Jonathan Martin notes:
The strategy appears clear: McCain will raise the question to hammer Obama on policy, as he did today on the Democrat's ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and hits on taxes, spending and health care. Meanwhile, Sarah Palin will do the dirtier work of using it to hit him on his past associations, notably with Bill Ayers. And should a third party appear on the landscape in the next month, they can go even further.
The reality is that a member of McCain's audience went there today. You can hear it clearly on this video clip taken from MSNBC-- after McCain asks "Who is the real Barack Obama?" the first, loudest voice can be heard answering "Terrorist!"
Judging by McCain's slightly startled reaction, he clearly didn't anticipate that reaction, and McCain's in no way responsible for the utterances of anybody in his audience. But he must have some idea of how deeply this fear/outsider/other meme has spread. A tripartite strategy isn't needed...
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