McCain/Palin Campaign Goes on the Dole

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

The Republican ticket of Senator McCain of Arizona and Governor Palin of Alaska is officially on public assistance.

The Federal Election Commission announced yesterday than on Friday it approved a payment from the federal treasury of $84.1 million to the McCain/Palin campaign. Under federal law, the campaign cannot spend more than that sum and cannot take any donations from the public.

That might come as a surprise to visitors to various Web sites, including the Drudge Report, which were carrying ads yesterday seeking donations under the “McCain/Palin” banner. The fine print indicates that the donations will go to a special fund set up to pay for legal and accounting costs. “The best way to help our campaign is to give to McCain-Palin Compliance Fund,” a message to potential donors says, adding that the fund will cover “a portion of the cost of broadcast advertising, campaign offices and computer/website expenses.” Such funds are now commonplace in presidential campaigns — they helped cover costs related to the Florida recount in 2000.

UNION CHIEF: OBAMA CAMPAIGN NEVER MADE CONTACT ABOUT TROOPER

A top official with an Alaska police union says Senator Obama’s campaign never contacted the labor group to seek information about efforts by Governor Palin of Alaska to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.

“I want to state categorically — or uncategorically, on the record, that the Obama campaign has never called me to talk about Mike Wooten or Governor Sarah Palin,” the executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association, John Cyr, told The New York Sun yesterday.

While introducing an interview with Messrs. Cyr and Wooten last Friday, CNN said the Obama campaign had contacted the union, which led to speculation that the Democratic presidential campaign was seeking dirt about the affair some now refer to as Troopergate. Not so, according to Mr. Cyr, who said he was contacted by a local Obama representative whom he did not identify to discuss the possibility of the union endorsing Mr. Obama. “Nobody was saying, … ‘Where is this Wooten thing going?’ It was just not the substance of the conversation,” the union official said.

It’s not clear whether the contact came before or after Mrs. Palin’s selection as Senator McCain’s running mate on August 29. Mr. Cyr said he thought the call preceded the choice, but he also said it came after the state’s AFL-CIO convention, which ended on the same day the Alaska governor got the nod.

OBAMA FLUBBED TIMING ON SELECTIVE SERVICE REGISTRATION

In an interview aired Sunday, Senator Obama indicated he registered for a potential draft upon leaving high school in 1979, even though the Selective Service program was suspended at the time. “I had to sign up for Selective Service when I graduated from high school,” he told ABC’s “This Week,” before going on to say he considered joining the military.

President Carter reactivated the registration system in July 1980, about six months after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Data from the Selective Service System Web site show Mr. Obama’s registration was recorded on September 4, 1980. A spokesman for the Obama campaign declined to comment.

MCCAIN CAMP BACKS PALIN WORDS ON GOD, IRAQ, AND PIPELINE

Senator McCain’s campaign is endorsing comments Governor Palin made in June linking God to America’s military strategy in Iraq and to a proposed gas pipeline. “Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God — that’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan. So bless them with your prayers, your prayers of protection over our soldiers,” Mrs. Palin said in a speech to students at her former church, Wasilla Assembly of God. Her 19-year-old son, Track, is set to be deployed to Iraq this month.

“This is an incredibly humble statement, a statement that this campaign stands by 100%, and a sentiment that any religious American will share — the hope that our country’s actions are indeed righteous,” a campaign spokesman, Michael Goldfarb, said.

In the same speech, the governor also saw a role for the deity in building consensus for a $30 billion gas project. “I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built,” she said.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use