"CLAIRE'S ANNOYING"That's the answer State G.O.P. Executive Director Jared Craighead gave in a conference call when asked why Barack Obama's campaign continues to put resources into Missouri. He predicted that eventually the Obama campaign would pull out of Missouri, much like John Kerry did in 2004.
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PLUS: Rep. Blunt mocks Obama's bipartisan credentials:
"If he is infatuated with his own life (enough) to write two autobiographies, I assume he is happy with the way he has been acting, and he hasn't been acting in a bipartisan way legislatively anywhere," Rep. Roy Blunt tells McClatchy newspapers.
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ALSO: TEAM OBAMA RESPONSE TO CRAIGHEAD'S RESPONSE:
"Obama regional press secretary Jean Weinberg chuckled at some of Craighead's assertions. Weinberg also denied the 40-phones-shipped-out story, adding that the GOP "seems to have no problem inventing facts when it's politically convenient for them to do so."
The executive director of the Missouri Republican Party called Sen. Claire McCaskill's claims that John McCain is losing ground in the Show-Me State "disingenuous," and predicted that Barack Obama's campaign would eventually pull resources out of the state.
Jared Craighead's comments were made in a conference call in response to early claims by the Obama campaign. You can read that post HERE. McCaskill said that John McCain's losing ground in the state, and that the Obama campaign would "surprise" the media in November.
"They're just not getting traction here," Craighead said. "That's clear in the polls you see. I hope you just don't take them at their word. (Obama's) message just isn't resonating in Missouri," Craighead said.
Craighead said he believed that recent polls showing McCain ahead by 5 or 6 points are probably accurate. He pointed out that typically no statewide candidate usually wins Missouri by more than four points. "For Claire to say John McCain should be up by more than 6 points, it's just very disingenuous. It doesn't reflect the reality of Missouri," Craighead said.
He then offered an anecdote. Craighead said he recently heard from a postal worker that an Obama office was shipping 40 phones out of the state. He said that illustrates, "they clearly understand they are not competitive, not moving numbers."
To say that Obama isn't competitive in Missouri is a stretch. But McCaskill's claim that McCain is "losing ground" seems inaccurate as well. "She's put herself on the line on this. She's told Barack Obama to waste time in rural Missouri," Craighead said of McCaskill, adding that Obama's plan has "zero chance" of resonating in places like the Ozarks.
Craighead also said be believed the Obama campaign is lying about some of their organizational numbers. He noted that the G.O.P. has already provided evidence to show that the Obama campaign doesn't have as many operating offices across the state as it claims. He said McCain has about 10 statewide offices, dedicated fully to the Republican nominee. "They like to brag about a bunch of numbers. We're not bragging about voter contacts," he said.
When asked if Obama would eventually pull out of Missouri like John Kerry did in 2004, Craighead responded: "They're out of here. I think they'll be out." When asked why the campaign still seems to be organizing heavily and competing here, Craighead replied, "Because Claire's annoying." "She can't be rational (about this)," Craighead said. "If I was advising Senator Obama, I'd be out (of Missouri)," he added.
1 comment:
I think that he is dreaming. I know A LOT of people that are going to vote third party for the first time in their lives. They are so sick of things that they are not going to vote for either of the two, so who s how that will change things. I do not see Obama pulling out of Missouri, they both have an uphill battle. More people are actually reading the Constitution and reading about how these two have voted and frankly, I have not heard one person say that they are pleased with either, other then those that feel obligated to do so, those that are in the parties themselves.
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