Arthur Brown – 8/29/08

This page was last updated on August 31, 2008.

McCain’s message is misleading; Arthur Brown; Beaver County Times; August 29, 2008.

Despite the fact his letters tell a different story, Mr. Brown claims to be a Republican. It’s more than likely Mr. Brown is simply another Republican impersonator along with Messrs. William A. Alexander, William G. Horter, Edward J. Hum, and George Reese.

Mr. Brown’s most recent previous letter told us “McCain would be worse than Bush.”

In reference to this letter’s title, it is misleading. Even Mr. Brown doesn’t claim the McCain campaign produced the subject ad. Keep in mind the Times usually provides the title.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Sen. John McCain must think the ordinary voter is not capable of thinking.”

[RWC] That’s exactly what Mr. Brown must believe. You’ll see why below.

“A recent ad is confusing. The GOP committee accuses Obama of being friends with a suspected terrorist named Ayers. Question: Why is Ayers not in prison the same as the suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?”

[RWC] Neither the GOP nor the McCain campaign produced the ad to which Mr. Brown refers. The independent group American Issues Project produced the ad.

Mr. Ayers – and his wife Bernardine Dohrn, also a former Weatherman – are not “suspected” terrorists. Mr. Ayers proudly admits to what he and his wife did as members of the Weather Underground during the 1960s and 1970s. For example, Mr. Ayers bombed a statue in New York dedicated to slain policemen. Members of Mr. Ayers’ crew accidentally killed themselves while building a bomb to setoff at Fort Dix, NJ. Even Mr. Obama doesn’t deny the Ayers did what they did, and the Obama campaign has an ad stating Mr. Obama “denounced Ayers’ crimes.” Mr. Obama’s excuse is his old standby, “that’s not the ‘fill in the name’ I know/knew.”

As for the Ayers not being in jail, charges against him and his wife were dropped due to charges of prosecutorial misconduct.

“McCain did not approve the message, so it must be a lie, and he wants to distance himself from it.”

[RWC] The “I’m so-and-so and I approved this message” notation can appear only in ads produced by the candidate’s campaign. This message doesn’t – and legally cannot – appear in ads produced by groups not officially part of the campaign. Using Mr. Brown’s “logic,” all the ads in support of Mr. Obama or in opposition to Mr. McCain that don’t include Mr. Obama approving the message “must be a lie.”

Check out the ad for yourself and you’ll find everything in it is true.

As far as Mr. McCain distancing himself from the ad, that’s BS. Mr. McCain has been addressing the Ayers/Obama connection since at least April.