McCain Campaign Press Release - "In Case You Missed It": McCain Campaign Conference Call On Barack Obama's Chief Strategist Attempting To Spin Denying Medical Coverage

"And that, according to The Washington Post, is exactly what David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, was hired to do by the University of Chicago Medical Center. He was given marching orders to find out how the Medical Center could turn away poor people from the emergency room and yet put the best spin on that decision." -- Doug Holtz-Eakin

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign held a press conference call with Doug Holtz-Eakin, McCain 2008 Senior Policy Adviser, on Barack Obama's chief strategist trying to spin denying treatment to poor people:

Doug Holtz-Eakin: "Those who have been following the campaign know that comprehensive health care reform is a very pressing issue in the eyes of American families and that for those experts in reform, they recognize that there is a clear and appropriate role for community health centers in such a reform. But community health centers should not be a political tool that you utilize as an excuse to turn poor people away from needed treatment. And that, according to The Washington Post, is exactly what David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, was hired to do by the University of Chicago Medical Center. He was given marching orders to find out how the Medical Center could turn away poor people from the emergency room and yet put the best spin on that decision. And according to the article, one of the survey questions that Axelrod asked was, 'This new health initiative is not really about helping the residents of the South Side of Chic ago. It is simply a way for the University of Chicago Medical Center to save money and reduce costs by serving fewer poor people without health insurance.'

"That's a troubling exercise at a time when so many people are without insurance and insurance is the necessary gateway to affordable and comprehensive care in America. But it is not an entirely surprising development in the Barack Obama campaign, where there is a consistent pattern of saying one thing and doing another. At the same time in 2007 that this spin was being conducted, Barack Obama was campaigning and talking about expanding access to health care and bringing to more Americans, even as this medical center was using his strategist to cut off access for poor people in Chicago.

"He has said that he wants to expand health care and cover every American with insurance as good as a congressman has, but independent estimates by the Lewin Group suggest that his mandates and his approach will take more than 50 million Americans off their employer- sponsored insurance. And I think it begs the question: If there is going to be so much of a mismatch between the policy he's talking about in health care and the loss of insurance that's likely to result from them and the enormous costs it will impose, you know, will it simply be David Axelrod's job to spin this once again in the context of a larger debate?

"And we have seen a recurring pattern of Barack Obama saying one thing -- I will accept public financing and then doing something different; I'll do town halls with John McCain, and then doing something different; I will filibuster a FISA bill, and then do something different; you know, promising to cut taxes and voting 94 times for higher taxes in the Congress. This episode in The Washington Post is simply a reminder one more time of what we're learning about the Obama camp. And I just find it troubling, from the perspective of someone who has worked with John McCain on comprehensive health care reform, where he's talked about it for 18 months, that this cynical spin will be at the heart of the kinds of tactics they deploy."

Listen To Part Of The Conference Call