John McCain aide Tucker Bounds again takes heat on TV -- on Fox, no less

What is it about John McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds?

Is it that he exudes a fresh-scrubbed youthfulness, unlike some who have served as the public face for a particular presidential campaign (think Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson)?

Whatever it is about Bounds, he's developing a track record for transforming normally innocuous TV types into the second comings of famed, feisty interviewer Mike Wallace.

Earlier this month, Bounds found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of pointed queries from CNN's Campbell Brown about Sarah Palin's qualifications to serve as vice president -- a clip that quickly became must-see TV.

On Monday, in a truly surprising turn of events, Bounds came under fire from Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly. The subject was the McCain campaign's incessant -- and false -- claim that Barack Obama proposes tax hikes on the middle-class. As Kelly noted in the exchange below, Obama's proposed tax increase targets only upper-income Americans.

Kelly's grilling of a McCain surrogate notwithstanding, the candidate himself continued the discredited attack on Obama today. Speaking to a large crowd in Tampa, McCain said, "I will not raise your taxes. Sen. Obama will raise your taxes."

Perhaps technically McCain was correct -- if all of his listeners earn more than $250,000 a year.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Monica]

Megyn Kelly DID NOT grill Tucker Bounds in this Fox clip. Her attitude is so disrespectful and so violent than instead of helping her favorite candidate Obama, he makes us side Bounds and be with McCain.
Fox and the media think we are stupid.
The media believe that we do not understand that if Obama lowers our taxes and rises the takes for companies and small businesses WE WILL END UP UNEMPLOYED!!
Also, Fox is forgetting that we know that McCain 5000 and 7000 tax credit for health insurance will in fact compensate the "low" tax Obama promises.
We are realistic. We need companies to be strong because we want to have better jobs. If I have a good salary, I don't mind paying taxes. I can only get a good salary if I work at a good company.
So, this stupid woman should reconsider the way she speaks with people. Yelling at his interlocutor shows only how hysterical she is. It doesn't show how smart she is. Besides her job is to interview objectively, not to convince us about anything.
Media and "Opinion Specialists" have to keep in mind that we do think and we do see their intentions too. They are not fooling us, just as none of the candidates is fooling us either.

[Steve]

The John McCain campaign feels they must continue with their lies and distortions about Obama, and for them to now retract their false statements that claim Obama will raise taxes for the middle class, would be perceived as flip-flopping on the issue. Same thing holds true with all of the other lies they've been telling, such as earmark spending, Palin's foreign visit to Iraq, selling the jet at a profit, etc. They've essentially backed themselves in a corner walled with lies and are relying on Palin's popularity and smear tactics to get them out of this bind. The news media is shedding light on McCain's distortion of the truth and it is only a matter of time that McCsin's recent boost in the polls evaporates and his and Palin's appeal, as ephemeral as it is, will fall with a loud thud.

[Andrew]

No, Monica, none of the candidates is fooling us. The media believe that we do not understand. You is needing a grammar check on your posts. What are you, a Lolcat?

Look, I agree with your point--Dems and the left are often all too quick to claim taxing the wealthiest in our nation will solve all our ills, and it does slow economies if it's done to a severe degree. But I believe the tax plan Obama is proposing is fair, won't stress Big Business and the top one percent too much, and will help out the vast majority of Americans in troubled economic times. I think we probably could argue about this all day and not come to a consensus.

But let's address something that maybe we can make some headway on. In both this interview and the Campbell Brown one, Tucker came off as squirelly. Personally, I think Brown came off as overly hostile, but there was nothing wrong with her line of questioning. Tucker should have been able to provide examples of Palin's foreign relations experience--anything, even some vague assertions would have been nice--and instead he kept side-stepping it.

Same thing here. It's disingenuous to say Obama is going to tax "you" when the "you" is the vast majority of the American public. He's targeting the wealthiest in the nation, and he's made that clear in his tax plan. McCain needs to stick to criticisms that hold merit--experience, etc.--rather than trying to distract voters who don't think before they type.

[Andrew]

By the by, what's your definition of "grilling?" If it's not "pressing someone for an answer, even if they try to change the subject," than I'd like to see your softball approach to interviews. Kelly was did well here--she was definitely less angry than Brown, but firm in keeping the spin-man on point.

[This Space for Rent]

Why the hell would anybody earning less than $250,000 listen to John(GWB)McCain? We already have much less buying power than we did eight years ago. Republican-nomics have a way of beating you down. Those earning far in excess of $250,000 are not as bad off as the rest.

[tony]

This Mccain guy just don't get it. How many lies will he make He is like an energizer bunny you feed him to lie one thing and this Mccain guy keeps on lying over and over and over untill someone like Rove has to step in and say enough is enough.

[Will]

The Republicans on this thread are nuts. Megyn Kelly is not a liberal; she's a very harsh conservative. But McCain is flat-out lying about Obama's proposed tax plan, which will not raise taxes on the middle class. Tucker Bounds concedes this point, so all he can do is fall back to ad hominem attack and suggesting that Obama will go back on his word and raise taxes on the middle class.

McCain and Palin are repeatedly lying to the American people. Believe it or not, some people find this to be outrageous behavior.

[Elinor]

Is he the worst spokseperson for any national candidate? Probably. No matter what comes out of his mouth, it sounds disengenous and combative. Really, with all the problems, most self-inflicted that the McCain camoaign has brought on itself, they need a better spokesperson.

[matt g]

I feel that as a spokesman you play the hand you're dealt and he played it pretty well, of course he is not going to say obama will not raise your taxes if you make less than 250k a year he can only play on peoples fears that obama will raise taxes like his record shows he may