# McCain Supporter Attacked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272 "2008-10-23T23:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/81 "2008-10-24T17:10:11Z")
The polygraph does actually have a legitimate use for law enforcement. It doesn’t have to actually work: The suspect just has to _think_ it works. If the suspect thinks that it works, then the threat of a “lie detector” test might scare the suspect into an (admissible in court) confession. Of course, you don’t actually need to have a polygraph to do this, either. There’s one famous case where the police got a confession out of a guy using a colander and a copy machine printing out the words “He’s lying”. As has been observed many times, most criminals are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/82 "2008-10-24T17:27:46Z")
I love this story, it keeps getting better and better. The internet detectives are having a field day with it. Someone posted a screenshot from Google Maps showing the ATM in question. It is ten feet from the curb on a busy street with no alleys or even cover for anyone to hide from view at 9 PM on a Wednesday. I expect a teary retraction any time now. The McCain camp must be telling her that Friday afternoons are the best time to let out bad news. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/83 "2008-10-24T17:30:10Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I expect a teary retraction any time now. The McCain camp must be telling her that Friday afternoons are the best time to let out bad news. Don’t know yet if it was teary, but… > [@](#): > > A Pittsburgh police commander says a volunteer for the McCain campaign who reported being robbed and attacked near a bank ATM in Bloomfield has confessed to making up the story. Police say charges will be filed. More details to follow. > **[CBS Pittsburgh - Breaking Local News, First Alert Weather & KDKA Investigations](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/)** > > Latest breaking news from KDKA-TV CBS Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/84 "2008-10-24T17:36:57Z")
> [@](#): > > A Pittsburgh police commander says a volunteer for the McCain campaign who reported being robbed and attacked near a bank ATM in Bloomfield has confessed to making up the story. Police say charges will be filed. More details to follow. Source: [kdka.com](http://kdka.com) Scooped! Dang. I hope she is both ridiculed, and that the McCain campaign removes her from anything having to do with the election, and that she gets the mental help she so clearly needs. I’ll refrain from further commenting until much much later. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/85 "2008-10-24T17:41:28Z")
Let’s see if Drudge reports this in 36 point font over the masthead. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/86 "2008-10-24T17:46:40Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Let’s see if Drudge reports this in 36 point font over the masthead. It’s still up as of 10:44 A.M. I predict it will be taken down at 2:00 P.M. today. Any other predictions? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/87 "2008-10-24T17:48:53Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Let’s see if Drudge reports this in 36 point font over the masthead. Right now, her story links are directly under "‘JOE THE PLUMBER’ MULLS RUN FOR CONGRESS… " But no new one about her confession. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/88 "2008-10-24T17:52:00Z")
Remember [this](http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/169_bandaid.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/89 "2008-10-24T18:10:41Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > I hope she is both ridiculed, and that the McCain campaign removes her from anything having to do with the election, and that she gets the mental help she so clearly needs. [Link to story](http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.Bloomfield.2.847628.html). She’s a stupid stupid bitch. What a positively nasty hateful thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/90 "2008-10-24T18:13:42Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > Remember [this](http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/169_bandaid.jpg)? What’s the story with this picture? ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/91 "2008-10-24T18:14:15Z")
The effect was potentially nasty, sure. But this is clearly an unwell person. She deserves pity and support, and now thanks to the Internet, her life will be exponentially more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/92 "2008-10-24T18:16:36Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s the story with this picture? Assholes at the RNC mocked Kerry’s purple heart by putting bandaids on with purple hearts drawn on them. I don’t think any of the people doing that had seen a day of combat. McCain should be disgusted to now have these guys as his base. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/93 "2008-10-24T18:17:04Z")
The FBI says it’s a hoax, according to MSNBC. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/94 "2008-10-24T18:17:13Z")
Interesting [blog post](http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/23/jmoody_1023/), made last night, from the Executive Vice President of FOX News: > [@](#): > > If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee. > > If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting. I certainly hope McCain loses the election, but i don’t think that this should be the reason. I’ve never believed that politicians (or anyone else, for that matter) should be held responsible for actions beyond their control. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/95 "2008-10-24T18:17:20Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s the story with this picture? See the little sparkly purple heart there? Four years ago, Republicans were going after John Kerry’s Purple Heart decorations by saying he faked the injuries or didn’t earn them because his injuries weren’t serious. That’s a chunk of why I still think the 2004 campaign was nastier than this one. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/96 "2008-10-24T18:17:26Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s the story with this picture? Mockery of Kerry’s purple heart. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/97 "2008-10-24T18:18:41Z")
And I’m glad this bogus story has been killed. I think it’d be great if McCain and Palin called back and told her to go fuck herself. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/98 "2008-10-24T18:20:45Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Let’s see if Drudge reports this in 36 point font over the masthead. Main headline for Drudge right now is “SHE MADE IT UP!”, although I can’t tell what font size he’s using for it ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/99 "2008-10-24T18:21:29Z")
Dam, I missed my chance to post about the “B” yesterday. It looked like it was done with a razor (I’ve seen kids who do the cutting thing}. If it was done with a knife it would have been much worse. She should have carved a C. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272/100 "2008-10-24T18:22:14Z")
> [@stolichnaya](#): > > The effect was potentially nasty, sure. But this is clearly an unwell person. She deserves pity and support, and now thanks to the Internet, her life will be exponentially more difficult. Perhaps, although I don’t particularly feel like I owe her any support, myself. I may pity her, in an abstract sense, but right now I remain more angry at her disparagement of African Americans, Pittsburgh, and Obama supporters. But about the Internet, wasn’t she counting on using the internet to spread her story in order to damage Obama’s campaign? Reportedly, the police didn’t take that picture that was all over the place last night. Why should I be upset about the Internet and its effect on her life, when that was the very tool she was trying to use to wreak her damage on others? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporter-attacked/469272.md?page=6)