Dirty politics are a disservice to the country

October 7, 3:28 PMTampa Politics ExaminerJim Stillman

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Sen. John McCain

Let’s start off with basic beliefs, if possible.

Anyone who cannot or will not accept these cannot participate in meaningful political discourse; in my opinion they have strayed so far outside reason and rationality, and discussions are futile.

First, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and Sarah Palin share these attributes in the greatest extent: all four love their country, all four want only the best for the United States, none of the four are traitors or have an overt or covert plan to destroy our system of government or to deprive our citizens of rights and liberty except where absolute necessary.

Second, within the framework of these core principles, the candidates have widely different positions and tactics; these differences are legitimate areas for debate.

But, please, don’t bother characterizing any of them as stupid, terrorist, treasonous or evil – because none of them is.

Warning: from here on are my observation and opinions.

During the past week or so, the electoral momentum has swung to the Democrats, Senators Obama and Biden. The reasons are diverse.

There is increasing unhappiness with the experience of Sandra Palin. Her asserting credential of foreign policy experience based on proximity to Russia and Canada has been made the butt of humor on television. A politician can survive many attacks but being the object of ridicule is one of the most devastating.

There is the increasing realization that the economic crisis and “melt down” now in the country but spreading throughout the world could have been prevented by stronger regulation of the securities industry and the actions of corporate leaders, all of which were anathema to the Republicans. The decrease in support for Senator McCain seems to be related less to his specific policies and plans than to his identification with President Bush. The president has abysmally low approval ratings, he is unpopular and distrusted; his weaknesses have transferred to the Arizona Senator.

The McCain-Palin campaign’s decision to attack, attack and arrack, aiming below the belt and going negative, is a tactic that is unlikely to succeed.

What happened to the John McCain that was, once, a gentlemen and a likely president?

The McCain-Palin campaign has decided, acknowledged, that it will lose.

It has also decided that the only hope for victory is to go for an ugly, disgusting approach. It will energize the Base, no question; but will the rest of the electorate be fooled. Arianna Huffington, on October 6th, wrote

The McCain campaign is all set to roll out its message for the last 30 days of the campaign: "We may not be good for your bank account, your mortgage, your health care, or your job security -- but none of that will matter if you are dead. John McCain: If You Want to Live."

It's coming a little earlier than expected, but with an imploding economy and no solutions from the McCain camp other than yet another round of tax cuts, Team McCain is hitting the GOP's default key: Be Very Afraid!

The title of McCain's latest TV ad says it all: "Dangerous." The ad brands Obama as "dishonorable," "dangerous," and "too risky for America." That's right, folks, it time to appeal to the voters' Lizard Brains.

Clearly, McCain has concluded that the only way he can get enough votes is to pay for them with his once-valued dignity and honor. And it appears he's not planning to leave any of that precious personal capital in the bank by the time election day rolls around.

So here it comes. One last desperate, pathetic, sordid attempt to distract the country from anything resembling a real debate about a real issue. Don't have health care? Rezko, Rezko, Rezko. Wonder why our financial system is on the brink of collapse? Ayers, Ayers, Ayers. Worried about whether we'll ever get out of Iraq? Wright, Wright, Wright.

Where did he go? The John McCain who was universally admired

A few months ago, John McCain refused to connect Reverend Jeremiah Wright to Barack Obama.

In March, after being given the opportunity by Fox News' Sean Hannity to hit his opponent on Wright, McCain refused.
"I think that when people support you, it doesn't mean you support everything they say. Obviously, those statements are things none of us would associate ourselves with."

After Hannity listed more potential reasons to make Wright an issue, McCain drew a deep breath and decided not to go there. "I do know Sen. Obama; he does not share those views."

In April, after the North Carolina Republican Party sent out an attack ad linking Obama and Wright, McCain asked that they withdraw the ad and not use it. While candidates often distance themselves from the tougher party-issued ads, McCain went even further than that.

"We asked them not to run it," McCain told reporters on his campaign bus in Kentucky Wednesday. "I'm sending them an e-mail as we speak asking them to take it down.

"I don't know why they do it. Obviously, I don't control them, but I'm making it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that there's no place for that kind of campaigning, and the American people don't want it," McCain said.

McCain said the ad was described to him: "I didn't see it, and I hope that I don't see it."

Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan, campaigning Wednesday with McCain, said he had left a voice mail message for state party chairwoman Linda Daves asking her to pull the ad

McCain, in an e-mail to Daves, said he will draw sharp contrasts with Democrats. "But we need not engage in political tactics that only seek to divide the American people."

North Carolina GOP spokesman Brent Woodcox said the ad will begin running statewide on Monday, a week before the state's crucial May 6 primary; as  the Associated Press reported:

"We asked them not to run it," McCain told reporters on his campaign bus in Kentucky Wednesday. "I'm sending them an e-mail as we speak asking them to take it down.

"I don't know why they do it. Obviously, I don't control them, but I'm making it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that there's no place for that kind of campaigning, and the American people don't want it," McCain said.

So what happened to the moral standards of John McCain? Simple, his party thinks it will lose.

Eugene Robinson, writing in The Washington Post,

Let's see: The financial system is still in grave peril, despite Congress's approval of an unprecedented $700 billion bailout. Unemployment is rising, the economy is slowing, and the question isn't whether we're in for a recession but how long and how deep the recession will be. Meanwhile, U.S. troops are still fighting in two places -- Iraq and Afghanistan -- where, as a rule, foreign occupations end badly. The terrorists who struck us on Sept. 11, 2001, have been allowed to regroup within the borders of nuclear-armed Pakistan and are busy plotting new attacks. Rarely have there been bigger or more urgent issues to talk about in a presidential campaign.

But John McCain wants us to talk about Barack Obama's acquaintances. He and Sarah Palin are going to try their best to make us talk about anything but the big issues facing our country, because most Americans think Obama's solutions are better than McCain's.

I understand and, to a degree, sympathize with Senator McCain. He is faced with a massive financial crisis, brought on by the party to which he belongs and its overriding principle of deregulation. He has tied his fortune to the most unpopular president in recent history. As his poll numbers slip further and further in the dirt, so has his campaign.
I have always respected John McCain; I cannot any longer.

The Obama-Biden campaign is also sinking into the mud. There is no need for this. I will post within a few days an article on dirty politics practiced by the Democrats. The Democrats claim that they are just responding to the attacks from the other side. This may be true but it is still wrong – and worse, it serves no good purpose.