Obama Hits McCain Over Reed - Again and Again

The Obama camp today continues to pound on John McCain for his ties to Ralph Reed - the longtime friend and business partner of disgraced jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

An Atlanta fundraising event held tonight for John McCain - during which the Republican White House hopeful raised more than $1.75 million for Republicans - was promoted by Reed, a former head of the Christian Coalition. Reed was implicated in lobbying deals involving Indian casinos along with Abramoff, which were investigated by McCain's Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Reed did not attend Monday's fundraiser.

But just hours before the event began, amid rumors that Reed might not attend the event, the Obama camp e-mail blasted the press, with campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor saying:

"Faced with the embarrassing prospect of holding a fundraiser with one of Jack Abramoff's closest associates, the McCain campaign scrambled today to scratch Ralph Reed from tonight's program, but voters deserve to know the answers to the real questions raised by Reed's involvement.

"Will Senator McCain keep the money Reed has raised for him, and is Reed is a member of the McCain Victory 2008 team? If the McCain campaign won't return the money Reed has raised for them, then voters should rightly ask why it matters that Reed didn't show up at tonight's event. The real question isn't why Reed isn't showing up, but why a so-called reformer would invite him at all."

Just two hours prior to that e-mail (I've received 4 Reed-related e-mails from Obama's camp since 1 p.m. ET today), the campaign sent an e-mail with Vietor saying:

"The old John McCain wouldn't have allowed one of Jack Abramoff's top cronies to raise money for him. But this time around, it's clear that Senator McCain is willing to do whatever it takes to win -- even if that means embracing President Bush's policies, his tactics, and now his disgraced fundraisers."

To try to clear up the confusion as to who exactly was putting the event on, McCain's campaign said the event was organized by the Republican National Committee. The Arizona senator was called on last week to cancel the event because of Reed's role, whatever it was, exactly. AP notes that during his 22-minute address tonight, McCain never mentioned Reed.

"Everybody in this room could be someplace else," McCain told the crowd. "Everybody in this room could be donating to some other cause or to their own well-being. But I want to thank you."

A personal e-mail Reed wrote to Georgia Republicans asking them to attend Monday's event and donate to McCain by sending contributions to him ("him" being Reed, not McCain directly), ended up in the The Atlanta-Journal Constitution last week, causing a bit of a stir. It sounds very much like Reed, who, in the e-mail describes himself as a member of the "McCain Victory 2008 Team," is helping organize things.

The e-mail reads, in part:

"Attached is a contribution form and a fact sheet that details the event. Please complete the contribution form and return it to me at XXXXX Duluth, GA 30097. If you select to use your credit card, you may fax the form to me at 770-XXX-XXXX.

"I hope you will join me and Jo Anne at the August 18 event in support of Senator McCain in Atlanta. The outcome of this presidential election is going to determine the future direction of this country. Please join us as we work together to elect John McCain. Your participation is critical to success."

In a later statement to reporters, Reed said he has no position in the McCain camp.

ABC News reports that the McCain campaign says Reed is not part of the Victory 2008 group and was not on the host committee of the Atlanta fundraiser. In fact, the campaign said he wasn't even invited.