April 08, 2008
Surrogates Gone Wild, III
Sen. Jay Rockefeller apologized today for comments made in The Charleston Gazette in which he implied that John McCain, as a Navy pilot, dropped missiles but wasn't aware of the consequences of his actions. Rockefeller, as our readers know, is supporting Barack Obama.
"McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet," Rockefeller said. "He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues."
The RNC and the McCain campaign repeatedly called on Obama's team today to denounce the remarks. McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds issued this statement: “Why does Senator Obama refuse to personally condemn this type of despicable attack? Senator Obama has run for president on the basis that he represents a new kind of politics, yet every day there is another smear that Obama refuses to repudiate.”
Here's the Rockefeller apology, per The State Journal: “I have deep respect for John McCain’s honorable and noble service to our country. I made an inaccurate and wrong analogy and I have extended my sincere apology to him. While we differ a great deal on policy issues, I profoundly respect and appreciate his dedication to our country, and I regret my very poor choice of words."
The paper reports that Rockefeller also called McCain directly to express regret.
Posted at 04:12 PM
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