In light of the McCain campaign’s ridiculous new ad, the Obama campaign is sending around a speech John McCain delivered on the Senate floor in May 2007:
“How can we possibly find honor in using the fate of our servicemen to score political advantage in Washington? There is no pride to be had in such efforts. We are at war, a hard and challenging war, and we do no service for the best of us — those who fight and risk all on our behalf — by playing politics with their service.”
“How can we possibly find honor in using the fate of our servicemen to score political advantage in Washington?” How, indeed.
On a related note, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a conservative Republican who joined Barack Obama for the Middle East portion of last week’s trip, was asked this morning about the new McCain ad, as well as McCain’s assertion this week that Obama deliberately hopes for a U.S. military defeat. Hagel, a long-time McCain ally and the former co-chairman of McCain’s first presidential campaign, is unimpressed by his friend’s outrageous conduct.
“I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives and when we start to get into, ‘You’re less patriotic than me. I’m more patriotic.’ I admire and respect John McCain very much. I have a good relationship. To this day we do. We talk often. I talked to him right before I went to Iraq, as a matter of fact. John’s better than that.”
On the new ad, Hagel added, “I do not think it was appropriate.”
As for McCain being “better than that,” I used to hope so. In fact, I actually expected McCain to at least pretend to be better than this beyond the month of July.
No such luck.