Just a few days ago, after Barack Obama questioned John McCain’s record on women’s rights, a reporter asked the Republican nominee if he had any reaction. McCain almost sounded as if Obama had hurt his feelings: “You know I respect Senator Obama and I admire his success and I will conduct a respectful campaign. That kind of statement and allegation is not worthy of Senator Obama, nor worthy of the debate the American people want and deserve.”
What’s striking, though, is that for all of McCain’s talk about “respect” and a “respectful campaign,” his personal attacks against Obama are becoming increasingly common.
To be sure, Obama hasn’t exactly been playing bean-bag with the GOP candidate. The Democrat has been going after McCain on his misguided policy agenda and many policy reversals. But when it comes to personal issues, Obama is going out of his way to take the high ground, frequently referring to McCain as a “hero,” and admonishing those who argue differently (or are perceived to have argued differently).
McCain, meanwhile, is doing the exact opposite, avoiding issues (on which his positions are Bush-like and unpopular) and going after Obama’s personal integrity.
Yesterday, for example, after Obama rejected Wesley Clark’s assessment of McCain’s qualifications, the McCain campaign wouldn’t accept Obama’s denunciation: “Of course Barack Obama has called many times for a new kind of politics, but his campaign just hasn’t lived up to it. We’ve learned we need to wait and see what Senator Obama actually does, rather than take him at his word.” The comment went by largely unnoticed, but it’s as harsh an attack on a candidate’s character as we’ve heard from any major candidate this year.
Shortly thereafter, McCain was asked directly whether he questioned Obama’s patriotism. The appropriate response would have been, “Of course not.” Instead, McCain gave a circuitous response, and wouldn’t answer the question directly.
Questions of character have quietly entered the campaign, just over the last week or so, and McCain isn’t facing any real pushback at all.
To reiterate a point from the weekend, these personal attacks are not isolated — they appear to be part of a strategy.
John McCain, in his sharpest attack yet against rival Barack Obama, said the Democratic presidential candidate’s word “cannot be trusted.”
“This election is about trust — trust in people’s word, McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told several hundred donors at a $2 million GOP fundraiser in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday. “And unfortunately, apparently on several items, Senator Obama’s word cannot be trusted.”
McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, said Obama has gone back on his word by pledging to take public financing during the general election and then deciding not to do so. Obama on June 19 announced he won’t accept public financing for his presidential campaign, calculating that he can raise far more than the $84.1 million he would get in government funds. […]
[U]ntil yesterday McCain hadn’t accused Obama, 46, a first-term Illinois senator, of being untrustworthy. “I’ll keep my word to the American people. You can trust me,” McCain said.
The irony, of course, is that McCain said Obama “cannot be trusted” to keep his word the exact same afternoon in which McCain broke his promise to voters on immigration policy, and abandoned his own “pledge” to the public.
If McCain wants to criticize Obama for bypassing the public-financing system, fine. It’s odd, of course, given McCain’s apparently illegal decision to play fast and loose with the public-financing system, but if he sees this as a key issue, it’s up to him to craft his own strategy.
But does John McCain really want to talk about which candidate “cannot be trusted”? Or to borrow McCain’s phrase from yesterday, which candidate should not be taken “at his word”? Is this really an invitation to review the instances in which McCain has either lied to voters or broken his word?
We can make this campaign personal. It wouldn’t be pleasant, and it would make McCain look pretty bad, but if he wants to talk about honesty and character, we can go there. In fact, I’m reminded of this recent Arianna Huffington item about McCain “issuing heartfelt denials of things that were actually true.”
Or for that matter, take a look at the Official McCain Flip-Flop List. Most of the 48 reversals include John McCain promising voters he wants to go in one direction, and then promising them soon after that he wants to go in a completely different direction. He has a habit of making one pledge, and soon after, making the opposite pledge.
Indeed, on Friday, McCain took credit for the passage of a veterans’ bill he opposed, and on Saturday, McCain vowed to a group of Latino voters that he’d support an immigration bill he’s vowed to oppose.
“On several items, Senator Obama’s word cannot be trusted”? It’s a mistake to take Obama “at his word”?
First, I didn’t expect these kinds of attacks this early. McCain must be feeling a little desperate.
Second, I don’t have a background in psychology, but I’m pretty sure McCain’s attacks are a sign of “projection.”
And third, for every media sycophant who’s praised McCain for his “respectful” campaign style, and his commitment to stick “to the issues,” now would be a good time to realize that McCain is not the man you think he is.