Howard Dean: McCain Planted WaPo Article on Jim Johnson

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
  • Bookmark and Share

Washington Post: GOP tool? Might sound a tad far-fetched to you. But you're not Howard Dean.

Appearing on today's Morning Joe, DNC Chairman Dean claimed a Washington Post article about Jim Johnson, whom Barack Obama has chosen to head up the vetting of potential VP picks, was "planted" by the McCain campaign. Johnson's appointment has become an embarrassment to Obama because the former CEO of Fannie Mae has been linked to the mortgage crisis. As WaPo reported:

The questions about Johnson began after the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that he received more than $2 million in home loans that might have been below average market rates from Countrywide Financial, a partner of Fannie Mae and a leading purveyor of the kind of subprime mortgages that spawned a national housing crisis.

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

Moreover:

As CEO of Fannie Mae, Johnson, a former chief of staff to Vice President Walter F. Mondale and chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, was the beneficiary of accounting in which Fannie Mae's earnings were manipulated so that executives could earn larger bonuses.

Dean smelled a rat.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Are you saying this Washington Post article is planted by John McCain?

HOWARD DEAN: Yeah. That's exactly right. I suspect the McCain people called up the Post, which is what both sides do, and got the reporter to write an interesting article about this stuff.

So in Dean's mind, WaPo serves as something of a Republican transcribing service. Call up, dictate your article, give your placement instructions, "yeah, put it on the front page," and . . . voila!

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the McCain campaign did indeed push the story—it would be virtual campaign malpractice not to do so. But surely Dean must realize the story is highly newsworthy and that the Post would be among the last papers to take Republican talking points at face value.

Dean got off another rib-tickler in the course of the conversation, claiming that Johnson was "not a key appointment." Right. Obama has called his choice of running mate "the most important decision that I will make before I am president." And Johnson is heading up the vetting committee. Nothing "key" there ;-)

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Why is it that the demo's

Why is it that the demo's can dish it out but they can't take it???

How much has Bush taken from these people and never shot back.

Howie is just a girly man and needs to grow a pair.

Sorry Howie, no shoulder to cry on here.

republican MOM in Texas.

both sides may call the

both sides may call the wapo - but "press 9 if you're not a BDS liberal" dumps to a dial tone Howard

Both sides?

"I suspect the McCain people called up the Post, which is what both sides do..."

If both sides do it, then what is the big deal, why complain?

If only the Dems do it, then of course you are going to say "both sides do it" to justify the Dems doing it.  Either way, he is a cry baby.

Howard

Howard "AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" Dean is an idiot.

There is no way McCain, or any other republican, could plant any story in any MSM outlet, especially commie rags like the WaPo.

This is almost as bad as the "Bush deceived us into voting for the war" lie.

Of course it is a 'plant'.

Of course it is a 'plant'. Anything that makes the Democrats look like the idiots they are has to be a plant. Just ask any Democrat. They will tell you.

 

"Forget change, I want improvement!"

Dean is psycho

Dean is mentally unbalanced and when you watch hm speak his eyes tell you that he is about to break any minute.

Why would the McCain camp care about a small issue like who is vetting Obma's veeps.?

 

Exactly!

Exactly! I'm surprised Dean didn't accuse him of swiftboating Mr. Johnson. Shall we open up the list of Clinton pardons? No?

 

Why is every human being associated with Obama a sleaze?  Come to think of it, that same question could be asked of Hillary's associates as well.       

So, because McCain "planted

So, because McCain "planted it", that it's true doesn't matter?

Howard Dean?

I didn't know he still existed. I was hoping that he was just another mythical creature like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster!

Seriously though, the last thing Obama needs is for Howard Dean to suddenly crop up shooting his mouth off. Obama has enough troubles (Rezko, Pfleger, Wright, blue collar voters) without Dr. Dean adding to them.

From Obama's perspective yes

From Obama's perspective yes he does not need more scandals/embarrassments . From our perspective the more the merrier.

Glad Dean didn't get nominated

Thank God Dean didn't get nominated and and even greater thank-you God that he didn't get close to the Presidency.

Anyone not familiar with the movie The Dead Zone, needs to watch it and make special not of martin Sheen's character.  Everytime I see Dizzy-Dean I think of that movie and Character as "dead" on.

Truth

"Someone" in the McCain camp "planted" the truth. Oh-My-God! A scandal in the making. Give the information to Wexler. He'll find a way to add it to the reasons for the impeachment for President Bush.

 

Who is Barry Sotero?

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

DID ANY ONE SEE KUCINICH ON

DID ANY ONE SEE KUCINICH ON MONDAY READING HIS 5 HOUR IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES? HE LOOKED AND SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE THE GUY IN THE MOVIES WITH HIS NAPOLEON'S HAT, WANDERING AROUND THE BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED GROUNDS OF AN INSANE ASYLUM TALKING TO HIMSELF !

 

Toe, please refrain from

Toe, please refrain from using all caps in your messages.

ok.....refrained, but not

ok.....refrained, but not restrained

THANKS! ;-)

THANKS! ;-)

DIMWIT

MCAIN IS NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH TO PLACE THAT STORY, IF HE DID, I APPLAUD HIM. WHO PLANTED THE STORY THAT MCCAIN IS CONSIDERING SISSY NANNY-BOY BLOOMBERG FOR VP? IF TRUE,MCAIN IS FINISHED TODAY, NOT MONTHS FROM TODAY

The whole country would shake...

with the thud of his campaign crashing to the ground.

He hit me back

Years ago, when my daughter was a toddler, she would burst into the room, wailing in tears. I'd ask what happened, and she's tell me ... one of her older brothers or sister hit her back. I'd ask if she had hit the other one first, and she'd answer, "well, um, yeah," but with the tone of voice that said "what does that have to do with anything?" Dean reminds me of that. Dean's job is mostly to contact the media with any possible bad news for Republicans, and to place the proper spin on anything and everything. Yet he's complaining about the Republicans doing the same thing.

And which is worse?

  • Calling a newspaper to get them to look into a legitimate story
  • Accusing your opponents of planting (i.e., making up) a story that reveals something embarrassing about your own operation?

 

Real Estate Crooks

Why shouldn't Barry hire a real estate crook? Afer all, he and Michelle benefitted greatly from a land swindle with his "associate", the con man Tony Rezko. Phonys!

Who is Barry Sotero?

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

Let's be fair now

Dean did say that both sides do it.

If McCain wins

I can see it now. If McCain wins the election instead of hearing 'it's all Bush's fault' the new mantra of the press, Democrats and DNC will be 'it's all McCain's' fault.

What's amazing to me is how

What's amazing to me is how the MSM completely ignores the shady people Obama associates with. All St. Barack has to say is, "I didn't know..." or "I never saw..." and the media buys it lock, stock and barrel. And the public should buy it too. Talk about insulting the intelligence of the American people...this should be a crime.

Isn't false advertisement a crime?

The latest victim of Obama's bus

Certifiable

Another reason to hope for an Obama defeat: it would probably mean the end of Dean

Dean should stop sniffing

Dean should stop sniffing glue. Yeeeeeehaaaaaw!!!