Media and Obama Campaign To McCain – Palin: You’re Lying

Now that even Howard Kurtz is describing Sarah Palin’s falsehoods on the "bridge to nowhere" as a "whopper," the Obama campaign is finally calling a lie a lie. As Blue Texan noted earlier today, they’re responding broadly to the McCain-Palin campaign’s constant barrage of false statements with this ad.

Even the normally reticent Obama is circling the "L" word. In an interview on Countdown, Obama said of McCain-Palin: "they’re not telling the truth." But as he did in a campaign appearance on Monday, Obama used every synonym for dishonesty he could think of, except "lying."

The media is also calling the McCain-Palin claims false. This McClatchy fact check, and today’s WSJ article point out the falsehoods in McCain’s latest ad. Josh at TPM lists more media awakenings, and adds:

On the stump, not a single word that comes out of her mouth — or not a single word that the McCain folks put in her mouth — is anything but a lie. I know that sounds like hyperbole. But just go down the list. None of them bear out.

Marcy at emptywheel has started a counter for the number of lies Palin has told since her ascension to a heartbeat away.

Unable to defend the truth of their statements that Palin opposed the earmark for the "bridge to nowhere," the McCain campaign is trying to change the subject, which the AP dutifully reported to help push the Republicans’ dishonesty out of the lead AP headline.

McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, proclaimed last week that the election is not about issues but about personalities. Davis may get his wish; if the election focuses on character, it may well turn on how voters react to the willingness of McCain and Palin to engage in relentless lying. As Obama said on Countdown, "by the time this is all over, the contrast is going to be clear."

Related posts:

1. Did Palin Misrepresent Her Creationist Beliefs to Get on the McCain Ticket?
2. Media Complain About Media Being Too Easy On Obama
3. Late Night: Finally, I Agree with Fox – Napolitano Calls Palin a “Goofball”
4. Matt Lewis Wants to Ride Sarah Palin
5. Matthew Continetti Sees “Moose Burgers in the White House” Because Palin is More Popular than John Edwards