Colo. McCain Staffer Accidentally Leaks Talking Points To Reporters

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The memo, titled “TALKING POINTS: SUSPENDING THE CAMPAIGN,” includes a list of points the campaign wants emphasized, and includes this warning from Kise: “Please do not proactively reach out to the media on this.”

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McCain’s plans to stop campaigning — and a proposal to cancel Friday’s debate with Obama — had already been widely reportedWednesday afternoon.

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Still, Kise was surprised at his e-mail snafu, as Pelzer reports:

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Told by a reporter that the e-mail had been sent to him and others in the media, Kise said, “F*ck, tell me I didn’t send it to the wrong list.”

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Kise said the talking points were meant for McCain volunteers.

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Among the document’s “Topline Messaging”:

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• To address our nation’s financial crisis, John McCain will suspend his campaign and return to Washington. He has spoken to Sen. Obama and informed him of his decision and asked Sen. Obama to join him. The campaign is suspending its advertising and fund-raising.

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Obama spokesperson Bill Burton, clearly, didn’t get Kise’s memo. As TPM reports, Burton challenged the McCain campaign’s assertion that McCain “asked Sen. Obama to join him,” saying it was the Obamacampaign that first broached the possibility of joint action on the financial crisis:

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“At 8:30 this morning, Sen. Obama called Sen. McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Sen. McCain returned Sen. Obama’s call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details.”

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Wednesday afternoon, Obama told a press conferencehe rejected McCain’s unilateral decision to cancel Friday’s debate.