Jim Stillman
M-KazMcCain repudiates attacks on Obama character
October 30th 2008 18:08
[There are a handful of Orble writers who consider themselves conservatives. They are not! Conservatives believe in the virtues of robust but fair political and social dialogue; they are not ones to neither delete opposing views nor run from a discussion and refuse to engage issues on the merits. No, these few are radicals, disdaining American values of diversity, cowering together for warmth in their cave of bias, having that cave lighted and heated only by Fox News. To that handful, who brag that they would never read this site, I dedicate this post.]
Some of the allegations repeatedly made by those of the far right, including to her shame, Sarah Palin, and allowed, to his shame, by John McCain, have finally and long last been repudiated by Senator McCain. It is certainly too late to erase the stench in the air of United States politics; it may be too late to salvage his honor.
The fair criticism of Senator Obama with which John McCain began his campaign was that the Illinois Senator was not experienced and seasoned as he is. We could discuss his and make individual judgments on this; the moment Senator McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential choice he removed Barack Obama’s lack of experience from the table.
As virtually all of the responsible minds on the right-conservative side of American political opinion – George Will, David Brooks, Richard Cohen, Ross Douthat, Christopher Buckley, Kathleen Parker, David Frum, Danielle Crittenden and others -- have written, the choice of Governor Palin was more than just poor. It placed John McCain’s judgment on the table.
That judgment was found by liberals (predictably) and conservatives alike to be wanting.
The GOP campaign turned suddenly abusive, negative, and in a dual mode. On one side, arguments and statements by Governor Palin, the many PAC groups and, Lord love ‘em, Fox News, Sean, Rush, and the rest of the rabid Right.
Among the best of these were allegations: Barack Obama was a Muslim, he associated with terrorist and terrorist organizations and was a terrorist himself who hated America, he supported the anti-Israel Palestinian groups and wanted to destroy Israel, he was legally unqualified to be president because he was not born in America, his produced birth certificate a forgery, he is a communist and a supporter of totalitarian governments and a plethora of ad hominem charges against the character of Barack Obama.
When forced to confront the results of this rhetoric by his supporters, including Governor Palin, screaming from the audience at GOP rallies urging the killing of the traitor, John McCain pulled back; it seemed to surprise and shock him.
But he never explicitly demanded the Palin rants. He never repudiated them.
After polls in the waning days of the campaign validated the responsible voices of his party and the moderates in both parties that voters did not respond well to the smears Senator has now issued a new advertisement that undercuts everything his campaign has been saying these past months.
The new advertisement reverts to the “lack of experience” issue. In so doing, and in the manner in which it was done, repudiates all of the basic character and legal impediments to Senator Obama. The new tag line on the advertisement states that Barack Obama does not have the necessary experience, YET.
One word “yet” can only mean that the Illinois Senator would be a suitable candidate for president after additional seasoning and experience. That word, however, negates basic legal and character flaws. Additional experience would not erase the legal disqualification to be president, it would not compensate for being a communist or a traitor or a terrorist or a liar or the other name calling that incites a crowd to scream, “Kill the traitor”. Bring on the tumbrel
So we are now back to the relative degrees of experience exhibited by McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden.
We have made a complete circle! Welcome back to the real world, John McCain, and I, for one, am pleased that you are no longer in league with the loonies.
(The substance of this material has been previously published in EXAMINER.COM)
Some of the allegations repeatedly made by those of the far right, including to her shame, Sarah Palin, and allowed, to his shame, by John McCain, have finally and long last been repudiated by Senator McCain. It is certainly too late to erase the stench in the air of United States politics; it may be too late to salvage his honor.
The fair criticism of Senator Obama with which John McCain began his campaign was that the Illinois Senator was not experienced and seasoned as he is. We could discuss his and make individual judgments on this; the moment Senator McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential choice he removed Barack Obama’s lack of experience from the table.
As virtually all of the responsible minds on the right-conservative side of American political opinion – George Will, David Brooks, Richard Cohen, Ross Douthat, Christopher Buckley, Kathleen Parker, David Frum, Danielle Crittenden and others -- have written, the choice of Governor Palin was more than just poor. It placed John McCain’s judgment on the table.
That judgment was found by liberals (predictably) and conservatives alike to be wanting.
The GOP campaign turned suddenly abusive, negative, and in a dual mode. On one side, arguments and statements by Governor Palin, the many PAC groups and, Lord love ‘em, Fox News, Sean, Rush, and the rest of the rabid Right.
Among the best of these were allegations: Barack Obama was a Muslim, he associated with terrorist and terrorist organizations and was a terrorist himself who hated America, he supported the anti-Israel Palestinian groups and wanted to destroy Israel, he was legally unqualified to be president because he was not born in America, his produced birth certificate a forgery, he is a communist and a supporter of totalitarian governments and a plethora of ad hominem charges against the character of Barack Obama.
When forced to confront the results of this rhetoric by his supporters, including Governor Palin, screaming from the audience at GOP rallies urging the killing of the traitor, John McCain pulled back; it seemed to surprise and shock him.
But he never explicitly demanded the Palin rants. He never repudiated them.
After polls in the waning days of the campaign validated the responsible voices of his party and the moderates in both parties that voters did not respond well to the smears Senator has now issued a new advertisement that undercuts everything his campaign has been saying these past months.
The new advertisement reverts to the “lack of experience” issue. In so doing, and in the manner in which it was done, repudiates all of the basic character and legal impediments to Senator Obama. The new tag line on the advertisement states that Barack Obama does not have the necessary experience, YET.
One word “yet” can only mean that the Illinois Senator would be a suitable candidate for president after additional seasoning and experience. That word, however, negates basic legal and character flaws. Additional experience would not erase the legal disqualification to be president, it would not compensate for being a communist or a traitor or a terrorist or a liar or the other name calling that incites a crowd to scream, “Kill the traitor”. Bring on the tumbrel
So we are now back to the relative degrees of experience exhibited by McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden.
We have made a complete circle! Welcome back to the real world, John McCain, and I, for one, am pleased that you are no longer in league with the loonies.
(The substance of this material has been previously published in EXAMINER.COM)
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Comment by Jeff Musall
Secular Humanity