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October 7, 2008

Where's McCain's Keating Search Response?

As McCain-running mate Sarah Palin pairs Barack Obama with “domestic terrorists,” the Obama camp is flinging mud right back. The campaign is counteracting the William Ayers-related attacks, while dredging up John McCain’s Keating 5 past.

You may have heard about the new site from the Obama campaign, which houses videos and links to news articles about his rival’s connections to the financial scandal we forgot about: the Savings and Loan crisis. McCain and four other Senators were investigated in ’89 for involvement in improperly intervening on behalf of Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association at the time.

Google searches for “Keating 5,” “Keating,” and “McCain Keating” all turn up sponsored links to the site, paid for by the Obama campaign.

But where are the McCain sponsored links? There are zero ads linking to official information from the McCain campaign to counteract the negative Keating association. Of course, there is a chance the McCain camp is running ads against these phrases, but targeting them only to battleground states.

Another problem: the McCain site isn’t well optimized when it comes to the issue. None of the organic links on the first page of results for those searches goes to a McCain-affiliated page. In contrast, the Obama camp has used search to refute attacks throughout the election season. A search on “Obama Muslim” turns up a sponsored link that reads “Barack Obama is a Christian. Get the facts at his official site.”

As for the latest connecting Obama to William Ayers of Weather Underground fame, a sponsored Google link in search results for “Obama domestic terrorist” and “Obama Ayers” reads, “Obama Ayers Connection? FightTheSmears.com/Obama Don't Believe the Lies. Get Facts About Anti-Obama Swift Boating.”

The Republican National Committee is taking up the Ayers attack mantle, though. Those same searches turn up a link to BarackBook.com, a Facebook spoof naming Ayers as a member of Obama’s “Friend Feed.”

Posted by Kate Kaye at October 7, 2008 3:28 PM

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Comments

Wow, definitely interesting. Here is a PRIME example of reputation management going wrong. McCain's camp definitely has to get on this as t seems to be the one of the biggest "scandals" plaguing his campaign.

Nick Stamoulis October 7, 2008 8:35 PM

The difference here?

Linking Obama to domestic terrorists and painting him as a "danger to America" is preposterous nonsense. The Keating scandal on the other hand? Well documented history.

Tiffany Stoneman October 8, 2008 4:02 PM

Keep in mind: the McCain camp may be keeping silent on this for strategic purposes...to NOT draw attention to it.

Kate Kaye October 10, 2008 4:03 PM

I think you are thinking like sukrat, but I think you should cover the other side of the topic in the post too...

Agrirmprese January 12, 2009 10:17 PM

I am unable to understand this post. But well some points are useful for me.

agrikadvard January 20, 2009 10:27 AM

I saw continuation already this article
http://bsdetal.ru

Glavniai April 23, 2009 1:39 AM

October 7, 2008

Where's McCain's Keating Search Response?

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