John McCain 2008 Web Ad: "Words"
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign web video, called "Words," focusing on Barack Obama breaking his pledge to the American people that he would accept public financing.
Script For "Words" (Web :48)
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
BARACK OBAMA (6/29/06): "I strongly support public financing."
BARACK OBAMA (2/26/08): "I will sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a system that works for everybody."
BARACK OBAMA (4/27/08): "I have promised that I will sit down with John McCain and talk about can we preserve a public system."
BARACK OBAMA (6/19/08): "We've made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election."
CHYRON: "Mr. Obama is breaking his word." (The Washington Times, 6/20/08)
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
CHYRON: "His decision deals a body blow to his own reputation as a reform candidate." (The Boston Globe, 6/20/08)
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
CHYRON: "Opportunistic and cynical." (New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/20/08)
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
CHYRON: "A large and telling Obama flip-flop." (The Wall Street Journal, 6/20/08)
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
CHYRON: "As disappointing as it is disingenuous." (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/20/08)
CHYRON: CHANGE That Works For Him: Breaking His Word
AD FACTS: "Words" Web Ad
BARACK OBAMA (2/16/08): "Don't tell me words don't matter."
* Barack Obama: "Don't tell me words don't matter." (Barack Obama, Remarks, Milwaukee, WI, 2/16/08)
BARACK OBAMA (6/29/06): "I strongly support public financing."
* Barack Obama Says "I Strongly Support Public Financing." OBAMA: "Well, I strongly support public financing. And I know [Senator] Dick [Durbin] does too. He's going to have some things to say about it because when we were having - as you'll recall - the major debates around lobbying reform, one of the things that Dick, I think, properly pointed out was that you can change the rules on lobbying here in Washington, but if we're still getting financed primarily from individual contributions, that those with the most money are still going to have the most influence." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At Constituents Breakfast, 6/29/06)
BARACK OBAMA (2/26/08): " I will sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a system that works for everybody
* Barack Obama Says "I Will Sit Down With John McCain" To Address Public Financing. NBC'S TIM RUSSERT: "So you may opt out of public financing. You may break your word." BARACK OBAMA: "What I -- what I have said is, at the point where I'm the nominee, at the point where it's appropriate, I will sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a system that works for everybody." (Democratic Presidential Debate, Cleveland, OH, 2/26/08)
BARACK OBAMA (4/27/08): "I have promised that I will sit down with John McCain and talk about can we preserve a public system."
* Barack Obama Says "I Have Promised That I Will Sit Down With John McCain And Talk About Can We Preserve A Public System." FOX NEWS' CHRIS WALLACE:" Wall Street Journal says that you are prepared to run the first privately financed campaign, presidential campaign, since Watergate. True?" OBAMA: Well, look. We've done a wonderful job raising money from the grassroots. I'm very proud of the fact that in March -- in February, for example, 90 percent of our donations came over the Internet. Our average donation is $96, and we've done an amazing job, I think, mobilizing people to finance our campaigns in small increments. I have promised that I will sit down with John McCain and talk about can we preserve a public system, as long as we are taking into account third party independent expenditures. Because what I don't intend to do --" (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 4/27/08)
BARACK OBAMA (6/19/08): "We've made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election."
* Barack Obama: "We've made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election. This means we'll be forgoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election." (Barack Obama, Web Video, 6/19/08)
CHYRON: "Mr. Obama is breaking his word." (The Washington Times, 6/20/08)
* The Washington Times: "Mr. Obama Is Breaking His Word And Is Altering His Principles According To What Is Expedient." (Editorial, "Obama Reneges," The Washington Times, 6/20/08)
CHYRON: "His decision deals a body blow to his own reputation as a reform candidate." (The Boston Globe, 6/20/08)
* Boston Globe: "His Decision Deals A Body Blow To His Own Reputation As A Reform Candidate." "Obama will be the first major party candidate since Watergate to reject public financing in the general election, instead relying on his base of more than 1.5 million donors for a war chest that could easily double or triple the $84.1 he would get in public financing. His decision deals a body blow both to the system of campaign finance and to his own reputation as a reform candidate." (Editorial, "Obama Opts Out Of Reform," The Boston Globe, 6/20/08)
CHYRON: "Opportunistic and cynical." (New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/20/08)
* New Hampshire Union Leader: "Obama's Decision Is Entirely Opportunistic And Cynical." "Of course, Obama's decision is entirely opportunistic and cynical. He claims he still believes in public financing, but that the current system, which he has championed all these years, he now thinks is so flawed that he cannot participate in it." (Editorial, "Obama's Financing: Private Beats Public," New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/20/08)
CHYRON: "A large and telling Obama flip-flop." (The Wall Street Journal, 6/20/08)
* The Wall Street Journal: "The Fact Remains That The Decision Is A Large And Telling Obama Flip-Flop." "Is this the tone of the new postpartisan Obama era? One may wonder. The fact remains that the decision is a large and telling Obama flip-flop. He said early on that he would accept public financing for the general campaign, which runs between the conventions and November's vote. But this was back when he couldn't be sure he would be able to raise so much money by nonpublic means, or what he has since called his 'parallel' public financing system." (Editorial, "A Reformer's Progress," The Wall Street Journal, 6/20/08)
CHYRON: "As disappointing as it is disingenuous." (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/20/08)
* Philadelphia Inquirer: "Barack Obama's Decision To Turn Down Public Financing For The General Election Is A Disappointing As It Is Disingenuous." "Barack Obama's decision to turn down public financing for the general election is as disappointing as it is disingenuous. The presumptive Democratic nominee for president pledged last year that he would accept public financing and its accompanying spending limits in the general election if his Republican foe did the same. But now that Obama is a fund-raising sensation on the Internet, he's breaking his pledge." (Editorial, "Public Campaign Financing," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/20/08)
