What's the old saw? Never get into an argument with people who buy ink by the barrel? Is there an electronic equivalent?
I'm not even sure you can't beat a media organization. But if you're a presidential candidate and you come after it with a craven and silly argument - and you follow a path previously tried by a now ex-presidential candidate - you've probably been poorly advised.
Thus tonight, between Senator McCain's manager's broadside against us, and his creative but tinny-sounding attacks on Senator Obama today at the VFW Convention, I've got a Special Comment planned.
The Obama part first:
"Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president," you said -- with a straight face -- today. "What's less apparent is the judgment to be commander in chief. And in matters of national security, good judgment will be at a premium in the term of the next president -- as we were all reminded ten days ago by events in the nation of Georgia."
Senator, three points:
One -- is your increasingly extremist and reactionary language towards Senator Obama really the method by which you want to try to achieve the Presidency -- or perhaps split the country if you succeed?
Two -- criticizing a man for having quote "the ambition to be president"? Seriously? You do realize you are currently running for president, as well, right? That either you also have "ambition to be president" or, what?, somebody's blackmailing you into it?
And three -- you might want to ask somebody -- somebody other than say, your Foreign Policy Advisor, Randy Scheunemann -- whether or not you are making a jackass out of yourself every time you bring up the conflict between Georgia and Russia.
The Georgians have paid Mr. Scheunemann and his companies $800,000 over the last several years to lobby for them.
It's pretty clear the Georgians have bought Mr. Scheunemann.
And, Senator McCain, it sure as hell looks like the Georgians thought they had bought you.
When you had the tastelessness to paraphrase the rallying cry of 9/11 and say that we are now all Georgians, that nation's President called you out...
He said that your words were very nice, but he needed action -- not a verbal receipt from a lobbyist and his pet Senator!
And a little about the contretemps with NBC:
"We are concerned that your News Division is following MSNBC's lead in abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race. We would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our deep concerns about the news standards and level of objectivity at NBC."
What (Rick) Davis is really saying here, of course, is that he wants no level of objectivity, that the only campaign he wants questioned is Obama, and that "partisan coverage" consists of questioning whether McCain or his campaign support the stage whispers branding Obama as somehow 'foreign,' or whether McCain is to be inoculated from all criticism by dint of his military service.
Bring your popcorn.