How McCain Reconciles Lies With Honor

The New Republic: The Logic And Rationale Behind John McCain's New Sleazy Campaign Style

(The New Republic)  This column was written by Jonathan Chait.

About a week after John McCain's campaign unveiled a vice-presidential nominee who incessantly boasted about her decision to turn down federal funding for a notoriously pointless bridge ("I told Congress 'thanks, but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere"), the press corps began to notice that Sarah Palin had, in fact, vigorously championed the project until it was no longer tenable. Political fibs, even brazen ones such as this, are hardly unprecedented. What happened next, though, was somewhat unusual. Despite having its claim exposed in nearly every media outlet, the McCain campaign continued to assert it anyway, day after day, dozens of times in all. It was as if Bill Clinton had persisted in his claim that he did not have sexual relations with that woman even after the appearance of the semen-stained dress.

But what happened after that was even more unusual, and possibly without precedent: McCain's supporters simply suggested that the truth or falsity of their statements didn't matter. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said this to Politico about the increased media scrutiny of the campaign's factual claims: "We're running a campaign to win. And we're not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it." Republican strategist John Feehery made the point even more bluntly, telling The Washington Post: "The more The New York Times and The Washington Post go after Sarah Palin, the better off she is, because there's a bigger truth out there, and the bigger truths are: She's new, she's popular in Alaska, and she is an insurgent." Then, he added, "As long as those are out there, these little facts don't really matter."

Here we have the distilled essence of the McCain campaign's ethos: Perception is reality. Facts don't matter. McCain has presented himself as the grizzled champion of timeworn values. But the defining trait of his candidacy turns out to be a postmodern disdain for truth. How could McCain--a man widely regarded, not so long ago, as one of the country's most honor-bound politicians, and therefore an unusually honest one--have descended to this ignominious low? Part of the answer is that McCain is simply doing what works--and there is good reason to believe that his campaign's strategy of persistent dishonesty will pay dividends come November 4. But part of the explanation for all this recent dishonesty may lie, oddly enough, in McCain's legendary sense of honor.

No presidential candidate has ever gone through an entire election without stretching the truth. Certainly, Barack Obama is not totally innocent. Last March, Obama said that McCain "wants to continue a war in Iraq perhaps as long as one hundred years," when in fact McCain said that he would favor an indefinite peaceful military presence. (Obama was repeatedly called on this distortion by the press, and subsequently stopped saying it.) He has accused McCain of helping to permit a corporate takeover in Ohio that has led to the threat of layoffs--a literally true claim that inaccurately implies that the takeover caused the problem. He has also accused McCain of favoring nearly $4 billion in new tax breaks for Big Oil--literally true, but misleading, insofar as McCain is offering tax cuts to corporations in general, not Big Oil in particular.

But McCain's untruths, in their frequency and their audacity, defy any modern historical precedent. He has been concocting falsehoods for months on end, all of which serve a clear political purpose. Last summer, Obama--on the heels of a New York Times report that the Bush administration in 2005 had canceled at the last minute a snatch-and-grab operation targeting Osama bin Laden's lieutenants in Pakistan--pledged to follow through on any actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda. After Obama's nomination became likely, McCain--then trying to portray Obama as dangerously naïve and uninformed--accused him of having "once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan." Obama had not said anything about bombing. His speech merely conveyed his support for small, special operations missions--the types of missions, incidentally, that the Bush administration has since undertaken.

During Obama's overseas trip this summer, he called off a meeting with wounded troops at a military hospital after the Pentagon told him that the trip might run afoul of a policy against visiting soldiers in the course of campaigning. A McCain ad accused him of canceling the meeting because he learned that cameras couldn't accompany him. (In fact, the press had never been scheduled to come along.)

Just last week, McCain attacked Obama for proposing to cut defense spending. "During the primary, he told a liberal advocacy group that he'd cut defense spending by tens of billions of dollars," charged the GOP nominee. "He promised them he would, quote, 'slow our development of future combat systems.'" Actually, Obama had pledged to cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful military spending (he also favored increasing the size of the military). Worse, almost any listener hearing this claim would come away thinking Obama was proposing to cut funding for weapons systems in development. In reality, Obama had promised to slow the development of a specific project called "Future Combat Systems," a controversial program. Indeed, McCain himself had proposed eliminating this very program in July.

[wakeup60]

How low is a Snake''s Stomach? McBush''s is lower than that...BY A MILE-"Religion" has NO PLACE in POLITICS what so ever...and YES/PRO CHOICE IS "NOT" THE SAME AS "PRO ABORTION...AND YOU KNOW WHAT''S REALLY INTERESTING WITH PRO-"LIFE" PEOPLE/"MEN" ARE THE SPEAKERS ON THAT ONE/GO FIGURE! WHERE DO YOU GET OFF ON THIS/OR ANYTHING FOR THAT MATTER/OBAMA WILL HAVE ALL THE SHEET ON A SHINGLE HE CAN POSSIBLY HANDLE...TO TRY AND SALVAGE MORE GOOD THAN BAD-TO CORRECT AND OVERCOME THIS HORRIBLE MESS OF A BLUNDER AFTER BLUNDER BANQUET/NOV. CANNOT COME FAST ENOUGH/LET''S SEE HOW THE DEBATES UNFOLD TONIGHT SINCE THE NO-SHOW IS GOING TO BE A SHOW-AFTERALL-HIS PRESENCE AND FINAL STAMP OF APPROVAL IS NOT THE TURNING POINT TO THE TALKS THERE-AS THE GOP HAS STATED-THAT''S FUNNY-ISN''T IT!FOR ALL THE CRAPOLA THIS PAST 8 YEARS HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE TABLE-WE''RE ALL FULL OF HIS BELLYACHES-THANK YOU!!!!

[rwassel]

"An actual independent study comparing ads noted that the liberal ads were 70% more negative than the conservatives."

Well, exploremore, since you cited your source, I guess I''ll just believe you.

Oh wait, you didn''t. God, you people are hysterical!

As long as we''re just making research up, the latest study done found that John McCain is a terrorist that was actually born in a foreign country, and is secertly working for Al-Qaeda.

[rwassel]

"these little facts don''t really matter."

This statement from McCain''s campaign says it all. Makes you think about the last time the "facts didn''t matter"...the Iraq War perhaps?

[rwassel]

exploremore - I know you are being paid by the McCain campaign as a blog troll, but your facts straight.

Obama has been in the senate for 4 YEARS, not 143 days. Your lies just make you look like an imbecile.

But, judging from this dirty, untruthful campaign of McCain''s, I''m not too surprised you guys are stooping this low.

[exploremore]

Oh, what a load this all is. Obambi spent his 143 days in the Senate avoiding any decision-making, similar to his stint in the IL legislature. An actual independent study comparing ads noted that the liberal ads were 70% more negative than the conservatives. Ironic that until he became a candidate against the messiah, McCain was lauded as a radical force for change and applauded for his independent thinking. Did he change? No, but the MSM cannot stand to think that he could win, and use this kind of obviously slanted reporting to push their chosen one over the edge. But so far, the country is not buying it. Keep trying, MSM, you may just push McCain into the White House.

[bobnjersey]

[So, a pro-abortion(that means it''''s okay to kill innocent babies), muslim, anti-america, anti-christ is the solution for the presidency? ]
[Posted by pci7763 at 08:33 AM : Sep 26, 2008]

a good psychologist ... and a long term of therapy would be a good solution for your condition ... commonly known as delusion.

put down your bible ... it''s contributing to your problem.

[bbyn]

First: PCI is an idiot! Second: mccain has turned into a puppet like bush to get the nomination. His "handelers" have put thier greed ahead of the country and that has been has been so painfuly clear. palin is a joke. Suspend your campaign...PLEASE!!!! It isn''t an honest one anyway.

[lucasnico]

So, a pro-abortion(that means it''''s okay to kill innocent babies), muslim, anti-america, anti-christ is the solution for the presidency? Obama will not be there for this country. There are direct quotes in his book that state if the political wind changes, he would support muslims. Don''''t think he is pro-Israel either. His roots are from a religion that has gone evil. Far more evil than all this republican bashing that is going on. Think twice before you elect the anti-christ. Check your bible!

Posted by pci7763

Big, BIG difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion....and let''s keep religion out of politics.... the president, no matter who wins, has enough to fix.

[incog-nito]

And what exactly was the republican "political objective"? To ruin the country? Because they certainly succeeded in that.

Posted by MANDALAY-BAY at 04:43 PM : Sep 25, 2008

Yes, and do you know how they succeeded? By WINNING the last two elections. You made my point precisely. You can''t do a whole lot if you don''t win.

[mswolfestock]

WogerWabbit - Dude, I think you''ve hit that nail squarely on the head. This probably WAS planned and timed by Rove.

[sanfelz]

McCain is a panderer and liar. He has taken three sides on the SC confederate flag issue, four sides on regulation of Wall Street, two sides on his own immigration bill. His latest lie is that he has "suspended" his campaign. In what way? His ads are still, his surrogates are still all over the media. The only thing suspended is the absurd belief that he is somehow a straight talker or honorable.

[wogerwabbit]

And the lies keep coming. Suspend his campaign? Then why was I seeing McLiar ads last night? He just wants out of the debate because Obama''s gonna bury him... I bet they never have a debate... all we''ll see is pinup Palin smiling for the ignorent masses as the gnarly old guy hides in his cave back in DC while working hard to prevent an agreement until right before the election. This whole financial crisis came on so suddenly and so conveniently timed, I''m wondering if this is Rove''s September Surprise...

[chad55555]

They both do this but take into consideration the OTHER person was trained as a Muslim,not even from this country and hates christians and whites. STUDY YOUR HISTORY AND WHAT YOUR SETTING THIS COUNTRY FOR,REMEMBER THE MILLION MAN MARCH BEFORE YOU TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE TELLING LIES.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO AMERICA WHEN PEOPLE CAN BE DECEIVED SO EASY.

[pci7763]

So, a pro-abortion(that means it''s okay to kill innocent babies), muslim, anti-america, anti-christ is the solution for the presidency? Obama will not be there for this country. There are direct quotes in his book that state if the political wind changes, he would support muslims. Don''t think he is pro-Israel either. His roots are from a religion that has gone evil. Far more evil than all this republican bashing that is going on. Think twice before you elect the anti-christ. Check your bible!

[formrusmcsgt]

Posted by andylance1 at 06:13 AM : Sep 26, 2008

Franks isn''t the one who sat back and watched investment banks leverage themselves to tha point that they had 30 times in debt what they had in assets.

That was Paulson and Cox.

[naturaltwo]

The cowardice of the republicans, their predilection to homosexuality and pedophilia, and their unabashed greed make them the sodom and gomorrah of this generation.

Republicans are godless pharisees stabbing this country in the back and need to be hung by the neck until dead.

This is one gun toting Christian that says kill every one of these women hating mongrel dogs.

I spit and urinate on republicans.

They are the scum of the earth and will never know God''s grace.

[gunfighter51]

When will these people susceed from the union and start there own socialist state. We could do it like the Indians, give them there own reservation. Then we can all die happy.

[andylance1]

Ross Perot used to ask, "what is that giant sucking sound?" It is the sound of tax dollars being sucked out of the US Treasury to rescue Freddie and Fannie''s subprime mess. You can take that to the bank, Barney Frank.

Barney Frank believed the point of Fannie/Freddie is taxpayer-subsidized housing for low-income borrowers - no matter how bad their credit is. You could say about old Barney Fife: never before has one individual done so much that was so wrong, or shafted so many on behalf of so few. Now he is having a hizzy fit. Talk about sleaze!

[memerider]

Gosh, C.B.S. Let''s not show our bias or anything. Why haven''t we read about Obama''s signature on the United Nations'' Millenium Declaration and his refusal to sign on to a congressional amicus brief in support of our right to self-defense?

Why don''t you tell your viewers that Obama supports U.N. policy that undercuts both the first and second amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if implemented in America would result in a global police state?

And explain why people who complain about police abuse and military torture should advocate disarming ordinary citizens of the world so only these groups and criminals have access to tools of self-defense, and ending free speech.

Why aren''t any of your headlines screaming about that?

[758880]

LETS SEE??? OBAMA says to Washington during a major crisis w/America..."If you need me call" CALL FOR WHAT??? ANOTHER TIME YOU CAN''T VOTE ON SOMETHING?? LIKE THE PAST 136 TIMES YOU VOTED PRESENT?? yea..we really need you. Stay out there to deliver your endless promises WITHOUT SOLUTIONS!! Oh yes, you did have a solution...RAISE TAXES! WOW! Why didn''t anyone else think of that?? That must have taken a Harvard degree....YOU KNOW HOW LAWERS ARE....SMOOOOOTH TALKERS!