Quote of the Day

August 25, 2008

“I’m thoroughly disgusted with the Democratic Party… I believe the real magic of Barack Obama was his ability to turn lifelong Democrats like us into McCain supporters overnight.”

McCain camp steps up efforts to win over Clinton supporters

Carly Fiorina held a press conference Monday.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – Just hours before Democrats are set to open their presidential nominating convention, John McCain’s campaign is stepping up its outreach efforts to disaffected Hillary Clinton backers who lost a hard-fought primary battle against Barack Obama.

“Despite all the talk that we hear from the Democratic Party here in Colorado about unity, the Democratic Party is, in fact, divided,” Carly Fiorina, co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s Victory 2008 campaign said at a news conference Monday. “They are not coalesced behind Barack Obama,” Fiorina added.

Fiorina was joined at the press conference by four former Clinton supporters who are now part of “Citizens for McCain.”

“I’m thoroughly disgusted with the Democratic Party,” said Cynthia Ruccia who spoke at the presser. “I believe the real magic of Barack Obama was his ability to turn lifelong Democrats like us into McCain supporters overnight.”

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, the McCain campaign and the RNC have rolled out three ads aimed at winning Clinton supporters.

On Sunday, the McCain camp unveiled “Passed over,” an advertisement that highlighted Obama’s decision to pick Joe Biden instead of Clinton as his running mate. Today, the RNC started airing “Was she right?” an ad that featured Clinton’s many criticisms of Obama during the primaries. The McCain campaign also launched “Debra,” an ad that features Debra Bartoshevich, a former Clinton supporter from Wisconsin who was also present at Monday’s press conference.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows McCain and Obama tied with each garnering support from 47 percent of the public. The poll also showed that nearly a third of Clinton supporters now say they will back McCain.