New Lows
My mother recently comented on my blog that she didn’t like either Obama or McCain, but that McCain seemed like the lesser of two evils. It struck me that, at the start of this campaign, I felt exactly the opposite.
I have liked Obama since I first saw him speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. His optimism and eloquence brought me to tears. Of course I wanted him to win. But at the time, I associated John McCain with his battle with President Bush over torture (McCain was against it), and the McCain/Feingold campaing refinance act. McCain was a real war hero (not a deserter, like the current President) and seemed like a pretty respectable, moderate, sensible fellow.
I figured that no matter who wins, we’ll be better off than we have been over the last 8 years.
Then I started learning more. I read his platform, which isn’t much different from George W. Bush’s platform. Then I watched the debates.
These raised concerns that I had been harboring for the past few years.
McCain and Bush were famous enemies eight years ago, when they vied for the Republican Presidential nomination. Bush played some extremely nasty tricks on McCain in 2000, including spreading a rumor that implied that “McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi-born daughter was an African-American child he fathered out of wedlock.” (wikipedia) After such treatment, I couldn’t understand what I was seeing when McCain started suddenly spouting Bush’s talking points midway through the second term. Next, we saw him meeting with crackpots he had previously denounced and hugging Bush at press events…
At the time I thought he was just cynical. Embracing the enemy so that he could be on the winning side. It was degrading and I lost respect for him, but I guess I thought the ‘real’ McCain still lurked somewhere under the fake smile. Now I’m not so sure.
After 8 disastrous years, George W Bush and all of his policies are widely despised. His approval rating is in the dump. Presidential scholars are predicting he’ll be ranked among the worst U.S. Presidents in history, if not THE worst. Every politician in the country is running on a platform of change, and nobody is seeking Bush’s endorsement. It seems to me that this climate is ideal for allowing the ‘real’ McCain to finally shine through.
Instead..he’s stumping those awful Bush-era tax cuts for the rich- wanting to add another 100 billion, then make the whole package permanent. He’s using the Bush debate tactics, repeating the same tired talking points, whether they address the question or not. (If I never hear the word ‘earmarks’ again…) Repeating fear-mongering attacks against his opponent again and again, even after those attacks have been clearly rebutted. (Obama is not going to raise taxes on you and me, only on the rich, no matter how many times McCain claims that we’re all going to pay higher taxes)
Worse, he’s answering straight questions with baloney answers like, “I know how to get Osama Bin Laden, I know where he is and I know how to get him, and I’ll get him.” What?? If he knows where Bin Laden is and he’s not telling, what kind of patriot is he? Stop talking, John, you’re embarrassing yourself.
The change in McCain from 8 years ago is so striking, and so apparently real, that I can only suppose that he’s a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.
Even if he is mentally unbalanced, his latest shenannigans are unforgivable. This business of insinuating Obama is sympathetic to terrorists, and painting him as some kind of foreigner who is dangerous to America isn’t just dirty politics, it’s dangerous. The McCain campaign is purposely inciting racism and hatred. Supporters at recent rallies have been heard shouting threats against Obama, and actually stating that they think he’s an Arab.
Outside of these rallies, McCain states that he likes and respects Barack Obama, and that Obama is a good American. Apparently he thinks that stirring up an angry mob of racists is a fair and reasonable political strategy, nothing personal.
I think he’s putting a good man in danger in the hope of winning a few votes.
I can’t even piece together the words for how I feel about this vile and reckless ’strategy’. Pandering to the white sheet crowd? For VOTES?
Shame on you, McCain.
