Say Anything

When you think about the stunningly dishonest ad John McCain is running, falsely accusing Barack Obama of not meeting with troops during his trip abroad and falsely accusing Obama of some scheme to deny money to the troops, you have to recall the breathtakingly unprincipled way in which McCain has been pursuing the presidency from the beginning. Jon Chait writes about the audacity of flip-flopper allegations coming from the McCain camp:

If one needs any final proof of the ridiculousness of this quadrennial exercise, it is the fact that John McCain has embraced the flip-flopper attack. John McCain! I've said this before, I'll say it again: This is a man who, in his quest to make himself an acceptable GOP nominee, reversed his political philosophy (crusading anti-business progressive in the Teddy Roosevelt mode); his political orientation (frequently siding with, and nearly joining, Senate Democrats); and almost every particular undergirding it (taxes, the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill, his own immigration bill, etc.). But if you actually think that flip-flopping is a sign of flawed character, and not just a handy partisan cudgel, then, sure, Obama might be slightly cynical, but McCain must be a dangerous sociopath.

And I might add his couple of years spent as a moderate Republican was, itself, a reverse from his earlier orientation as an orthodox conservative. And with recent reversals to try to bring his thinking on Afghanistan closer in line with Barack Obama's, the floppery's not limited to domestic policy either. He's a guy who really wants to win the election, and he's willing to adopt pretty much any policy position and launch pretty much any dishonest attack on his opponent that he thinks will help him get there. If that means totally fictitious ads about Obama refusing to meet with soldiers, then fine.

Photo by Flickr user marcn used under a Creative Commons license

Comments

McCain also flip flops for money. His change of offshore drilling has brought him in a ton of new money from big oil companies.

Read more about it here: http://strategy08.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/mccain-flip-flop-yielded-big-oil-money/#more-273

Posted by Smash | July 27, 2008 10:54 AM

Here's my video response - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StvCkAFKu4w

Posted by AlchemyToday | July 27, 2008 10:54 AM

The man, John McCain, lacks integrity.
He may have had it as a POW but I'm not so sure that should count for much. It's simple to cling to one thing, however difficult, when you have nothing else worth you think is worth clinging to. It didn't require wisdom, judgement, creativity, compassion, understanding of others, or social skills.

Just determination and the accident of being born into a military family, following in his father's footsteps, getting shot down and captured, and not having anything else he could or would commit to --
not even his family (including the wife he abandoned).

Without the simplifying, clarifying challenge of being the best POW he could be ... John McCain has become something less.

Honor for him is more a slogan than a reality or a goal. It is what he currently finds useful as an instrument of self-gratification.

Posted by Jeff Taylor | July 27, 2008 11:02 AM

Some true and enlightening facts many do not know about the "Straight Talker" --

After the Vietnam war ended McCain's wife and mother of his children, Carol McCain, was in a horrible car accident in which she was disfigured. McCain quickly found a new woman to marry -- Cindy McCain --- a young beauty-queen and heiress to a beer fortune. He promptly dumped his crippled wife Carol for her. Interestingly, this created a rift between John McCain and Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Ross Perot, whom the McCains were friends with prior. Ross Perot actually paid Carol's medical bills, and the Reagans found her work in government to help her get by after John left her.

There's another myth about McCain -- that he turned down an admiralty to run for senate. In fact, McCain graduated 4th from the bottom at Annapolis - a school he would never have qualified for without a father and grandfather who were admirals. He crashed his airplanes upwards of 4 times prior to Vietnam and then once famously, when he was captured. Eventually, he left the navy because it became apparent to him he would never be promoted to admiral.

Also not publicized are McCain's activities as part of the "Keating 5" who were tied up in campaign finance illegalities in the early 90s for which he almost went to jail. This was the genesis of McCain's attempts to restore his credibility and integrity in Washington by fighting for campaign finance reform.

He also said that he never really loved America until he came back from Vietnam.

Do we really want another warmongering spoiled child of privilege as our President and Commander in Chief?

You don't have to whisper if its true.

Posted by YankeeFrankee | July 27, 2008 11:08 AM

Methinks we're seeing the influence of the McCain campaign's Rove imports -- lie and smear are the only tactics they know. And given the astonishing lazy complicity of our Washington press corps, they may get away with it.

Their strategy: Obama is the black John Kerry, the black Al Gore. You voters really don't like his arrogance, his coastal elitism, so how can you can trust him to protect the country from threats? You need a cranky old white guy with a war record to make sure you don't get killed in your beds.

Frankly, they would have done something similar to Clinton had she emerged as the nominee. Al Gore or John Kerry in a pantsuit. The real horror will come with watching the Stephanopouloses and the Broders and Cohens and other "liberal" narrative-makers follow the lead of Mrs. Greenspan and David Brooks and the rest. I hope the Obama campaign has gamed this one out.

Posted by BryklynLibrul | July 27, 2008 11:13 AM

why is obama awol on this? why is he not attacking McCain on this?

Posted by gregor | July 27, 2008 11:14 AM

P.S. Just look at the most common adjective used to describe Obama's tour this week. "Presumptuous" is just another word for "uppity."

Posted by BryklynLibrul | July 27, 2008 11:15 AM

This time it is not going to work, and count on a loud and direct response from Obama's camp. They already generated a pointed and direct response to McCain's 'commercial' about Obama 'not visiting the troops'. Count on more in response to the scurrilous lies about the surge and wanting to win the election over the war etc...

This same crap is just not going to fly with the voters this time. I predict, within two weeks, a big bounce for Obama -- largely based on the crazy coming out of McCain's mouth.

Posted by YankeeFrankee | July 27, 2008 11:20 AM

I think making an ad about Obama not visiting the troops that uses video of Obama playing basketball with the troops is so embarrassingly amateurish that the media will protect McCain by immediately giving him a mulligan and letting Team McCain regroup to try again.

Posted by steve | July 27, 2008 11:24 AM

One more point about John McCain and his lack of integrity.

We're all human and flawed in multiple and often important ways. A critical difference between a Barack Obama (or most public servants) on one hand and John McCain on the other is that John McCain has quit trying.

He himself has stated that in 2000 he wasn't really running in for us or our country--he was running to satisfy his own ambitions. Consequently, his willingness to say anything, do anything, adopt any persona (conservative? moderate? straight talker? GOP loyalist? and then all the policy positions!) ... makes sense, once we see him as a man who isn't really committed to anything, loyal to anything, interested in much outside of himself.

So John McCain lacks integrity because he is something of a quitter--he has quit trying to live up to any of his personas and instead is pretty much doing whatever.

(which also may help explain the values-oriented right's discomfort with McCain--he's essentially the embodiment of moral relativism)

Posted by Jeff Taylor | July 27, 2008 11:26 AM

Hmm. This could explain why McCain thinks Romney is a compatible VP candidate-- Romney's "I was a moderate, but now I'm whatever it takes" would fit well into McCain's campaign.

Posted by MattF | July 27, 2008 11:33 AM

This is something the whole country needs to deal with for the sake of its mortal political health--but Obama and all who support him are the ones who have to do it in the first instance: The Rovian GOP cannot continue to make the accusation that we are less patriotic, and less American, than they are. It corrodes the deepest fibers of a rational polity and a functional civil society.

It has to be met with anything and everything short of violence. But it should be met with serious rhetorical violence--spelled out, demonstrated, and condemned in absolute terms. This country cannot tolerate this level of demonization and denigration--it makes a mockery of everything from collegiality on Capitol Hill to the civic piety that electoral losers have traditionally expressed in embracing their victors.

It also makes a mockery of a political press that continues to pretend that it's all a game--it's like when people used to tell nakedly racist jokes and then say, "Oh, I didn't really mean it, it was just a pose for a laugh." That's the Rovian response to really being called out on the patriotism slur. It needs to be met with yet another savage counterargument that it's absolutely unacceptable, even as a joke.

These people, wrapped in the flag, have led this nation into ruin on every policy front, desecrated the very idea of patriotism, and grievously assaulted the Constitution. If anything, they are the real enemies of the republic for which we stand.

Posted by elle loco | July 27, 2008 11:42 AM

Isn't Chait flip-flopping himself? He wrote an article a few days ago singing McCain's praises.

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | July 27, 2008 11:43 AM

But flip-flopping and lying about your opponent has no downside at all. IOKIYAR. The corporate media would never ever dream of pointing out McCain's hypocrisy and lies.

Posted by John McCain: More of the Same | July 27, 2008 11:45 AM

McCain is no flip flopper. He's remarkably consistent. His "platform" has always been:

If it's not about blowing things up or making a woman's uterus property of the state, I don't give a flying fuck. Kill as many men, women, children, and babies already born as possible, but leave the unborn out of it. Anything else, I don't care enough to be arsed to remember what I said about it yesterday, much less last week, last year, or before, so I'll just say whatever seems politically expedient or whatever plays to my current audience.

To be a true flip-flopper you have to have principles that you betray for political expediency. If there's one sure thing about McCain it's that he never had any principles to betray.

Posted by R Johnston | July 27, 2008 12:02 PM

Isn't Chait flip-flopping himself? He wrote an article a few days ago singing McCain's praises.

I'd characterize it as a make-up call.

Posted by southpaw | July 27, 2008 12:10 PM

The media has been really unfair to Obama on this trip around the world. They know why he had to do it. Everybody knows why he had to do it. Heck, McCain even challenged to do it. So he does it, and they jump down his throat. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't. But I think overall, it will be a plus for him and a negative for McCain. I think the media is going overboard in their criticisms of Obama in an effort not to be painted as liking him too much.

And nobody ever points out how much more class he has than McCain, not stooping to McCain's level. McCain has been one huge disappointment this campaign. I thought it would be two decent politicians with integrity going up against each other. Instead, he's made it very boring -- a boob who seems to know even less than Bush about anything, and a man with grace, brilliance, savvy (and yes a little hubris, but given his gifts, I think he has less than McCain does.).

And when McCain pats himself on the back by lauding his own "courage," which is his own word for his stance on the surge, does anybody jumpt down his throat for hubris? No.

But doing what you have to do to appear presidential when everybody's questioning your readiness to be president, is hubris. Go figure.

And the other thing, I find amazing is how the press kept anticipating gaffes from Obama. WHy? He's made so few this campaign, and the only major one was behind what he thought were closed doors. He's never been anything but intelligent and diplomatic. Which is a hell of a lot more than one can say about McCain, who comes off at the more immature of the two.

Posted by cnnr | July 27, 2008 12:11 PM

One thing that should become obvious as this race goes on, and McCain gets more and more unscripted exposure:

John McCain is just not very smart.

He isn't smart enough to know that what he says on one day is inconsistent with his espoused position on another; he's too dumb to be disingenuous.

Posted by McKingford | July 27, 2008 12:18 PM

Kinda like a con man who calls himself Honest John?

Posted by mim | July 27, 2008 12:45 PM

"And nobody ever points out how much more class he has than McCain, not stooping to McCain's level."

All of the people who know and believe this, like me, are probably already Obama supporters, as I am.

Posted by Brian | July 27, 2008 12:50 PM

"And nobody ever points out how much more class he has than McCain, not stooping to McCain's level."

All of the people who know and believe this, like me, are probably already Obama supporters, as I am.

Posted by Brian | July 27, 2008 12:51 PM

"And nobody ever points out how much more class he has than McCain, not stooping to McCain's level."

All of the people who know and believe this, like me, are probably already Obama supporters, as I am.

Posted by Brian | July 27, 2008 12:52 PM

Why in the world would McCain not adopt the Bush tactics that beat McCain in 2000? McCain will run the same campaign against Obama that Bush ran against McCain in South Carolina. It's gonna be ugly, painful and degrading. But think of Bush's results in 2000 and 2004. Be. Very. Afraid.

Posted by EL | July 27, 2008 12:52 PM

But flip-flopping and lying about your opponent has no downside at all

It's not lying, it's serving a higher truth.

If an utterance serves the Party, and promotes its unique role as anguard of the Revolution, then it's true.

The notion of truth meaning 'in conformity to external realuty' is an outdated, bourgeois relic, to be consigned to the dust heap of history.

Correctly oriented cadres -- and that included the McCain campaign -- understand this.

And Sailing the Seas still Depends on the Helmsman.

Posted by Davis X. Machina | July 27, 2008 12:58 PM

I agree the Rovian approach is unlikely to work to McCain's benefit, just as it failed to work in 2006. The American people just aren't in the mood, and it stinks of desperation in any event.

Posted by DTM | July 27, 2008 1:20 PM

McCain has become a loathesome politician...at least as easily disliked as Bush, Cheney, Delay, etc.

In fact, McCain is basically morphing into another Romney, of all people. He's just willing to say whatever if he thinks it will benefit him...and the media do not do their job in adequately holding him accountable.

Posted by cm | July 27, 2008 1:54 PM

"Presumptuous" is just another word for "uppity."

Only in the minds of race-obsessed liberals.

"It corrodes the deepest fibers of a rational polity and a functional civil society."

If those on the left really wanted more civility, they could stop calling President Bush or anyone else who disagrees with them Nazis, racists, etc.

Posted by USA_Patriot | July 27, 2008 2:44 PM

Oh, and what was false in the McCain ad? Yglesias failed to defend his assertions.

Posted by USA_Patriot | July 27, 2008 2:48 PM

If those on the left really wanted more civility, they could stop calling President Bush or anyone else who disagrees with them Nazis, racists, etc.

Could you kindly take the strawman's member out of your mouth, USA_P? (or is it U_SAP?). It's unseemly.

Posted by a1 | July 27, 2008 3:17 PM

Thank you for so quickly demonstrating my point, a1.

Posted by USA_Patriot | July 27, 2008 3:26 PM

Hey, USA_Patriot.
There are plenty of honorable conservatives that aren't "Nazis, racists, etc." Sort of like there are plenty of liberals who aren't amoral, immoral, unpatriotic, etc. It works both ways.
Or it should.

McCain didn't get this backlash from the left until he jettisoned the pretense of honor and integrity. The right of course knew this about him all along because until now he was still trying to work his way out of the Republican minor leagues. Now that he, McCain, actually matters outside of his party, we're paying close enough attention to see just how adrift he is without a moral compass, rudder, or anchor.

McCain may not be any of those really awful things you listed but he's willing to betray his country, our troops, his party, his wife, etc. as he indulges in life without commitment to honesty or justice.

Maybe he'll pull himself back but until then it's simply accurate to question his integrity and call him out for his lack of honor.

Posted by Jeff Taylor | July 27, 2008 3:33 PM

What you said is completely nuts, Jeff.

Posted by USA_Patriot | July 27, 2008 3:42 PM

I am genuinely curious if other candidates in the past have had so many campaign activities labeled "presumptuous", "arrogant", and so on. Because offhand it does seem to me like Obama gets an unusual amount of that.

Of course race is not the only possible explanation, even if he does get more of this than usual. For example, he is also somewhat young (and even younger-looking), and he also has a relatively short resume at the federal level. So, one could also hypothesize the relevant attackers are just trying to underline these factors.

But of course this isn't mutually exclusive with race (e.g., "arrogant young man" and "arrogant young black man" are both possibilities for the subtext). And I wouldn't put it past certain people to put this stuff out with the idea that some people would see it as code for age, but others for race as well, and not have a problem with that.

But anyway, I would be interested to start with the factual question, which is whether Obama really does get attacked in this particular way more than usual.

Posted by DTM | July 27, 2008 3:50 PM

Re USA_Patriot

I don't think that President Bush is a Nazi or a racist or a gay basher. However, it is certainly true that he is a draft dodging, coke snorting, pot smoking, lying drunk.

Posted by SLC | July 27, 2008 3:56 PM

"why is obama awol on this? why is he not attacking McCain on this?" - Posted by gregor @11:14 AM

You know what they say. Never argue with a fool. They'll just drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. This ad doesn't need a direct response. The Obama camp has proven that they know how to counterpunch. I don't think the McCain camp will like the backlash that this ad will generate.

I'm not sure why they've gone this negative this early, but it's clear that Obama is solidly inside of McCain's head.

Posted by dannity | July 27, 2008 3:57 PM

"why is obama awol on this? why is he not attacking McCain on this?" - Posted by gregor @11:14 AM

You know what they say. Never argue with a fool. They'll just drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. This ad doesn't need a direct response. The Obama camp has proven that they know how to counterpunch. I don't think the McCain camp will like the backlash that this ad will generate.

I'm not sure why they've gone this negative this early, but it's clear that Obama is solidly inside of McCain's head.

Posted by dannity | July 27, 2008 3:57 PM

I don't think so, USA_Patriot.

I'm a veteran. I know that Barack Obama has made it his way to honor, show appreciation for, and support our troops. McCain dishonors the troops that have felt honored, appreciated, and supported by Obama when he says they've been played.

Who is McCain to speak for them or to even have a clue about them and what Obama means to them?

If McCain respected them, he could do what Obama does and acknowledge that McCain honors them in his own way or McCain could simply take an agnostic stance consistent with his lack of real certainty about how Obama relates to the troops. Instead he spits on Obama's show of support--which is in a sense spitting on those troops who believe in it and value it.

That's surely not McCain's intent but it's what he's doing out of lack of regard for what Obama's efforts mean to them.

Posted by Jeff Taylor | July 27, 2008 4:06 PM

wasn't chait all kissy kissy about McCain just the other day? (I may be misidentifying someone, all TNR writers look alike to me)

Posted by bdbd | July 27, 2008 4:15 PM

Is this a kiddie fight. The man should know better than to question the only candidate to step up and put forth an inquiry into the treatment in Walter Reed Hospital when they returned. Months and months of waiting for a doctor, with shells and bombs ringing in their heads.

McSame just like Bush, voted against the bill and Bush who threatened to veto the bill, unless the Iraq debaucle Funds were sent to him, need to STFD

Sit the F down and let the younger smarter leaders yearning to set this American course to rights.

This guy couldn't even answer an e-mail. Suppose someone or a leader wants to disguss something related to AlQueida, and wanted to talk about it one on one, right now and left an e address. He would have to let someone else on his staff, do the typing and sending.

Can't hit the floor running, if you can't type a response back. Why doesn't he take the time to even learn.?

Ahhhh!

No more republiKlan drama
A vote for Change is a vote for Obama!!

Posted by Kim VA | July 27, 2008 5:01 PM

Is this a kiddie fight. The man should know better than to question the only candidate to step up and put forth an inquiry into the treatment in Walter Reed Hospital when they returned. Months and months of waiting for a doctor, with shells and bombs ringing in their heads.

McSame just like Bush, voted against the bill and Bush who threatened to veto the bill, unless the Iraq debaucle Funds were sent to him, need to STFD

Sit the F down and let the younger smarter leaders yearning to set this American course to rights.

This guy couldn't even answer an e-mail. Suppose someone or a leader wants to disguss something related to AlQueida, and wanted to talk about it one on one, right now and left an e address. He would have to let someone else on his staff, do the typing and sending.

Can't hit the floor running, if you can't type a response back. Why doesn't he take the time to even learn.?

Ahhhh!

No more republiKlan drama
A vote for Change is a vote for Obama!!

Posted by Kim VA | July 27, 2008 5:02 PM

SLC,

Thank you also for demonstrating my point.

Posted by USA_Patriot | July 27, 2008 5:22 PM

What a thug McCain is. What a complete piece of shit, totally without "honor." The worst American in history. In any sane nation, McCain would be torn limb from limb by an angry mob.

And supporters such as "USA_Patriot" would deserve a bullet in the back of the head, except that such a fate is far too good for them.

Posted by voice of reason | July 27, 2008 6:19 PM

Re USA_Patriot

As Samual Johnson once said, patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Posted by SLC | July 27, 2008 6:23 PM

McCain "flip-flops" for EXACTLY the same reason that Bush makes verbal gaffes - they don't give a shit about YOU.

They say anything because they know YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!

You can't do anything about Bush because he's President and has a daddy who works for the Saudis and the Carlyle Group.

You can't do anything about McCain because the Powers That Be - the oil companies, the military-industrial complex, the banks, the Saudis and the Israelis - have anointed him the next President of the United States and the MSM will do anything they must to insure that.

So they don't have to say anything that makes sense.

Their attitude is like that of a prison inmate: "I said it. And I hope you don't like it. Now what are you going to do about it?"

It's called arrogance.

It's also called "alpha male" behavior. And the US electorate knuckles under it every single time because that's what chimpanzees do.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | July 27, 2008 9:41 PM

Thank you for so quickly demonstrating my point, a1

Oh, and what "point", pray tell, did I just confirm, USAP? Personally, I'm not expecting civility, honesty or decency from you or McCain. No one expects those from an Internet troll, but they *might* like those things in a presidential candidate. But since someone, somewhere, called Bush a bad name, I guess that's too much to ask of McCain. Right, U SAP?

Posted by a1 | July 27, 2008 10:57 PM

So, once again, what exactly did McCain lie about?

Posted by Big Guy | July 27, 2008 11:29 PM

I hate to revive the war with the Clintons -- well, actually, mostly Bill -- but remember when Bill extolled McCain in January or February saying that Hillary and he (McCain) liked each other so much they would have trouble running against one another?

What is to like about McCain? Remind me.

Posted by RaymondA | July 28, 2008 12:30 AM

One more thing: All those New Yorker cover parodies, with McCain hobbling around in a walker and a head bandage fist bumping a pill-popping Cindy? Again, they showed way too much deference. The equivalent of the foaming at the mouth stereotype of the Obamas should have been McCain not fist bumping Cindy but fist bumping the lobbyist he boinked, with Cindy perhaps off in the corner popping pills out of despair.

Posted by LDuncan | July 28, 2008 1:40 AM

It must be tough backing an inexperienced, bumbler like the Obamessiah. He's not experienced enought to be a good Senator, let alone the president. McCain was right about the surge, it's time you folks got over it.

Posted by Tim | July 28, 2008 8:05 AM

I give your performance art piece a solid 7 out of 10, Tim. Suggestions for improvement:

* Replace "folks" with a more pejorative term such as "moonbats" or "lefties"

* Instead of an inoffensive moniker like "Tim," try a more over-the-top handle such as "LibKiller" or "Cap'n Patriotism"

* Repeatedly demand "refutation" of an ad about Obama not visiting the troops that uses video of Obama playing basketball with the troops to demonstrate that you too have McCain levels of stupidity and / or dishonesty.

These tips will make your attempts to mockingly imitate conservative trolls more convincing.

Posted by mds | July 28, 2008 10:15 AM

The Obama campaign's response was to call the McCain ad "wildly inappropriate". That's showing them!

Or maybe not. When your opponent says something outrageous about you and your response is to call it "inappropriate", what your saying is that your opponent's attack is arguably true, but a low blow. Why would the Obama camp react this way? If the accusation about television cameras is a lie, why not call it a lie? Why all the mealy mouthed language about it. Frankly, wildly inappropriate better describes the Obama camp's response.

Posted by Rob Mac | July 28, 2008 12:08 PM