Axelrod: Obama Prepared To Counterpunch In Tonight's Debate

McCain claimed that the "gloves will come off" in tonight's debate.

He might come to regret it:

Senator Barack Obama is prepared to hit back, including with Keating Five scandal if necessary, if Senator John McCain uses tonight’s presidential debate to attack him over his associations with controversial figures like former William C. Ayers, the former Weather Underground leader, Mr. Obama’s chief strategist said this afternoon.

For those fretting that Obama is taking in stride the recent spate of McCain/Palin attacks formulated to incite the rabid right wing lynch mob, Axelrod adds:

“If that comes up, he’ll be ready to discuss that, but one hopes that the focus of the debate will be the issues that affect the American people,” Mr. Axelrod told reporters in mid-flight from Mr. Obama’s debate camp, in Asheville, N.C., to Nashville, where the debate will take place at 9 p.m., Eastern.

Asked if Mr. Obama would respond to any discussion of Mr. Ayers by touching upon Mr. McCain’s role in the 1980s savings-and-loan scandal involving a political patron, Charles Keating, Mr. Axelrod was circumspect.

“I’m not going to predict whether he will or he won’t,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll shy away from the discussion if it comes up.”

Continued...

With many people losing their jobs, their health care and their homes, what do you think would resonate with them more: McCain's six degrees of separation Ayers nonsense or his certified involvement in the Keating financial scandal which cost taxpayers billions of dollars and for which he was officially censured by the Senate? It's a no brainer.

Last but not least, Axelrod said this:

“They’re being offensive, but they’re not playing offense,” he said. “We’re competitive in many, many states that George Bush won in 2004 and they’re having to defend those states. I think they’re sending her to Red states because they’ve got problems in red states.”

Seeking to set some expectations and the mood for tonight’s debate, Mr. Axelrod said Mr. Obama was steeled about the negative tone that the campaign had taken, and was not bothered by it.

“He’s running for president of the United States — it’s a rough, tough pursuit, there are a lot of challenges associated with them, this is one of them,” Mr. Axelrod said.

Obama knows what's at stake and he knows what he has to do to bring us home to victory in November. He hasn't let us down yet.

As he's said time and again,

"we don't throw the first punch, but we'll throw the last".

Trust The Obama.

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