As reported by Halperin:
SCHMIDT DECLARES WAR ON GRAY LADY...SCHMIDT DECLARES WAR ON HUNTER BIDEN AND DAVID AXELROD...SCHMIDT DECLARES WAR ON OTHER JOURNALISTS, CONGRESSMAN WEXLER, ETC.
On a conference call to reporters earlier today, McCain heavy Steve Schmidt described the NY Times, which previously endorsed his candidate, as "a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day, attacks the McCain campaign, attacks Gov. Palin and excuses Sen. Obama."
As Marc Ambinder writes:
Schmidt's particular bill of complaints included the lack of scrutiny directed at Sen. Joe Biden's son Hunter, a lobbyist. The Times has covered the story, twice.
The truthiness didn't end there. During the conference call, the excess of BS finally breached the levee of incuriousity that had protected reporters from a biblical flood of McCain lies. Like roaches fleeing from the light, the pundits scurried for higher ground.
The following is the initial fallout:
From Jonathan Martin:
Hoping to guilt reporters into tougher coverage, campaign chief Steve Schmidt channeled his inner Bob Dole.
"As soon as Gov. Palin was nominated one of the Obama's chief campaign surrogates, Robert Wexler, went out and accused her of being a Nazi sympathizer," Schmidt claimed. "Where is the outrage to that aspersion on the part of a number of the biggest newspapers in the country who repeat with great ease the Obama reaction to every criticism we make of him, saying 'it's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie.'"
There is no outrage because Wexler never said such a thing.
"Channeled his inner Bob Dole." Well put, Mr. Martin. Bold faced lies aside, I, Bob Sackamento, hereby accuse Palin of being an unrepentant anti-semite (if not a full-blown nazi sympathizer). But Robert Wexler, who has exponentially more class than Bob Sackamento, would never utter such a thing. Steve Schmidt has clearly lost his bearings, but it gets better.
From Ben Smith:
McCain aide Steve Schmidt told reporters today, amid a barrage of charges against the Obama campaign and the media, that Joe Biden's son, hunter, had lobbied for the credit card and banking industries.
Those lobbying contracts don't appear in the public records, and Biden spokesman David Wade fired back in an email just now.
"Steve Schmidt lied - or just got it flat wrong," he emailed "Hunter Biden has never -- -never – been a lobbyist for the credit card or banking industry."
"Steve Schmidt lied." I bet he gets that all the time.
And from Marc Ambinder:
To be a stickler for the detail on something I first reported, that's not accurate: Obama was introduced to some future constituents at Ayers' house thirteen years ago, but it wasn't a fundraiser.
"We don't know the exact nature of the relationship other than that it is greater than Obama described," Schmidt said.
He's right that Obama's campaign has, for months, assiduously dodged questions about the relationship. There isn't, on the other hand, any evidence pointing to particularly close ties.
This is a bit more of, incidentally, of what Jonathan Martin described as "'Hey, look over here' politics" -- the campaign's urgent attempt to change the subject from the economy.
Stay tuned for more devestation in the wake of the McCain campaign's explosion of lies.