Even though the Obama campaign says it is. This one tries to saddle Obama with Franklin Raines, the disgraced former head of Fannie Mae, who, according to the McCain ad, has been giving Obama "advice on mortgage and housing policy"
The Obama campaign has now sent out this statement from Raines:
"I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters."
And Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton goes on to say:
"This is another flat-out lie from a dishonorable campaign that is increasingly incapable of telling the truth. Frank Raines has never advised Senator Obama about anything -- ever."
Okay, I'm willing to believe that. But it does contradict this Washington Post profile of Raines from July (cited by the McCain campaign in the ad) which reported in the first graf that Raines has
taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters.
Seeing as how neither Raines nor the Obama campaign bothered to contradict that information when the article came out, and didn't do so until only after the McCain ad aired, you can't really blame the McCain campaign for trying to make hay of the situation. And you certainly can't accuse it of dishonorably telling a lie. At worst, it was an honest* mistake.
*--Or as honest as a political ad can be.
Update: I did a new post here explaining why this post is now inoperative.
--Jason Zengerle