From the ArcaMax Publishing, Joe Conason Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/joeconason/s-423194-710716
Nothing in the presidential campaign so far has been as instructive as
its swift descent into the politics of personal destruction. Although
voters have probably heard little lately that they did not already
know about Sen. Barack Obama, they have learned something very
important about Sen. John McCain.
Back when this contest began, McCain expressed the desire for a
different kind of campaign than we have seen in recent years. Rather
than the old style of character-assassination politics perfected by
his former nemesis Karl Rove to defeat him, Al Gore and John Kerry,
the Arizona Republican urged a substantive debate and a fair
comparison of public careers. He invited Mr. Obama to join him in a
series of town hall meetings to discuss their competing visions of the
nation's future. He hoped to run "a respectful campaign focused on the
issues and values that are important to the American people."
That is what the man known for straight talk said he wanted. But it is
no longer possible to assume that he meant it, even then. Now that he
is losing, he has sunk into the same shameful conduct that he once
professed to despise.
Entering the election's final weeks, the rhetoric of the former
maverick and his lipstick-toting pit bull, Gov. Sarah Palin, has
turned so ugly and inflammatory that their rallies have begun to sound
like lynch mobs.
"Who is the real Barack Obama?" asked McCain at a rally in New Mexico
-- and didn't correct a thug who yelled, "Terrorist!" in response.
"Kill him!" screamed the crowd at a rally in Florida after Ms. Palin
smeared Mr. Obama for his supposed association with former Weather
Underground bomber Bill Ayers. She didn't object to the lynching cry,
but went on to say: "I'm afraid [Obama] is someone who sees America as
'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who had
targeted his own country."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the McCain surrogate from Connecticut, assures
us that this is "all fair game," a statement that would be surprising
if it were not uttered by him. He was happy to accept Obama's support
when his own reelection was in jeopardy two years ago, and he is happy
to help smear him today.
But is it fair game? Considering that Obama was a child when Mr. Ayers
was involved in those bombings, and that he has forthrightly condemned
the Weather Underground's lethally insane conduct, it is neither fair
nor germane.
It is somewhat less fair, for instance, than dredging up McCain's old
association with an international fascist outfit called the World
Anti-Communist League. Back when he joined up with WACL, a
quarter-century ago, the shadowy group was a haven for war criminals,
drug smugglers and other miscreants from Europe, Latin America, Asia
and the Mideast, promoting the ideology of the far right, supposedly
to combat the Soviet foe. Among those involved in WACL were the
fascist terrorists identified as responsible for bombings in Italy
that had killed hundreds of innocent people.
Was McCain, then a political neophyte, responsible for the crimes of
his associates in WACL? No, but he was an adult when he signed up, and
he lent his prestige to them. He says he quit, but John Singlaub, the
ultra-right former Army general who served as WACL's American frontman
for many years, doesn't recall him resigning.
Then there is McCain's former association with financial crook Charles
Keating, who was not only a political supporter but a benefactor who
brought Cindy McCain into his investments and bestowed free Caribbean
vacations on the McCain family. Is it fair to revisit that old
controversy, which the senator thinks he has expiated? Only because
his campaign wants to distract the public with discussions of
"character."
What these concluding weeks have told us about the Republican
candidate, to the shock and surprise of many of his admirers, is that
he misunderstands the meaning of honor. Evidently he believes that the
credit he accrued for suffering bravely for his country in Vietnam
somehow licenses him to campaign as crudely and deceptively as he can,
if that will help him to win. He seems not to realize that the respect
he earned so many years ago requires him to uphold a higher standard
of decency in politics.
A leader who doesn't realize that honor can be lost as well as earned
is a danger to himself and his country.
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Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer (www.observer.com). To
find out more about Joe Conason, visit the Creators Syndicate website
at www.creators.com.