The Real McCain
I've previously observed that John McCain has not exactly been running the "respectful campaign focused on the issues" that he promised to run. Today, however, he reached a new low. His new ad, well, just take a look...
This is the kind of ad that would be cheap and dishonorable if it was run by a fly-by-night 527 group. But, sure enough, McCain himself "approves this message." He approves the false statements. He approves using the troops as props in cheap demagoguery. He approves implying that his opponent doesn't place "country first." How honorable.
McCain's claim that Obama snubbed wounded troops because they wouldn't allow him to take cameras with him may be the most scurrilous and dishonorable claim I've ever seen a presidential candidate make in a personally-approved ad. Indeed, this claim is so cheap and counterfactual that even some of the prominent right wing blogs are pushing back. At Michelle Malkin's Hot Air, Allahpundit points out that the claim doesn't "fit the facts," that "Obama left his pool reporters outside when he visited Walter Reed a few weeks ago" and that "the plan at Landstuhl was to keep the press on the plane."
This is the kind of ad that would be cheap and dishonorable if it was run by a fly-by-night 527 group. But, sure enough, McCain himself "approves this message." He approves the false statements. He approves using the troops as props in cheap demagoguery. He approves implying that his opponent doesn't place "country first." How honorable.
McCain's claim that Obama snubbed wounded troops because they wouldn't allow him to take cameras with him may be the most scurrilous and dishonorable claim I've ever seen a presidential candidate make in a personally-approved ad. Indeed, this claim is so cheap and counterfactual that even some of the prominent right wing blogs are pushing back. At Michelle Malkin's Hot Air, Allahpundit points out that the claim doesn't "fit the facts," that "Obama left his pool reporters outside when he visited Walter Reed a few weeks ago" and that "the plan at Landstuhl was to keep the press on the plane."
Call me naive, but I really didn't expect McCain to stoop so far so soon. I honestly thought his campaign would try to maintain at least the appearance of running an honorable campaign and leave the really cheap stuff to the surrogates and independent groups. Boy was I wrong. This is an unbelievably cheap ad, even by Republican standards.
posted by A.L. at 9:05 PM
4 Comments:
What about this?
McCain said this four times this week:
22 JULY CBS Interview:
Senator Obama has indicated by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge, that he would rather lose a war than lose a campaign.
22 JULY Rochester, New Hampshire:
I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.
24 JULY Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania:
“I would rather lose a campaign than lose a war,” he said, later adding “Apparently Sen. Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a campaign."
24 JULY Columbus, Ohio:
... I believe that by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge — much less his opposition to it — shows that he would rather lose a war than a political campaign.
... I will repeat my statement again, that he would rather lose a war than lose a campaign. Because anyone who fails to acknowledge that the surge has worked, who has consistently opposed it, consistently never sat down and had a briefing with General Petraeus, our commander there, would rather lose a war than a political campaign.
This ad is obviously not intended to attract new voters, but to shore up support for McCain in places he thought he had in his back pocket.
While the national polls may be relatively close, the electoral college is looking more and more grim for him. What we're seeing here is a hail, Mary -- and, as A.L. says, this is awfully early to try it.
The question that becomes more and more germane is whether John McCain can even make it to the convention.
By demonstrating his latent hostility through these lies and distortions, McCain is letting voters know what kind of President he would be: vicious, vengeful, and deceitful. He also shows how stupid and ill-prepared he is through his numerous "gaffes." The American people can read these signals and know how bad things will be if we get another dumb, stubborn, vengeful President. In that psychological aspect (as well as in his policy positions), McCain is signaling that he is simply an older, nastier, more deranged and dangerous version of Bush. The projected electoral map reflects voter comprehension of these facts.
I'm with you C2h50h I expect McCain to pull out for medical reasons some time during the Olympics. As bad as we all think it is from the outside it has to be ten times worse if you are on the inside. McCain's body language and tone of voice already say "clinical depression" to those trained to see the symptoms. With the stress of a campaign I expect a complete breakdown within 30 days.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home