McCain's 'Cone of Silence' Not So Quiet

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 8:43 AM on August 18, 2008.

Before the candidate forum at the Saddleback Church got underway on Saturday night, the Rev. Rick Warren explained that both candidates would get the exact same questions. Barack Obama would go first, and John McCain had been "safely placed ... in a cone of silence."

As it turns out, that's not quite right.

Members of the McCain campaign staff, who flew here Sunday from California, said Mr. McCain was in his motorcade on the way to the church as Mr. Obama was being interviewed by the Rev. Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life."

The matter is of interest because Mr. McCain, who followed Mr. Obama's hourlong appearance in the forum, was asked virtually the same questions as Mr. Obama. Mr. McCain's performance was well received, raising speculation among some viewers, especially supporters of Mr. Obama, that he was not as isolated during the Obama interview as Mr. Warren implied.

Nicolle Wallace, a spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, said on Sunday night that Mr. McCain had not heard the broadcast of the event while in his motorcade and heard none of the questions.

"The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous," Ms. Wallace said.

Now, I have no idea if McCain heard any of the questions, or if anyone on his staff gave him a heads-up on what to expect. The McCain campaign hasn't exactly operated with a high level of integrity, but we'll probably never know for sure. The Obama campaign is reportedly "not pursuing" this and I doubt it's a "story" with legs.

That said, I can't help but notice that Nicolle Wallace, a veteran of Karl Rove's shop, responded to a question about this by reminding us that McCain is "a former prisoner of war."

I'm afraid the campaign took a right turn at embarrassing, and is headed straight for ridiculous.

To be sure, it's obvious that McCain's detention as a young man in Vietnam helped shape his life, and it's not unreasonable that he'd want voters to know about his experience.

But that's not a license to force the "P.O.W. card" into every unrelated question.

Last week, when the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a close Bush ally, publicly questioned McCain's character, the McCain campaign responded by highlighting McCain's background as a prisoner of war. When Dems attacked McCain's healthcare plan in May, McCain responded by noting his background as a prisoner of war. Asked by a local reporter about the first thing that comes to his mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, McCain responded by talking about his background as a prisoner of war.

And all of this, of course, dovetails with the McCain campaign running multiple television ads talking about McCain's background as a prisoner of war, literally including interrogation footage in the commercial.

This hard-sell wouldn't be quite so odd if McCain didn't go around saying that he's reluctant to talk about his Vietnam experiences.

McCain became visibly angry when I asked him to explain how his Vietnam experience prepared him for the Presidency.

"Please," he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question ... McCain then collected himself and apologized for his initial reaction.

"I kind of reacted the way I did because I have a reluctance to talk about my experiences," he said, noting that he has huge admiration for the "heroes" who served with him in the POW camp and said the experience taught him to love the U.S. because he missed it so much.

"I am always reluctant to talk about these things," McCain said.

McCain's service demands respect and the nation's gratitude. But he's clearly crossed the line into shameless exploitation.

Tagged as: obama, john mccain, cone of silence

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the former lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, the Guardian, Crooks & Liars, Salon.com’s War Room, Political Wire, and Seven Days.