Axelrod on the "1982" ad + NBC on the wheels coming off the Straight Talk Express

By GottaLaff

First, David Axelrod answers a question that we've asked here at TPC:

Q: Back to that 1982 ad talking about email, are you worried about offending those people in America who aren't necessarily that computer literate, older voters? Or are you worried about voters thinking that's not a big issue to be talking about.

Axelrod - "Well, I think it goes beyond the computer literacy. It goes beyond you know sort of whether you have ideas that are forward-looking or backward-looking and that's the most important thing. I think most people understand that the president of the United States needs to be in touch and understand both what's going on in the lives of the American people and what we need to do to get this country moving again in the future and that includes being in touch with the technology that exists today. But it's kind of a metaphor for Sen. McCainks views. Sen. McCain is sitting on the back of the truck looking backwards and wants to repeat the same mistakes we've seen for the last eight years."

And next, NBC tells us a little of what we've been needing to hear:

WHEELS COME OFF STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS?

From NBC's Mark Murray
For a candidate who prides himself in "straight talk" -- and whose political image in part is based on that truth-telling reputation -- Saturday proved to be a brutal day for John McCain and his campaign.

First came a front-page New York Times piece noting that McCain "has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth." There was also an accompanying fact-check of McCain's latest TV ad, which called it the "latest in a number that resort to a dubious disregard for the facts."

The Washington Post gave "four Pinnochios" to McCain's recent assertion on "The View" that Palin never took earmarks as Alaska governor. Then the Boston Globe reported that Palin didn't really travel inside Iraq as has been claimed. And Bloomberg News said that the McCain camp may not have been exactly truthful in estimating the size of its recent crowds. "Now officials say they can't substantiate the figures McCain's aides are claiming."

To top it off, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said this to the Politico about the increased media scrutiny of the campaign's factual claims: "We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”

[see this post from earlier]

Not surprisingly, the Obama camp has pounced on all this, issuing a memo to reporters entitled "Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express."

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