It’s no secret that George Voinovich and John McCain have had some big disagreements in the past – most recently over Bush/McCain’s Iraq war policy.
So I guess it’s really no surprise that we haven’t seen ol’ George out stumping for McCain even though Ohio is again one of THE must-win states in this election.
And it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time in the next two weeks either. George seems none-too-eager to jump on the McCain bandwagon. And why should he?
He’s going to start campaigning next year for the 2010 elections and the last thing he needs is to be sucked down by the sinking ship that is the McCain/Palin ticket.
But I guess George finally decided that he needs to do something to show, at the very least, his preference for the Republican nominee over the Democratic one.
And when I say the very least – that’s exactly what I mean.
The McCain team couldn’t even get Senator Voinovich to say anything positive about John McCain so they had to make do with George saying something slightly negative (and totally unrealistic) about Barack Obama.
I can just imagine the back and forth calls…
McCain Staffer: We’d like Senator Voinovich to embrace John on stage and then give a speech about their long friendship.
Voinovich Staffer: bwahahahahah
—-
McCain Staffer: So how about he just says something positive about John to CNN?
Voinovich Staffer: naw. I don’t think George really likes John that much. Certainly not enough to go on CNN.
—-
McCain Staffer: So maybe he just says something negative about Barack? Maybe calls him a terrorist or something?
Voinovich Staffer: yeah, well, I don’t think so. Here’s what we are willing to do: Senator will speak with a reporter from a tiny paper in Southern Ohio and tell them that Barack Obama is a socialist. How’s that?
McCain Staffer: woo hoo! I knew we could count on your support!
And that’s exactly what good old George Voinovich did.
He spoke to a reporter for the Daily Sentinel – a paper serving the town of Pomeroy, Ohio (population: 1,966) – and gave this short quote: “He is left of Teddy Kennedy. With all due respect, the man is a socialist.”
And there you have it, ladies and gentleman. A ringing endorsement for John McCain from Ohio Senator George Voinovich.
Budget Watch
