Two weeks ago, it seemed Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter had just about had it with John McCain. The columnist said he’s “misread McCain,” who, it turns out, is “a surprisingly immature politician” who may not be “ready to lead.” Alter’s piece concluded that McCain had “mortgaged his precious personal honor.”
But underlying Alter’s argument is that McCain is still a good guy who’s been led astray by irresponsible advisors who’ve led him astray. McCain’s ugly campaign is “out of sync with the real guy
,” Alter said.
In his new column, Alter takes McCain to task for “making stuff up about Barack Obama,” and this time, Alter doesn’t make excuses for the Republican nominee.
As usual, news organizations are deeply afraid to say that one side is more negative than the other. Doing so sounds “unfair.” It’s much easier, and less controversial, to say that “both candidates” are being negative. That would be “balanced”, but also untrue. […]
[O]verall, and to his credit, Obama has not engaged in anywhere near the number of falsehoods as McCain.
For about a month, McCain’s campaign has been resorting to charges that are patently false. When Obama traveled abroad in July, to positive reviews, McCain decided he had to make attack ads that went far beyond the norm. In the past, plainly deceptive ads were the province of the Republican National Committee or the Democratic National Committee or independent committees free to fling mud that didn’t bear the fingerprints of candidates. But not this time. These smears come directly from the candidate.
The litany is no doubt familiar to those watching the campaign closely. McCain lied about Obama being responsible for gas prices. Then about Obama’s treatment of wounded U.S. troops in Germany. And then again about Obama’s tax policies.
[W]hen he resorts to these kinds of falsehoods, and casts such aspersions on his opponent’s patriotism, John McCain is no longer putting his country first. If he were, he would recognize that the interests of the nation require a relatively truthful campaign. To fulfill his image of himself, McCain should stop lying about his opponent. For a man with his claims to honor and integrity, that’s not too much to ask.
I think McCain has lost Jonathan Alter.
I’d just add that his column reminded me of the discussion we had a couple of weeks ago about what Obama can and should do about this. McCain has not only given up on a sense of decency, he’s given up on telling the truth altogether. He just doesn’t respect Americans enough to be straight with them, and doesn’t have the character to run an honorable race.
But for one candidate to call another a liar, regardless of merit, would be a very big deal. Jonathan Chait recently argued that Obama should do it anyway.
Thinking more about this McCain tire gauge lie, I’m wondering why Barack Obama doesn’t just outright call McCain a liar. All politicians spin
, some more aggressively than others, but McCain’s claim that Obama’s energy policy consists of urging people to inflate their tires is way beyond spin. can’t Obama flat-out say, “John McCain is lying. He’ll obviously say anything to get elected president. American can’t afford another president who has no regard for truth or the facts.”
McCain is only hanging in close in the polls because he’s seen as a straight-talking maverick. But he’s just lying about Obama’s energy plan every single day. He did it again today. Doesn’t this say something important about McCain’s character? Don’t the last eight years show us what happens when you campaign in the Rove style and then try to govern?
I certainly share Chait’s frustrations. It’s more than a little painful to watch a candidate lie
, repeatedly and without shame, even after having been corrected. Indeed, it’s not at all an exaggeration to argue that McCain’s entire campaign has been based almost entirely on a series of egregious falsehoods — about Iraq, energy policy, tax policy, Obama’s character, his own voting record, etc.
But Kevin argued, persuasively, against it.
Sure, Obama could say this. And considering both the depth and reach of Obama’s energy plan, which has been available for months, McCain’s lie is an especially egregious one. But would the press report it that way? Or would McCain claim that, come on, my friends, he was just joshing, and can’t that Obama guy ever take a joke? Perhaps, given the realities of today’s media environment, Obama’s choice of a more tempered response is the better approach after all.
Bob Somerby agrees that Obama is better off sticking to his current strategy.
In our view , Obama did a good job this week, batting aside that “childish” tire gauge stuff and turning the foolishness back on McCain. Getting people to inflate their tires isn’t Obama’s energy plan — but the McCain campaign had been pushing such notions. Though Dowd and Collins were puzzled by this, it was classic GOP politics — the politics of clownish ridicule. In response, Obama employed some ridicule of his own — and made some accurate statements:
“It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant…. You know, they think it is funny that they are making fun of something that is actually true. They need to do their homework. Because this is serious business. Instead of running ads about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they should go talk to some energy experts and actually make a difference.”
It’s dangerous for Obama to make claims about “lying.” (Under current rules of the game, Republicans are permitted to make that claim; Democrats not so much.)
There’s certainly nothing wrong with Chait’s recommendation. McCain is lying. McCain keeps lying. McCain’s sense of honor has been tossed aside
, leaving a compulsive liar who’ll say anything to win in its place. But were Obama to say so, I suspect the media would go berserk, insisting that Obama had “lost his cool,” let his “emotions get the best of him,” and maybe even “cracked under pressure.”