McCain vs McCain
There was a time not so long ago when I genuinely liked John McCain. Eight years ago, I was rooting for him to win the GOP nomination over the Governor from Texas. I still would have supported Al Gore, but at least the debates would have been interesting. Sadly, the Rovian political machine picked up steam and rolled right over him. (Recall the [racist; erroneous] whisper campaign about McCain fathering a black child.) I don’t think we need to think too hard to imagine that the last 8 years would have been a lot better had McCain won.
Something changed in McCain over those years. The man running for president today now employs the same anything-goes Rovian politics that he spent years protesting. (The racism is back too–just watch any YouTube video of a contemporary McCain/Palin rally and you can hear it plain as day.) It appears that McCain(2008) would rather win an election than maintain the dignity and respect he built over 26 years in the senate. McCain(2000) must be spinning in his [political] grave.
Not surprisingly, the crucial undecided voters aren’t buying it. They watched as he nominated an inexperienced Governor from the political (and geographical) fringe and wondered if McCain(2008) really had their best interest in mind. They listened to a campaign of increasingly dirty and dishonest attack ads and wondered where McCain(2000) was hiding. They waited for the maverick to stand up to the extremists in his party and fight for the traditional conservative values that Bush has ignored. But McCain(2008) is no maverick.
I feel sorry for John McCain. He made a deal with the devil and embraced the Rovian politics that have done so much damage to our United States. This election is too important for Rovian distractions. The voters know it and they’ve chosen the candidate who is serious about the issues–not just the sound bites.
McCain(2000) would not recognize McCain(2008) if they met today. What a long, sad trip it’s been.
Filed under politics : Comments (4) : Oct 14th, 2008 by tadfad
October 15th, 2008 at 21:44
I think McCain started out this last debate in a rough way, but recovered. He hit a couple bumps along the way but overall, this was an all right debate for McCain.
I too have been keeping an eye on this guy over the last 8 years. I do have respect for him but was disappointed as well at some of the desperate shenanigans he pulled in this election. I honestly thing he will regret some of this (actually didn’t he already admit that earlieer on in tonight’s debate–that he regretted teh way some of this campaign has been going?)
October 15th, 2008 at 21:49
I was glad that they addressed the issue of the nasty campaign ads tonight. It was kind of weird and surreal to hear both McCain and Obama talk about how much they regret the “tough” ads. . . don’t they have to “approve this message”?
I think McCain went a little too far this year. The polls show that the majority of voters think he ran a negative campaign. I guess we’ll see how that plays out in a few short weeks.
October 15th, 2008 at 23:12
[...] had been. At one point it almost sounded like he was opposed to his own campaign. (Was this McCain(2000) trying to emerge?) He finally brought out Ayers and ACORN and tried to hang them around [...]
January 20th, 2010 at 18:32
[...] tadfad » Blog Archive » McCain vs McCain [...]