John McCain made the following remarks a few moments ago in PA:
I heard that Senator Obama was showing some love to the Rays down in Tampa Bay yesterday. Now, I'm not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states, but I think I may have detected a little pattern with Senator Obama. It's pretty simple really. When he's campaigning in Philadelphia, he roots for the Phillies, and when he's campaigning in Tampa Bay, he shows love to the Rays.
Not so fast, my friend. Although Barack Obama did indeed show some proverbial love for the Rays, this falls far short of reversing course on the Phillies. Perhaps if McCain wasn't such a petulant sore sport, he'd understand that Obama was simply being a gracious guest while visiting the home of the Rays.
Although Obama remains a loyal Whitesox fan, in the interest of the following the World Series, he makes no apologies for his loyalty to his campaign manager, David Plouffe:
Obama, a devoted fan of the Chicago White Sox, had already cast his lot in with the Phillies, whose fan base is located in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. He has described his campaign manager, David Plouffe, as a "fanatical Phillies fan" and said that was why was rooting for the team.
I realize McCain has trouble wrapping his feeble brain around simple concepts, but showing the Rays love and being a temporary Phillies Fanatic are not mutually exclusive propositions. Especially in light of John McCain's epic pander to Pennsylvania sports fans a few months ago.
Take notes, Barack Obama; this is how you kowtow to the local sports fans:
Asked what first comes to his mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, McCain chuckled, "the Steelers. I was a mediocre high school athlete but I loved and adored the sports but the Steelers really made a huge impression on me particularly in my early years."
And then McCain told a rather moving story about his time as a P.O.W. "When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the pressures, physical pressures on me, I named the starting lineup, defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron mates."
"Did you really?" asked the reporter.
"Yes," McCain said.
"In your POW camp?" asked the reporter.
"Yes," McCain said.
"Could you do it today?" asked the reporter.
"No, unfortunately," McCain said.
Here's one reason he likely couldn't do it today -- the Steelers aren't the team whose defensive line McCain named for his Vietnamese tormentors. The Green Bay Packers are. At least according to every previous time McCain has told this story. And the McCain campaign just told ABC News that the senator made a mistake -- it was, indeed, the Packers.