Is Team McCain Scared of Lunch Bucket Joe?

Reporting from Denver

Well, that didn’t take long. The same day the O-Biden ticket is rolled out,
the AP’s Michael Fournier does his first bit of flaking for his friends. Under
the facade of “analysis,” without revealing long held biases, Fournier
let rip today on the Democratic ticket.

…The picks say something profound about Obama: For all his self-confidence, the 47-year-old Illinois senator worried that he couldn’t beat Republican John McCain without help from a seasoned politician willing to attack. The Biden pick is the next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative — a strategic decision that may be necessary but threatens to run counter to his image.

One of the first emails I got from the McCain camp today while traveling from
Santa Fe to Denver was Michael Fournier’s piece, which at one moment rips Obama’s
alleged “worried that he couldn’t beat” McCain, then goes on to laud
Biden’s strengths.

Biden brings a lot to the table. An expert on national security, the Delaware senator voted in 2002 to authorize military intervention in Iraq but has since become a vocal critic of the conflict. He won praise for a plan for peace in Iraq that would divide the country along ethnic lines. Chief sponsor of a sweeping anti-crime bill that passed in 1994, Biden could help inoculate Obama from GOP criticism that he’s soft on crime — a charge his campaign fears will drive a wedge between white voters and the first black candidate with a serious shot at the White House. So the question is whether Biden’s depth counters Obama’s inexperience — or highlights it?

Fournier’s real goal is to throw mud at the Democrats, giving the McCain team
a supposed “reputable” news organization some quotes they can pass
around, hoping the cable talking heads will parrot the AP writer. The faster the talking point spreads, especially right before the big convention kick off, the quicker it can set in and create perceptions. You know, the things on which reality is built.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the AP’s Michael Fournier once considered
working for the McCain camp. Steve
Benen, now in his new spot a Political Animal has the history. From
Politico:

Before Ron Fournier returned to The Associated Press in March 2007, the veteran political reporter had another professional suitor: John McCain’s presidential campaign. In October 2006, the McCain team approached Fournier about joining the fledgling operation, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. In the months that followed, said a source, Fournier spoke about the job possibility with members of McCain’s inner circle, including political aides Mark Salter, John Weaver and Rick Davis. Salter, who remains a top McCain adviser, said in an e-mail to Politico that Fournier was considered for “a senior advisory role” in communications. “He did us the courtesy of considering the offer before politely declining it,” Salter said.

I guess Fournier decided, why not just continue writing hit pieces for Republicans
with the facade of legitimacy from the AP in order to help slam Democrats and
get McCain elected?

The truth is that Lunch Bucket Joe Biden is the biggest threat to McCain’s
candidacy since Hillary Clinton wasn’t chosen as veep. They didn’t expect Lunch Bucket Joe to come out swinging on economic populism. With roots in Scranton,
PA., plus a long record of fighting for cops and firemen, as well as women, having authored
the Violence Against Women Act, Lunch Bucket Joe has a natural affinity
with the blue collar crowd, like me and my husband, as well as Catholics and
a whole host of voters the O-Biden ticket needs in order to win. You know, HRC supporters who get the importance of this election.

If Republicans are fighting this hard to attack the Obama – Biden ticket on
the first day, one thing is clear. Lunch Bucket Joe scares the McCain crowd.
He’s got the right kind of stuff, adding to what Obama already brings.