaign Fed The Hoax Racist Assault Story: John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established -- and even told reporters outright that the "B" carved into the victim's cheek stood for "Barack," according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's ...

McCain's plan to win PA includes nasty GOP smear with warning about another Holocaust
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — ... that the McCain crew in Pennsylvania will try anything. You'd think they'd have learned something from Ms. Todd. But, it's getting even worse. ...

Karen Russell: Ashley The Liar: Another Moment In The "Black Kid Did It!" History
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... firestorm." Perhaps the most disturbing part of the hoax is the McCain staffer's fingerprints on the story. Does he have a history of mental problems too? Does that excuse his behavior? TPM is reporting that a McCain staffer was pushing the most inflammatory parts of this hoax by repeating the "political" parts of the story to the press BEFORE the details of the story were made public. Now the campaign staffer is denying it and it looks like might be a cover-up. Did the McCain campaign want to stir up the racial ...

No Apologies from Neil Cavuto for Helping to Spread the Mutilation Lie
News Hounds — ... So, on Friday did Cavuto correct the record and inform his viewers that this was an outright lie, promulgated by the McCain campaign no less? Of course not. Cavuto and his "America's Election Headquarters" gang, the "America's Newsroom," "fair and balanced news" liars are more than happy to let this hang in the air as a truism. ...

Internet Killed The Cable News Star
Open Left - Front Page — ... The various ways in which the Republicans were done in by the new media environment this cycle will be the stuff of PhD dissertations someday, but we on the frontlines may have our say about it first.  Indeed, we already have.  TPM's coverage-and pushing of-the unravelling of the Ashley Todd hoax is a case in point. (See, as a prime example, "McCain Communications Director Gave Reporters Incendiary Version Of 'Carved B' Story Before Facts Were Known" by Greg Sargent.) The coverage itself details the contradictions involved--who is hiding them, who noticing-and ...

"Bloggers continue to get everything right"
Some Guy With a Website by August J. Pollak - xoverboard.com — ... This weekend a female McCain volunteer who, for lack of a better conclusion, is fucking crazy, decided to claim that a big scary black man attacked her at an ATM and stabbed her in the face because he was an Obama supporter. A large handful of right-wing blogs, naturally, leapt on this (not to mention the McCain campaign itself, the decision of a communications director who for reasons no one could truly fathom still has a job), and many were angry when it turned out she was, as noted just a sentence ago, fucking crazy. But who were they angry at? That dastardly media, ...

Ashley Todd, PA Racist Hoax "Victim," Was Paid Organizer for College Republican National Committee, Not a Volunteer
BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash — ... communications director for the campaign going as far as to fabricate details of the attack, presumably to make for a juicier news story. He told reporters the B on the young woman's cheek stood for "Barack" and that the attacker told the woman, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson."The campaign later denied that the communications director made up the quotes, saying they came from police and were attributed incorrectly by sloppy reporters. But several members of the media defend their statements with their notes. One even reported that police ...

Marty Kaplan: Move Over, Willie Horton
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... The story begins last Thursday, when a reporter from Pittsburgh television station KDKA called the Pennsylvania McCain campaign after the Drudge Report -- an online conduit for right-wing talking pooints -- ran a big red banner saying, "MCCAIN VOLUNTEER 'ATTACKED AND MUTILATED' IN PITTSBURGH... MUGGER CARVED 'B' ON ME..." (If you think Drudge was tipped off by the Pittsburgh police, rather than by someone in the McCain campaign, I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you.) ...

10/27: Incendiary Charges
Blogometer — ... in refusing to push the Ashley Todd hoax until more details emerged, you really can't say the same for the McCain campaign . They pushed the story hard , hoping to eke out some temporary political advantage from a brutal street crime (country first, my friends!). The McCain campaign: Not quite as fair-minded and temperamentally even as Michelle Malkin ." ...

VIDEO: Right-Wing Rage Cultivated At McCain-Palin Rallies Being Harnessed To Oppose Obama’s Agenda Today
Think Progress — ... from policy issues, Palin focused her attention on decrying Obama’s alleged ties to the “unrepentant terrorist” Bill Ayers. Palin’s denunciations of Obama were met with loud cries of “kill him!” Instead of immediately clamping down on these calls to violence and racial slurs featured at campaign events, the McCain campaign searched for ways to harness them — notably, for example, embracing the mentally ill Ashley Todd, who faked a racially-motivated political attack. McCain himself was booed when he ...

Attack On CO Dem HQ May Not Be What It Seems
TPMMuckraker — ... Remember the disturbed young John McCain volunteer, who, in the closing days of last year's presidential campaign, carved a B into her face and pretended she'd been attacked by an African-American Obama supporter? Well it looks like we may have a similar case on our hands -- only in reverse. ...