In this week's cover piece for "Time" magazine entitled, "Obama: The Game Changer," Joe Klein praised John McCain for having won the nomination by being "a pariah to blowhards like Limbaugh." However the Time magazine columnist advised the Arizona senator to keep it clean as he warned: "If McCain wants to maintain his reputation as a politician more honorable than most, he's going to have to stop the sleaze."
The following is the full excerpt as it appears in the May 19 edition of "Time" magazine:
In his victory speech after the smashing North Carolina results came in, Obama went directly after both McCain and the media. "[McCain's] plan to win in November appears to come from the very same playbook that his side has used time after time in election after election," Obama said. "Yes, we know what's coming. I'm not naive. We've already seen it, the same names and labels they always pin on everyone who doesn't agree with all their ideas, the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives, by pouncing on every gaffe and association and fake controversy, in the hopes that the media will play along."
Story Continues Below Ad ↓That may have been unfair to McCain, since the Senator from Arizona won the Republican nomination in much the same way Obama has triumphed — as an outsider, an occasional reformer, a pariah to blowhards like Limbaugh. But it's also true that McCain has a choice to make: in the past month, he has wobbled between the high and low roads, at one point calling Obama the Hamas candidate for President after a member of that group "endorsed" the Senator from Illinois. If McCain wants to maintain his reputation as a politician more honorable than most, he's going to have to stop the sleaze.
Photo credit: Time.com bio photo of Klein.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"...he's going to have to
May 12, 2008 - 12:30 ET by Chris Norman"...he's going to have to stop the sleaze."
In other words, don't criticize Obama and just let him beat up on you and allow him to be quickly elected - like any good sacrificial Republican presidential candidate would do.
Memo to McCain: in spite of this probably falling on your politically deaf ears, don't accept campaign "advice" from charlatans like Klein - they really don't have your best interests at heart.
...and don't do mean things
May 12, 2008 - 12:39 ET by mattm...and don't do mean things like calling people "blowhards" - something open-minded, loving, caring, Liberals never, never do.
if Mc wins the prez we will
May 12, 2008 - 13:09 ET by TruthMongerif Mc wins the prez we will see who the pariah is - hee hee hee
Rush ain't worried by a long shot
Chris,a good word
May 12, 2008 - 18:08 ET by the strugglerChris,a good word that,"charlatan".The MSM oughta get together and form The Charlatan Party.
Obama campaign "flattered"
May 12, 2008 - 12:32 ET by BayshoremanI wonder if Joe Klein thinks that Obama is a sleaze as well because his campaign thinks the Hamas endorsement statement was flattering?
"Philip Klein reports the Obama campaign's response to the endorsement of Obama by Hamas official Ahmed Yousef, a senior adviser to Ismail Haniyeh. Klein read Yousef's endorsement to Obama campaign manager David Axelrod last night: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/04/020323.php
Liberal Hypocrisy
May 12, 2008 - 13:02 ET by thoridfly"If McCain wants to maintain his reputation as a politician more honorable than most, he's going to have to stop the sleaze."
In other words, "You can't say anything we deem as negative about our candidate, Mr. McCain."
"I am a member of no organized political party ... I am a Democrat." - Will Rogers
Klein invented sleaze
May 12, 2008 - 13:09 ET by AgentAmericanJoe Klein is the embodiment of leftist propaganda, and with his cheap shot: "...going to have to stop the sleaze." proves beyond reasonable doubt that he is a punk. I know it's more like the left to call people names but I call what I see. Klein is the master of slandering and sleazy commentary like the latest sewer-esqe piece that passes for journalism at TIME.
Their magazine covers are ideal toilet paper should you run out of Charmin.
Drill ANWAR
AgentAmerica,
May 12, 2008 - 13:10 ET by VT Con ManI wouldn't lift them to THAT level...
I stand corrected!
May 12, 2008 - 13:32 ET by AgentAmericanYou're right, toilet paper is worth much more. I stand corrected! LOL
Drill ANWAR
McCain an Outsider?
May 12, 2008 - 13:06 ET by V the KOnly to the MSM would a man who's spent more than two decades in Washington and never held a job in the private sector be considered an 'outsider?'
ARRRGGGHH...
May 12, 2008 - 13:06 ET by DEVILDOCMOMYOU CAN'T EVEN STATE THE TRUTH WITH THESE PEOPLE! Ok, I will try to calm down now. Of course, all of us on this site can see it coming and have been commenting on it in past posts. bho (should we call him boohoohoo?) is the most liberal senator, he has only been a senator for about 3 years, instead of vote on tough issues in the past he avoids the votes, and I could go on and on with legitimate issues. These would be seen as sleaze and labeling him...
Blowhard?
May 12, 2008 - 13:16 ET by Eileen RightSo McCain should listen to Blowhard Joe Klein???
Does anyone else think this
May 12, 2008 - 13:40 ET by motherbeltDoes anyone else think this is odd:
John McCain has a reputation for being...well, a wimp when it comes to campaigning. He's eager to "cross the aisle," he has repeatedly eschewed any "negative" campaigning, and there is not a scrap of evidence anyone on the Obama campaign can point to, to say that he runs a sleazy campaign. And yet we have Obama saying this:
"[McCain's] plan to win in November appears to come from the very same
playbook that his side has used time after time in election after
election," Obama said. "Yes, we know what's coming. I'm not naive.
We've already seen it, the same names and labels.....
This is a warning. Anything that contradicts whatever Obama says will be called "from the same old playbook"....
We won't talk about the Democrats' penchant for the personal attack: e.g. McCain "losing his bearings".....
Yes, Leave The Sleaze to the Democrats!
May 12, 2008 - 13:52 ET by ChasvsYes, Yes, by all means, John McCain should stay on the High road and keep it clean.
To point out that BHO's judgement just might be suspect given his 20 year relationship with a race-baiting, USA-Hating biggot, or his close relationship with a Weather underground domestic terroist, or even his desire to sit and talk nice with terrorist leaders. That of course would be Racist, and mean. No way John McCain or anybody should mentions such things. Let's just talk nice about how we're going to tax the rich white folks to pay for the poor black folks without jobs... Now those a real issues, no?
Let the Demofacists take the low road and make the outragious claims against McCain that the Media will swallow and plaster the headlines with their filth!
We are SO SCREWED!
While Limbaugh is kind of a blowhard
May 12, 2008 - 14:00 ET by theduck6I occasionally listen as he'll tell me things I won't hear anywhere else... (I can seperate fact from opinion) Klein wishes he had a small portion of the listenership Rush has. Sounds like jealousy to me.
a&&h*&^s moved Glenn Beck to the late afternoon drive time here in DC.
Worry not Mr.
May 12, 2008 - 14:06 ET by bigtimerWorry not Mr. Anonymous...the only one McCain ever sticks it to constantly are the conservatives.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
McCain
May 12, 2008 - 16:30 ET by okiehawk44Note to Johnny Mac: THE OTHER TEAM IS TOYING WITH YOU STUPID!
Stop telling the socialist-democrats you are going to play nice-nice. Look at a picture of yourself back when you had a pair and then go get 'em.
Dems over play their hand as usual.
May 12, 2008 - 14:20 ET by Parker1227McCain will be elected, regardless of what 95% of the MSM want, regardless of Obama's massive "war chest" of money, and regardless of write-in voters for Ron Paul.
Swing voters will simply not support an inexperienced, far-left candidate - especially one who chose a bigoted, Jew-hating nutjob as his life-long mentor.
Reagan democrats in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and elsewhere will make 2008 a blow-out for McCain.
Until today, I have been
May 12, 2008 - 14:27 ET by Clear thinkerUntil today, I have been convinced that McCain will be the POTUS. The only fly in the ointment for McCain is the announcement by Bob Barr to run as a Libertarian.
"Abstain from McCain"
Bob Barr is not the Bob Barr
May 12, 2008 - 14:38 ET by Chris NormanBob Barr is not the Bob Barr I remembered. Since leaving office, he's made several criticisms of the Patriot Act that I thought were rather alarmist. I suppose he was setting himself up as a purist for a Libertarian run eventually. Still, once his views are known, I don't think he'll draw many conservative votes from McCain.
Chris... Wow, I don't
May 12, 2008 - 15:27 ET by bigtimerChris...
Wow, I don't know if you were here when I posted about the same thing as you did about Barr and his criticism of parts of the Patriot Act since leaving the House....which irked me royally, but I am one conservative who will vote for him before I do McCain...who by the way has done thing in the Senate that has hurt Pres. Bush in regards to fighting the terrorists too IMO.
Just my two cents...and by the way who knows what will happen before Nov.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
Sleaze: the exclusive domain of the MSM
May 12, 2008 - 20:31 ET by needleIf McCain wants to maintain his reputation as a politician more honorable than most, he's going to have to stop the sleaze.
What a gas! Joe Klein sounds like a Mafioso condescendingly ‘splaining to a newbie how the territory is allocated. Sleaze: now that is the exclusive domain of the MSM.
As I recall Time did not itself get involved with the NYT story about McCain having an affair with a lobbyist – but was that sleaze, or was that slime? I am not sure – but heck, it ain’t even summer yet.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.