by IDLYE | Steve Benen writes: "John McCain was presented with a choice: lose the election or lose his
honor. As has become painfully clear, McCain chose the latter." He's comforted that others have reached the same conclusion. I call that "cold comfort."
Anyway, it's only a symptom of a much graver disorder.
At WaPo, E.J. Dionne marvels at what the GOP's apparent comfort in distorting facts---and the public's willingness to let them justify the end by the means---tells us about the state of political discourse, where a lie is as good as the truth as long as you agree with the objective behind it. This is the true legacy of the Bush administration, and it scares me way more than McCain does.
Dionne:
This is not false naivete: I am genuinely surprised that John McCain and his campaign keep throwing out false charges and making false claims without any qualms. They keep talking about Sarah Palin’s opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere without any embarrassment over the fact that she once supported it. They keep saying that Barack Obama will raise taxes, suggesting he’d raise them on everybody, when Obama’s plan, according to the Tax Policy Institute, would cut taxes for “about 80 percent of households” while “only about 10 percent would owe more.” And as Sebastian Mallaby pointed out in his recent column, Obama would cut taxes for middle-income taxpayers “more aggressively” than McCain would.
And now comes a truly vile McCain ad....(emphasis added)
Jonathan Weisman at WaPo has even more:
Palin's position on the bridge that would have linked Ketchikan to Gravina Island is one example of a candidate staying on message even when that message has been publicly discredited. Palin has continued to say she opposed a project she once campaigned for -- then killed later, only after support for it had collapsed in Congress....
Palin and John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee, have been more aggressive in recent days in repeating what their opponents say are outright lies. Almost every day, for instance, McCain says rival Barack Obama would raise everyone's taxes, even though the Democrat's tax plan exempts families that earn less than $250,000...
Fed up, the Obama campaign broke a taboo on Monday and used the "L-word" of politics to say that the McCain campaign was lying about the Bridge to Nowhere.
Nevertheless, with McCain's standing in the polls surging, aides say he is not about to back down from statements he believes are fundamentally true, such as the anecdote about the bridge. (WaPo)
You see? The end justifies the means. To tell what he believes to be a "fundamental truth"---i.e., his narrative---McCain is unashamed of distorting the actual truth.
For now, there appears to be little political reason to back down. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Sept. 5 to Sept. 7 found that 51 percent of voters think Obama would raise their taxes, even though his plan would actually cut taxes for the overwhelming majority of Americans. Obama has proposed eliminating income taxes on seniors making less than $50,000 a year, but 41 percent of those seniors say their income taxes would go up in an Obama administration.(WaPo)
The reason to back down is, of course, that it's NOT TRUE and it prevents Americans from rationally considering FACTS that might help them vote in their own interest. Because of McCain's lies, millions may vote against their own interests---which is of course what Republicans are counting on.
And while it's true that certain rumors about Palin have circulated on the internet, the difference is that McCain's statements are approved statements, emanating directly from his campaign. No one can do anything about the "rumor mill"---people who are not the campaign are going to speculate.
But these are lies that McCain's campaign is deliberately spreading. Their purpose is to smear Obama's character. And it seems that they are succeeding.
And that's today's GOP---unashamed to be seen behaving shamefully or to lie.
It's the unabashed and amoral willingness to embrace outright lies so long as they serve your own purposes that proves, more than anything else, that the McCain-Palin ticket is the true spiritual successor of Bush-Cheney.
Bush's Legacy Embraced by McCain: A Party For Which the End Justifies the Lies?
Lipstick on a Pig versus Wrestling One
Sarah Palin: Still Telling the $320 Million Whopper About the Bridge to Nowhere?
Obama on Palin & McCain as Agents of Change: "How Do They Have the Nerve?"
McTemper, McTemper! or, "He Ain't Mad, He's Just Intense." Also: Ed Koch's Fear of Palin
Needful Diversions: Gangsta Teletubbies; Spongebob Sings Eminem
McCain Campaign Ignores Heart's Request to Stop Using Their Songs
Obama: "They Must Think You're Stupid"
Bill Maher New Rules (Sep 5)---"Sarah Barracuda, Meet Joey the Shark"
Helping kids protect themselves from sexual predators by teaching them the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching is not the same as teaching kindergartners about sex.
John McCain would rather lose his honor than lose an election.
Posted by: markg8 | September 10, 2008 at 08:04 PM