McCain's Convention Backdrop Epic Fail
By Bill W. Thursday Sep 04, 2008 4:20pm
Video Update: Sit Room's Abbi Tatton just reported on the story: 
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The internets were abuzz immediately when this strange shot of McCain during his RNC acceptance speech gave more ammo during closeups for another Colbert Report 'McCain Green Screen Challenge' to videophiles with a knack for chroma key effects, but what caught Josh Marshall's eye was the building being used as the backdrop with the green green lawn that was providing the fodder. Initial speculation that it was one of McCain's innumerable mansions quickly faded when his readers confirmed that it was actually Walter Reed Middle School in North Holllywood, CA (pictured on right, above), but why?
A local Bay Area reporter for NBC picked up on it and called the school to find out. The receptionist said, "We were all wondering that, What was that about? We don't know," but TPM is reporting that they do plan to release a statement. [see update below]
An odd fact, uncovered by TPM's Greg Sargent, is that the school actually served as the backdrop for Matt Santos' announcement of his presidential candidacy on The West Wing. Not really sure what to make of that, but it is quite an odd coincidence in any case.
At the time of this post's writing it seems to have been an amateurish mistake by someone in the McCain campaign who was tasked with getting an image of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Your guess is as good as mine on why the GOP would ever want to dredge up that image?). The incompetent screwup theory is perhaps given more credence by the fact that now there seems to be some finger-pointing going on inside the McCain camp as to who's to blame, but I'm still holding out for a more solid confirmation, because at this point Occam's Razor hasn't yet ruled out Comedy Central's managing to plant a mole inside the campaign. I'm sure there will be updates to this story as it continues to unfold.
Update: Donna Tobin, the principal of school has weighed in, and she is not a happy camper about it:
"... Permission to use the front of our school for the Republican National Convention was not given by our school nor is the use of our school's picture an endorsement of any political party or view."One other interesting development: The California Democratic Party is actually holding a press conference in front of the school within minutes ..(more)
The McCain campaign is refusing to comment.
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I don't watch West Wing but did Matt Santos win the election? Is it some kind of subconscious message to the tv watching people of the US?
It's only a rookie mistake by someone who is just learning to use the internets, tubes and all.
They used it because it looks "white-house-ish" without actually being the white house.
His speech was so long and boring...He sounded like grandpa Simpson going on and on
If I had to guess, since McCain largely spoke about education, he wanted an institution of learning as his backdrop.
I think the stupider thing was the 9/11 video at the beginning.
Utterly bizarre, just like the entire Republican convention.
Biden on the rampage in Pennsyvania
LOL. I don't want to hear any more GOP comments about a few columns after this one!
Ironically, McCain should be in the Walter Reed Medical Center while Palin should be at the Walter Reed Middle School.
The Principal of the School has castigated the GOP for using the school wihtout getting prior consent.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/school_raps_mcca...
I loved the puke green background against McCain's pasty white face. That was very appealing to the eye and gave me a feeling of what a McCain presidency would be all about.
Pukey.
Pasty.
I wondered if it was one of his houses, too, and couldn't figure out why they'd want us to see it.
Weird.
This seems to be the ideal place to correct a very popular misconception. It is widely believed that the description of McCain as a maverick is due to his non-conformist stance. The truth is that this term was applied to him in honor of the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile and it's ability to fly through the air before crashing and exploding on the ground. I would appreciate if this correction were brought to the public's notice. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
I'm not sure why, but this is my favorite story of the day. It is hilarious... I can't wait to hear McCain's answer as to why that backdrop was chosen.
were they trying to convey the "old school" vibe?
First Gustov, now electrical failures. Is Karma trying to tell us something?
Miatch @ 12:
Because they care about the children?
Miatch @ 12:
It clearly represents the highest educational ambitions of the crowd before him.
Another attempt at blurring the lines between fantasy and reality in the mind of Americans.
even stranger, this quote from Wikipedia; "...According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos is based on Barack Obama.[1]" and this odd twist; "...Santos reiterated his commitment to greater federal involvement in public education, opposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" and more "...supported a moratorium on the federal death penalty, and pledged never to go to war for oil."
I assumed the green screen was done on purpose.
That way more people would give him attention.
Even bad press is good press.
If enough people mock McCain some will feel sorry for him and it seems his campaign is really relying on the sympathy angle.
someone doesn't know how to use "the google"
The California Democratic Party is actually holding a press conference in front of the school within minutes, where Dems will hit McCain for not knowing the difference between the school and Walter Reed Medical Center.
That's more like it!
Here's the pic they wanted:
Army Specialist Jeremy Duncan lives in Building 18, where the wall of his room is covered in black mold. The combat engineer was evacuated to Walter Reed from Iraq in February 2006 with a broken neck and a shredded left ear. He nearly dead from blood loss. Michel du Cille - The Washington Post.
Why can't McSame use Walter Reed Elementary School as a backdrop? He was a POW for crepe's sake, he can do anything he wants!
And all the 9iu11annis sang: "9-11 do do do 9-11 do do do" behind McSame's rousing rendition of "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran"
Also: It was incredibly ELITIST of Obama to make Cindy McSame wear that 300 thousand dollar dress, don't you all agree?
As per Americablog:
MCCAIN AND PALIN-A BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
Ernest Tee @ 23:
Good t-shirt idea.
I distrust and even hate both parties equally.
This level of criticism accomplishes nothing.
Focus on the problem.
The problem isn't McCain. Or Obama. Or Palin.
It's that major corporations are pulling the strings of both parties.
You can be sure that the next president will be installed (and controlled) by major U.S. corporations.
I assumed that it was one of McCain's houses, as well, initially. I wondered why on earth they would use an image of a house in light of the current curfluffle over McCain's 7 (10? whatever? ) homes.
How funny.. someone didn't do their homework on "the google" images... hahaha.
.
Johnny McCain't even play Hollywood right!
.
gaffes are so effective
Republicans: the Party of Teh Stupid.
Yeah, I was wondering why they would want to dig up the old green screen. I'm way too obsessed with this stuff, none of my friends understood why I was getting a kick out of the green screen. None of us knew what the hell that building was either.
Come one, people! They got the "Walter Reed" part right!
Besides, they couldn't very well use a picture of a big moldy building as a backdrop, now could they!?!
How would that look, this old, moldy, broken down dude, neglected and in disarray, a mere shadow of his former youth and vitality, in front of a building suffering the same sad decline... oh yeah, that'll get the votes.
working the refs with mistakes?
typical lazy "vetting"... someone did a google image search for "walter reed" and this is what they got... well, the best looking "walter reed" they got... and it IS a beautiful building...
Ya gotta laugh. The democratic convention had their act together and things went off without a hitch. Then along comes the republicans.
Their first night gets screwed by a hurricane on the Gulf Coast. Cheney doesn't speak and bush only spoke via satellite the following night. (Just for the record, go back and look at a tape of bush speaking that night, I believe I saw columns on either side of him. So if Sarah wants to know which movie lot they stored Obama's columns in, she should just ask bush) Then along came Sarah the Savior of the week on Wednesday, followed by that god awful speech last night in front of the wrong freakin' background.
VietVet8666 @ 25:
C'mon, don't rain on our parade. You just can't make this stuff up.
Whatever else happens, I think the RNC should be forced to disgorge a large fee to the school for using their grounds as a backdrop without their permission. Something on the order of the cost of a computer system upgrade, to help remedy the depredations of eight years of No Child Left Behind.
Checks should also be made out to Heart, Chuck Berry and John Mellencamp, et al for unauthorized use of their copyrighted music, in a venue which is anathema to their principles.
My conservative pop used to say that if I wasn't made to pay for my mistakes, I would never learn not to make them again.
Think that might be all that is wrong with the RNC?
No. Me neither.
Ya gotta laugh. The democratic convention had their act together and things went off without a hitch.
Really. And if you remember, the rightwingers were rumourmonger about how the Dems were running out of money for the Convention and that is was in disarray...
Walrus,
I'm pissed. Not kidding. But always respect your comments.
happy to have the answer to what and where - yay for whoever made the "mistake"!
Lisa @ 30:
It was so random. That's why the whole thing is funny. The McCain campaign is so completely random. Like the Palin pick. It's just like he pulled the name from a hat. I can't wait to see what this moron does next...it's so exciting! Maybe during the debates he'll have Palin wear a dead moose carcass and come on stage in a snowmobile...who knows?
VietVet8666 @ 38:
We're all pissed. To a certain degree, I don't disagree with you.
theWalrus @ 37:
Hell they even prayed it would rain on Obama's speech and that didn't happen.
if you have time listen to former bush speech writer
micheal gerson he pretty slammed the mccain speech
he basically mentions some of the obvious mccain was
powerful presenting his vulnerabilities....gerson
called it a typical republican speech NO POLICY
the speech did NOT reach to independents or democrats.
he basically did what many of us knew he would do and that is continue his good guy theme who will kill EVIL.
mccain if you know how to get bin laden then tell the president don't wait until feb./09
Georgia Eliot @ 39:
McCain's chief has already said it was their ad man, Fred Davis who made the "mix-up".
He's gonna be leaving to spend more time with his family.
Walrus,
You're good at logic.
Bet you like math.
repubs are really not a smart bunch are they?
other samples
1. new-clear (palin's speech spelled nuclear like this for her to avoid pronouncing it as nukular which she did last friday)
2. mavrick (convention plackard)
3. ameirca (another convention plackard)
4. palin going to 5 schools in 6 years. no professor remembers her by the way.
talk about anti-inetellectual-ism.
the mccain people are having a hard time explaining this and perhaps hoping that the weekend will overtake the issue.
these are the same people who want 4 more years after they destroyed the country the last eight. they should go back to high school first.
constituent @ 43:
It's very unlikely to happen under a Republican administration. You cannot catch your bogeyman and have him too.
At the RNC there were numerous signs with stupidly misspelled words like "Amereica" and "Mavrick" and there was one point where people held up an American Flag with 51 stars.
Oh, and John McCain failed to meet the deadline to be on the Texas ballot. August 26th.
He hadn't even picked his running mate by then.
Oh, btw, Obama failed to meet the deadline also.
http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/obama-mccain-fail-to-qualify-for-t...
This will be interesting.
First we heard that the McCain campaign was keeping him away from the press, limiting his cell phone usage and not allowing him to shoot the shit with reporters on his plane. Now we hear that the campaign will keep Sarah away from the press. WTF? So neither McCain or Palin will answer any press questions?
Obama's at 21%? Better than the 18% 10 minutes ago. Click on www.chase3000.com.
VietVet8666 @ 45:
These blogs are being carefully monitored by the NSA so I hesitate to say anything about myself. But thank you.
VietVet8666 @ 38:
theWalrus @ 35:
Both major parties are owned by the Corporate Consortium; not a real "organization" but a group of wealthy corporations with common interests.
At this point, I think that Obama is the best chance for a break with that BS, but I won't be holding my breath. I'm gambling that Obama won't put another nazi on SCOTUS.
If the dems screw it up, I'll go back to voting Socialist.
Someone on Hardball said it looked to them like McCain was in an aquarium when he spoke last night.
pissed off patricia @ 49:
they know sarah can't answer questions about national security/foreign relations and mccain might slip and tell
the truth about an issue by mistake.
oh my goodness! the mccain campaign also used stock photos of black people for the mccain video last night because they apparently couldnt find legit photos of black republicans. the photos are available at istockphoto.com for a few dollars.
Jusker @ 50:
Why. It's a dead end.
masha @ 46:
If this is so clear to many of this, why are they trying to make Palin popular in the eyes of the public?
It's already a given that the military is a sacred cow in American society. You can't criticize them. You simply honor them for their service. And McCain is milking this all the way to hide his inaccuracies, criminal behavior (Keating Five) and lies.
So, when will people get tired of the BS and publicly protest for the truth behind these people?
constituent @ 54:
Word is that Palin has gone back to the tundra. Maybe she accidently left a wolf or a state trooper alive.
pissed off patricia @ 53:
that's the guy who replaced tim russert as wash bureau chief.
Both major parties are owned by the Corporate Consortium; not a real “organization” but a group of wealthy corporations with common interests.
My Irish bartender Republican friend Patrick actually says that Obama is owned by George Soros.
I chuckle.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/ronnykmarshall/gopticket.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c30/shawngbr/the_mavrick.jpg
Video added to the post, and this update:
Ouch!
Just thought I mention it here that Cafferty lost his wife Carol this morning.
I know he is loved by most of you,
Carol
Be pissed.
But be pissed the right way, the right direction.
Being pissed at Repubs is fine. But Repubs, as Nader tells us, are simply one side of the coin. The other side is Dems.
Ask yourself: Have the Dem presidents over the past 60 years been so much better than Repub presidents? Of course not.
Don't be manipulated.
By TV. By your daily newspaper. By this or any other website. Unless you want to be manipulated.
greg white @ 17:
Awesome- way to make that connection. Somebody in McCain's camp must like them some Obama.
theWalrus @ 60:
I would LOL. If only it were true! Soros is fairly to the left; Obama is not.
Since Republicans are not reality based, it’s obvious that McNVPOW was pandering to the West Wing crowd.
This fake mansion appeals to all the greedy cronies, phonies and sycophants in the audience.
It is the message of greed that they want to spread, not how to fix this country that has been totally fucked up by Bush and 90% McSame.
Now that's sutpidity and incompetence you can believe in, my friends.
jebus.loves.me @ 4:
Jebus ... Thanks, that one gave me a good chuckle, grandpa Simpson with a Mr. Burns temperament.
VietVet8666 @ 25:
This is just a joke dude! If people are on this site making comments, you can est assured that they are the same ones who really care about the things happening and are very much aware of the real problems. This post is just alittle fun to keep our spirits healthy. Have a laugh or two while promoting peace, liberty, and freedom for all; it's healthy. :)
Yes, McCain sucks. Palin makes a great speech but is empty.
But what do Obama and Biden tell us?
That they will pull forthwith out of Iraq?
That they will dig for criminal charges against Bushco?
That they will...fuck, I'm too pissed.
Yes, it's true.
Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain can legally be on the Texas ballot.
Eh, no one cares.
It's similar to how Fox replaced the picture of Stephan Douglas with Frederick Douglas as Abe Lincoln's debate opponent.
VietVet8666 @ 25:
I've given up on trying to get people to listen to the fact about the corporate ownership of the government - at least til the election is over. People are excited and distracted by a dynamic Barack Obama. Wait until Diebold steals the election. Or two years into an Obama Presidency, where nothing has changed.
Please no clobber! I truly hope that Obama, for whom I am voting, makes me eat my words.
At this point I'm expecting Fox to have a big picture of McCain that says (D-Ariz) underneath!
You'll see, it will happen.
There are clear signs that US Bank that is headquartered in Minnneapolis, MN (the same place as our dear convention) may be about to go under. Multiple unexplained account closures and threats of closure and seizure have been made under the guise of the unconstitutional US Patriots Act. These accounts which have had significant amounts money and cashflow which US Bank does not pay for or give interest to, have been closed due to pressures and inquiries from clients about the bank's solvency, credit worthiness, and legal obligations to customers under federal law.
This a ominous sign of the continous perils of the US Financial and Banking system and US Bank in particular as the next domino in the failing bank chain. WE HOPE we may be WRONG, but history and more recent events leave the outlook very bleak.
Mick Angry Leftist Piobr @ 73:
I'm with ya. If nothing else I want to hope that Obama would not put another scumbag like Scalia or Thomas on the SC.
Do these Repug bozos never vet a background? Can't tell a greenscreen from reality.
Perfect - a fictional character makes a fictional run for the White House on TV.
McChange: new president, same old policies.
We support the troops!
Now which building do we support the troops at again?
Sites like this attract both those who are fervent Dem voters and those who are insane at how fucked the American People are because both major parties are bought and sold by major corporations.
What a nice looking hospital, those wounded vets must be in "heaven".
VietVet8666 @ 70:
Well, I was going to reply with the story about Biden pursuing criminal charges, but instead found this, which debunks that story.
But VietVet makes very valid points, we get too caught up in the election season to remember that a lot of very important issues are flat out ignored by the democrats. While this election year definitely feels different than 2004 or 2000, I'm not holding out much optimism that a D in the whitehouse won't be corporate controlled and more Business As Usual.
Johnny-Sidney-McCain =
6-6-6
Repent!
theWalrus @ 8:
She'll probably just get busted for having sex with a student. [cue "Hot for Teacher"]
Out of curiosity I just did a Google Image search for ‘Walter Reed Medical School’ and the first image was of Walter Reed Middle School. Hmmmm? Kinda like looking up info on Georgia on Wikipedia?
More blowback from the ReTHUGlican's Convention:
Heart Duo Furious Over Republicans' Use of 'Barracuda'
VietVet8666 @ 70:
To bad with a little fact checking she is one great liar.
MountainMan23 @ 86:
Ann and Nancy Wilson rule. 'Nuff said.
Walrus@76 Yeah, that is of the most importance - keeping more Opus Dei Nazis off of the court. I'm thinking that maybe Obama would do a good job there. Hillary would be a good SC Judge.
The simple explanation for this backdrop: they spent all the money they earmarked for columns on Cindy's outfits, so the best they could do was this green screen version of the real thing.