Bill Kristol: McCain running 'stupid campaign' David Edwards and Andrew McLemore

Published: Sunday October 12, 2008





Print This Email This A conservative columnist called McCain's campaign "stupid" for continuing to run attack ads that criticize the character of Democratic opponent Barack Obama when "they haven't worked."



The ads attempt to tarnish Obama's reputation by tying him to 1960s radical William Ayers. Bill Kristol, a columnist for The Weekly Standard, said he agrees that Obama's past connections should be scrutinized.



But with Obama polling better than ever, Kristol told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that McCain needs a new strategy.



"It's not a horribly mean-spirited or racist or disgraceful campaign, but it's really become a pathetic campaign," he said.



Kristol said one of the McCain campaign's major problems is that it is "out of sync" with its presidential candidate, who has avoided ridiculing Obama.



"If he's not willing to [say these things], adjust the campaign," Kristol said. "Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for what we've seen, which is Senator Obama quite correctly saying 'What's going on here, he won't say this to me and his campaign is saying it in ads.'"



McCain faced a booing crowd Friday for rebuking a man who said he would be "scared... to bring a child up" if Obama was elected president.



Kristol asked Wallace why Rick Davis was on the news shows Sunday morning instead of McCain or his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin.



"McCain is an attractive, impressive character, Palin is an attractive, impressive character. Why isn't Sarah Palin on this morning instead of Rick Davis? It is ridiculous," Kristol said.



This video is from Fox's Fox News Sunday, broadcast October 12, 2008.









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