McCain pressing Raines ties to Obama

A brief review of the events that unfolded yesterday.

McCain camp ad tying Franklin Raines to Barack Obama hits airwaves the evening of 9/18. The ad is accurate based on reporting in the Washington Post.

Karen Tumulty insinuates the ad is racist because the voice of a white woman speaks in between photos of Barack Obama and Franklin Raines. Both men are black in case you didn't know. Tumulty further states that the lack of Jim Johnson, another disgraced executive at Fannie Mae that was chairing the Obama VP search committee, in the ad is further evidence of racism. On the morning of 9/19 the McCain ad citing Jim Johnson's connections to the Obama campaign hits the airwaves.

The ad is depicted as a lie. These claims are false.

McCain on the stump exaggerates Franklin Raines' connections to the Obama campaign.

This statement is accurately depicted as a lie. McCain extended the veracity of his campaign ad to say Raines is advising Obama on "housing policy matters". This claim is inaccurate.

One of the big problems I have with flinging lie, lies, and liar accusations at bloggers, reporters, pundits or politicians is the fact that a lot of comments made do extend or retract the accuracy of the original information. McCain's statement is something I would classify as a mistatement, but certainly one that he should correct. If that mistatement is made again, that's when we get into lie territory. At that point he's knowingly forwarding a point that is refuted as untrue.