Could they possibly be willing to sacrifice their credibility completely for ideology?The “they” in this case is big media outlets like CBS, ABC, NBC, the NY Times, the Washington Post, etc. There was an “anonymous” email sent to Glenn Reynolds……

Franklin Delano Raines (born January 14, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae who served as White House budget director under President Bill Clinton. He is currently employed by Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign as an economic adviser.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/keithbryan/gGgmX7

my guess it wont be up for too long

Zengerle has retracted all Benefit of the Doubt. He cites the AP:

Obama’s campaign says Raines is not an Obama adviser and that McCain’s campaign knows it because Raines said so in an e-mail earlier this week to Carly Fiorina, a top McCain adviser. Obama’s campaign provided The Associated Press with a copy of the e-mail.

The ad was released on Thursday.  Fiorina was excommunicated by Camp McCain following her faux pas on Wednesday.  What day did Raines send his email?  The AP doesn’t say!  They coyly offer up “earlier this week.”  On the basis of an email of uncertain date to which even the Obama spokesman attests Ms. Fiorina did not reply, Zengerle assumes that not only did Fiorina read it in timely fashion but instantly apprised the appropriate official in the McCain campaign amidst consternation which she herself had induced (also “earlier in the week”) — all of which Zengerle takes as proof positive that the McCain campaign knew they were peddling an outright lie before their ad was aired.
Did it even occur to Zengerle to ascertain the date of the Fiorina comment to which Raines putatively objected — once he was subsequently made aware of it in a “forwarded note” from an unspecified party on an unspecified day and time? He seems perfectly comfortable imputing a lie to McCain on that highly questionable basis, while assuming nary a hint of possible misdirection on anyone else’s part.
Considering just how many “advisors” Obama has thrown under his bus with risible disclaimers, who wouldn’t have discounted Raines’ email – whenever Fiorina might have gotten around to reading it.  Jim Johnson, ias I’m sure we all recall, wasn’t an advisor either; he was simply invited to vet Obama’s Vice Presidential options on an unofficial non-profit basis.

I’d trust the accuracy of an off-the-cuff contemporaneous remark by a disinterested reporter a lot more than some hedging, defensive statement months later in response to some investigative reporter.

keep ‘em honest for us.

Addendum: Even TNR scoffs at the “dishonorable lie” response from Obama. At worst, McCain relied on undisputed reporting in the Post.

After the jump we get a link to here:
Misadventures In Giving the Benefit of the Doubt
Posted: Friday, September 19, 2008 11:12 AM

It’s possible that the WaPo overstated Raines’ role in the campaign; perhaps Raines himself bragged about being an advisor at a cocktail party or something when he wasn’t.

Or possibly both Obama and Raines are lying about their relationship now- a very real possibility.

Either way, given that McCain had a solid source, it’s dishonest of Obama to call it a lie.

peacenprosperity on September 19, 2008 at 11:32 AM
And in addition, now with control over so many revenue streams the government doesn’t have to increase taxes evertime they want more money from us. They will be able to increase insurance premiums, arbitrarily change the terms of your mortgage, increase PMI, etc.

peacenprosperity on September 19, 2008 at 11:44 AM

So true! The FED and the Treasury (and Bush) are allowing far too much nationalizing—socialism of our capital free market system at the taxpayers expense. Guess who PAYS for all this in the end?

peacenprosperity on September 19, 2008 at 11:32 AM

And in addition, now with control over so many revenue streams the government doesn’t have to increase taxes evertime they want more money from us. They will be able to increase insurance premiums, arbitrarily change the terms of your mortgage, increase PMI, etc.