Bill Clinton thinks that Democrats should stop attacking Palin's family, even though no one with any power, influence or sizable platform is attacking Palin's family.
Joe Biden thinks that the attack on McCain's computer illiteracy was terrible, even though the sum total of McCain's entire campaign message has been a series of identity based attacks on Obama (plus "POW" and "maverick," of course).
Come on guys, stay on message here. Remember what is at stake. I mean, do you know how much whining from the McCain campaign you have just subjected the country to because of these mistakes? If it wasn't for the mortgage and financial situations, this is the sort of stupid stuff, accompanied with Republican crocodile tears, that would dominate headlines. My brain hurts whenever the McCain campaign does something like whine about the New York Times while sending out several dozen press releases citing the New York Times. Please, don't put us all through that.
Can't walk these statements back, but here is what I would suggest: the Obama campaign should hold a conference call, and have Obama start saying in his stump speeches, that even in the midst of a crisis the McCain campaign doesn't do anything except pretend to be outraged by the perception of insults. Engage in an attack that pre-empts all future whining along these lines. Argue that if how you campaign is a reflection on how you govern, then McCain would be the whiniest, crankiest President in history. The best part about this attack is that it would lead to more faux outrage, whining and crankiness on the part of the McCain campaign. So, the attack would be self-evidently true, and could be repeated whenever the McCain campaign complains some more. As such, it could possibly turn into a new narrative.
Anyway, that is what I would do: attack McCain for whining. Don't wait until the faux outrage happens to call it faux outrage--preemptively label them a bunch of whiners. I'll give that a shot in my personal paid media campaign, which will have a long overdue update later today.
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