CuriosityCat

OK, that does it.

TPM has broken this thing wide open...

John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson."

Verrilli also told TPM that the McCain spokesperson had claimed that the "B" stood for Barack. According to Verrilli, the spokesperson also told KDKA that Sarah Palin had called the victim of the alleged attack, who has since admitted the story was a hoax.

The KDKA reporter had called McCain's campaign office for details after seeing the story -- sans details -- teased on Drudge.

The McCain spokesperson's claims -- which came in the midst of extraordinary and heated conversations late yesterday between the McCain campaign, local TV stations, and the Obama camp, as the early version of the story rocketed around the political world -- is significant because it reveals a McCain official pushing a version of the story that was far more explosive than the available or confirmed facts permitted at the time.

OK, Senator McCain.  This one is simple.  If you want to have any chance of coming out of this without stinking like the shit you've been slinging, you need to:

• Fire the staffer on your campaign that pushed this story
• Provide a detailed explanation of how your campaign staff became aware of this event - who knew what, when.
• Issue a public denouncement of this heinous event, and clearly state this is NOT acceptable behavior from ANYONE, in your campaign or out.

It would be really downright decent of you to actually STOP the BS attack ads and mailings... but why would you do that now?