m***@use.net
2008-10-26 02:52:41 UTC
Fox VP: Hate Crime Hoax Means McCain's Campaign Is 'Over, Forever
Linked to Race-Baiting'
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress at 11:47 AM on October 24, 2008.
Ashley Todd has admitted to making up her story.
Following the Drudge Report's lead yesterday, news organizations
picked up the story of a McCain campaign volunteer in Pittsburgh named
Ashley Todd, who said that a black man mugged her, sexually assaulted
her, and scratched a "B" into her cheek because she had a McCain
bumper sticker on her car. The police quickly pointed out
"inconsistencies" in her story. Todd has now confessed that she made
up the story. On his blog yesterday, Fox News Executive VP John Moody,
who is a Pittsburgh native, wrote that the incident's credibility was
inextricably tied to McCain's campaign:
This incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the
election.
If Ms. Todd's allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit
their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with
due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they
do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.
If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain's quest for the
presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.
For Pittsburgh, a city that has done so much to shape American history
over the centuries, another moment of truth is at hand.
Yesterday, before Todd had confessed, the McCain campaign put out a
statement about the incident, saying, "We're shaken up by this. It's
sick and disgusting."
Matt Corley is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and
ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.
Linked to Race-Baiting'
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress at 11:47 AM on October 24, 2008.
Ashley Todd has admitted to making up her story.
Following the Drudge Report's lead yesterday, news organizations
picked up the story of a McCain campaign volunteer in Pittsburgh named
Ashley Todd, who said that a black man mugged her, sexually assaulted
her, and scratched a "B" into her cheek because she had a McCain
bumper sticker on her car. The police quickly pointed out
"inconsistencies" in her story. Todd has now confessed that she made
up the story. On his blog yesterday, Fox News Executive VP John Moody,
who is a Pittsburgh native, wrote that the incident's credibility was
inextricably tied to McCain's campaign:
This incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the
election.
If Ms. Todd's allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit
their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with
due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they
do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.
If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain's quest for the
presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.
For Pittsburgh, a city that has done so much to shape American history
over the centuries, another moment of truth is at hand.
Yesterday, before Todd had confessed, the McCain campaign put out a
statement about the incident, saying, "We're shaken up by this. It's
sick and disgusting."
Matt Corley is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and
ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.