The Screwups of Campaign '08

Presidential campaigns are so carefully stage-managed that few things are as entertaining as the mistakes politicians make on the trail. Throughout the 2008 race, check out TIME.com's ongoing chronicle of each candidate's gaffes, and then vote on just how big a screwup each one is

Mistakes Were Made

McCain's Tobacco Warning

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John McCain
July 8, 2008

"Maybe that's a way of killing 'em."

—McCain, commenting on a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to Iran during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pa. Immediately, his wife, Cindy, poked him in the back and he added, "I meant that as a joke"


— M.J. Stephey


Next McCain's Lobbyist Loss