I received an e-mail today asking me to help Barack Obama by writing letters to the editor of local newspapers repeating the Obama campaign’s lies about McCain and houses. I declined, of course. The full text of the letter, sent out under the name of David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, Obama for America, is set forth below; here is an excerpt to set the stage for my reply:

“If somebody asked you, you probably wouldn’t have to think about it. But when a reporter asked John McCain how many houses he owns, he stumbled and said, ‘I think — I’ll have my staff get to you.’”

It gets worse from there. Now, here is my reply to David Plouffe:

Dear David:

 This is in reply to your e-mail to me asking that I assist Barack Obama in spreading lies about John McCain. As you well know, the second sentence of your e-mail is dishonest. Senator McCain was not asked “how many houses he owns;” you are lying, as is Senator Obama, when you say that. You have access to the same video and audio that I have seen and heard, so you know that the question was about how many houses McCain and his wife Cindy have. McCain didn’t “stumble,” as you dishonestly represent, and he didn’t say “I don’t know,” as Barack Obama misrepresents. He simply said, “I’ll have my staff get to you.” That’s all. A fair answer to an impertinent question.

As you are aware, Senator McCain is a wealthy man, as is Senator Obama. As you also know, Senator McCain is married to a very wealthy woman, Cindy McCain, who is estimated to be worth some $400,000,000.00. As you also know, the McCains keep their finances separate and file separate income tax returns. Your dishonest advertising is simply a way of knocking a good man because he is wealthy. As are, for example, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and many other Democrats, including, as far as I can tell, all of those under consideration to be the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee.

So, no, David, I will not lie to help Barack Obama; he appears to be very capable of telling his own lies. I will send a copy of your e-mail to every newspaper in my area, warning them that you are soliciting letters to the editor in order to spread your libels.

By the way, you may at this point suspect that I do not support Barack Obama’s candidacy, and you may wonder why I am on your e-mail list. Several weeks ago, I wrote asking for the names of those experts who Senator Obama says will back up his false claim that keeping all of our tires properly inflated will reduce our fuel needs by 3 to 4 per cent. Anyone whose math skills exceed the moronic mantra BUSH = MCCAIN – - which is quite a few of us, believe me – - can quickly figure out that this is a fraudulent statement. But since Barack Obama called me, and everyone like me, “ignorant,” I thought perhaps his campaign would be so kind as to provide me with the names of a few of the “experts” who he says back him up. To date, I have had no response to that request.

Of course, there are no such experts. Not even one such expert. I suppose it would be too much to ask for a retraction?

Sincerely,

Jay

* * * * * *

The first letters to the editor went out before I wrote this; I have several left to go.

So there it is folks – - Barack Obama wants you to write letters to the editor. I say, let’s help him out!


RECOMMENDED LINKS:

The “How Many Houses” and Ralph Reed Attacks: Bring It, Barack

Desperate Obama camp spends the week lying

Obama’s “Tire-Pressure” Embarrassment – - Who’s Ignorant Now?

Obama and Elitist Friends Attack McCain Supporters As “Ignorant” and “Stupid”

Obama’s “Tire-Pressure” Canard – - Why It’s Disingenuous

Who Needs Swiftboating? Barack Obama Got “Saddlebacked”

Saddleback Fallout: Appearances Can Be Revealing

A Little Truth About The Housing Problem

Obama-Ayers Records Blocked At University Of Illinois-Chicago

* * * * * *

—–Original Message—–
From: David Plouffe, BarackObama.com <info@barackobama.com>
Sent: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 5:51 pm
Subject: Keeping track

Jay –

If somebody asked you, you probably wouldn’t have to think about it.

But when a reporter asked John McCain how many houses he owns, he stumbled and said, “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you.”

If you’re like the millions of people who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage, you might have a different perspective.

Not only does John McCain have trouble keeping track of all his houses, he looks at record gas prices and a crippling foreclosure crisis and thinks the economy is fundamentally “strong.” And last weekend he said anyone making less than $5 million a year isn’t rich.

This is the side of John McCain his campaign wants to hide.

So yesterday, we launched a TV ad to show everyone how out-of-touch John McCain is with the economic realities of regular Americans.

But if we’re going to get the truth out, it’s going to take all of us working together to make it happen.

Watch the ad and write a letter to your local newspaper exposing the real John McCain:

The more we hear from John McCain about the economy, the more we see just how out-of-touch he is.

You don’t have to be an economist to understand that we can’t afford eight more years, or four more years, or even one more year of the same failed economic policies that George Bush has put in place.

Now we need your help to make sure the word gets out.

Watch our ad now and write a letter to your local papers.

If John McCain understood what Americans are dealing with, he’d know that we need to be doing more.

Barack has a plan to cut taxes for middle class families by $1,000 and offer students who perform community service a $4,000 tax break to pay for college tuition. But John McCain’s tax plan does nothing for 101 million middle class families.

Barack will set the minimum wage to rise with inflation. But John McCain is more concerned about making sure limits on campaign contributions rise with inflation — and he’s voted against raising the minimum wage 19 times.

That’s a difference that should be easy to remember.

Thanks for your help,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America