How McCain Reconciles Lies With Honor

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

(The New Republic) 
McCain has endlessly accused Obama of favoring tax increases of all kinds--on middle-class families, on low-income workers, on millions of small-business owners, on electricity, on the sale of homes--that he does not favor at all. He's also in the habit of wildly misrepresenting Obama's energy plan. "My opponent doesn't want nuclear power, he doesn't want us to drill offshore, and the other day he mentioned that what we need to do is inflate our tires," he has said, adding, "that's a publicservice announcement, not an energy policy." Over the summer, McCain distributed tire gauges labeled OBAMA'S ENERGY PLAN. Obviously, Obama does have an energy plan, and in fact favors expanding nuclear power. McCain has also preposterously accused Obama of opposing electric cars. A McCain ad described Obama's position as "No to the electric car," simply because Obama had (justifiably) ridiculed McCain's proposal of a $300 million reward for anyone who could create a substantially improved electric car.

Back in May, McCain quoted Obama as having said of Hillary Clinton, "Like she's on the duck blind every Sunday, packin' a six-shooter!" McCain followed that story with an acid quip about how ignorant Obama was for thinking ducks are hunted with six-shooters. This was the kind of devastating detail that had stuck to Democratic nominees before, endlessly circulating on talk radio and cable news, revealing them to be pretentious phonies out of touch with working-class life. But McCain was twisting Obama's line in a crucial way. Obama had actually said: "She's talking like she's Annie Oakley. Hillary Clinton's out there like she's on the duck blind every Sunday. She's packing a six-shooter." Two different things--going on the duck blind, packing a six-shooter. Not only did the press not call McCain on this distortion, but news accounts actually repeated his misquote as fact.

Indeed, McCain's consistent pattern of distortion received little attention until September, when the campaign embarked upon a flurry of prevarications. First, Palin introduced herself to the public as an opponent of the Bridge to Nowhere, even though she had supported the project until it could no longer be sustained (and even then took the federal money but redirected it). McCain actually went on to boast that she had accepted no federal earmarks, when in fact she had requested $453 million.

McCain also ludicrously called Obama's metaphor for McCain's policies ("lipstick on a pig") a personal attack on Palin. And the McCain campaign ran an advertisement falsely accusing Obama of having voted for a bill calling for sex education in kindergarten. (This was an echo of a smear that McCain chief strategist Steve Schmidt had used in a 1996 congressional campaign.) Factcheck. org called the ad "simply false" and explained that the bill required age-appropriate instruction for subjects like teaching younger children about avoiding pedophiles, not, as the ad said, "learning about sex before learning to read." By this point it had become clear even to many of McCain's admirers that there was a pattern at work: He was running a campaign that was unusually, perhaps even uniquely, dishonest.

Considered from a purely amoral point of view, McCain's strategy has much to recommend it. His opponent is a narrow target. Obama has two principal political weaknesses: his race and his lack of experience. McCain, to his credit, has shied away from race-based attacks, and he has de-emphasized experience since selecting Palin. On the policy front, McCain faces even more of a disadvantage. He's defending a set of proposals nearly indistinguishable from those of an incumbent with the highest disapproval ratings in the history of polling. McCain got some traction attacking Obama for supporting a timetable for withdrawal, until the Iraqi prime minister endorsed essentially the same idea. Obama, like Bill Clinton, has taken few positions that might hurt him in the election. On taxes, for instance, Obama favors larger rate cuts for the vast majority of Americans, leaving McCain in the unenviable position of defending (vis-à-vis his opponent) higher taxes for the middle class and vastly lower taxes for the very rich. McCain, in short, stands little chance running against Obama. Running against a pretend Obama who favors broad tax hikes and opposes any new energy sources naturally seems more promising.

[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!