President McCain Would Be Unable to Bring Civility Back to Washington
Sen. John McCain closed the deal last week in the final presidential debate. No, he didn't assure himself an upset victory on November 4.
Rather, he made certain that if he does beat the heavy odds, the Democratic majority in Congress will make life miserable for him in the White House. His attack mode of late has even turned off some allies while his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, has only poured gasoline on the fire. Democrats in Congress are not amused by this continuing spectacle.
No one doubts that both sides have turned this campaign into a nasty affair. The voters are telling pollsters they are sick of it, but the negative ads continue to saturate the TV screens morning and night.
The below-the-belt attacks on Obama have only intensified since the final debate. The robo-calls in swing states have no place in a presidential campaign. The dirty tenor of recent weeks was mentioned by former Gen. Colin Powell in his endorsement of Obama on Sunday.
Clearly, McCain has the most to lose here. The latest polls show voters of all stripes have little patience with these personal shots. Yet, McCain continued on that course in the final debate at Hofstra University. When he at times forgot about Joe the Plumber from Ohio, his new best friend, the senator from Arizona returned to the attack script.
Remember that Democratic gains in Congress are a near certainty on Election Day. Even stalwart GOP strategists count losses in the Senate and the House. The numbers vary in the many predictions, but all agree there will be losses.
In light of the McCain-Palin attacks, the Democrats will return to Washington ready for a fight if McCain pulls off the upset. There may be early talk of cooperation, but don't take it too seriously.
Pollster Peter Hart found in a recent Wall Street Journal-NBC poll that a third of the supporters in both camps have grown to detest the other. So much for the hope that civility might return to the White House and the halls of Congress. It will only get worse.
Further, if Barack Obama wins, the minority GOP will strive to knock him around. Don't look for any honeymoon period for an Obama-Biden administration or receptiveness to any mandate.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Both candidates vowed early to take the high road and stay away from mudslinging, but their allies were not listening and could hardly wait to get started at tearing down the principals.
In that last debate, it was disingenuous for McCain to claim he was the more wounded party in these exchanges. Ever since he chose Palin as his running mate, the campaign has grown uglier. In fact, Palin encouraged McCain to get personal at Hofstra and forget about the critics.
Viewers thus saw the grimaces and smugness of McCain compared to a laid-back and even smiling Obama. That contrast alone on split TV screens was a telling blow to McCain. Obama may have been on the defensive at times, but his rival's facial expressions were annoying to many viewers.
In the 2000 presidential debates, Democrat Al Gore was roundly criticized in the press for sighing at some of George W. Bush's answers. McCain's images on TV were far worse than any sighs.
Remember also in 2000 when McCain ran against then Governor Bush in the GOP primaries. He was smeared in a ruthless fashion in South Carolina by Bush's backers. His wife and adopted daughter from Bangladesh were targets.
Karl Rove, the architect of Bush's campaigns and now a media columnist, wrote that Obama has not closed the sale for victory. Coming from Rove, that means we should all prepare for a new mudslide in the closing days of this long contest.
Not a pretty picture.
Reader Comments
These Comments as Proof
The comments/responses to this story is proof of the hatred and vitriol the right-wing brings to the table. They attack without facts and attack without shame. There is no mystery why the country believes McCain is running a nasty dirty campaign - one only need to read these comments from his supporters. That's what happens, though, when you have no ideas and no credibility.
RL calls Obama a "socialist and morally bankrupt chameleon". What's the matter Mr Schaefer of CA, can't argue on the issues so you have to resort to name calling? Typical.
Lack of Civility Transcends Parties
I think we will find that even an Obama victory will produce a short honeymoon, followed by the usual rancorous blame game. The next president inherits a mess of collossal proportions, with plenty of blame to go around for both sides of the aisle. Obama, with his calm demeanor and steady temperament, may be best equipped to handle this.
As to the other rants among these postings, Obama's views on abortion are in line with those of most eduacated people. He is against partial birth abortion, with some exceptions. He most certainly would not advocate a babies death, if it was born alive during an abortion procedure, and yes, he would consider it a "punishment" to force a 14 or 15 year old girl to endure an unwanted pregnancy and try to cope with the responsibility of an infant. Most rational people would agree. Babies are a gift, but should likewise be born to those who are ready to accept and care for them responsibly. Too many babies come into the world without that protection, and if they are damaged by drugs or otherwise flawed, there are not enough adoptive parents willing to take them on.
Obamas tax plan would only increase the taxes by $750.00 for a person earning $250,000. Hardly the end of Capitalism as we know it! It merely returns the tax rate to where it was under Reagan and Clinton. With the huge deficits we are facing, this makes sense, at least for now.
A Little More Honesty
As an Independent, it has been extremely hard for me to put up with the media. The Candidates do what they always do -- discuss their strengths, so it is up to the other candidate to point out their weaknesses. This is not spite, and it is not "nastiness" or "uncivility." It is the candidates having to do the media's job for them! If you guys would look into the claims made by BOTH candidates, they would not have to run adds themselves.
Also it becomes insulting to us independents when we hear the media complain about "negative" or "attack" ads. DO YOUR JOBS, MEDIA!!! You should be exposing the flaws of the candidates!! When John McCain said in the FIRST debate that he would introduce a "spending freeze" in Washington to solve the financial problem, ask him some more questions about this!! What the heck does that mean?! Is it RossPerot-vian?! Which programs get cut? If we the American people are going to lose certain programs, how long does he expect us to "go without?"
When Barack Obama says "spread the wealth," why is it McCain's job to ask him questions about that? Why are you so damn fixated on Joe the Plumber when the rest of us just want to hear Sen. Obama explain himself. I have STILL not hear ANYONE in the media ask him any questions about this!! But I am damn sick of hearing about Joe the F'ing Plumber, all ready! Do any of you actually understand government?! It is impossible for McCain to vote "with Bush" as Sen. Obama claims in his ads -- Congress votes FIRST on bills, then the President votes. If anything Bush keeps voting with McCain! But then again, so does Kennedy and Fiengold!
Another thing... Both of these candidates talk about "reaching across the aisle." When I Google that, how I find zero articles by anyone in the media about either of these candidates being asked about how they will do that? I am sick of the unchecked rhetoric from both of them.
Is McCain really as squeeky-clean as the media is making out?? Why all the focus on Gov. Palin? Of the 4 people in the race she seems to be getting ALL -- and I do mean ALL -- of the attention! That is ASTONISHING! In the last 50 years, I cannot find a time where so much scrutiny and time was spent on the potential VP. The impression I am getting is that McCain is either untouchable or that nobody really does have any problem with him. That cannot be the case, can it?! The real battle seems to be Obama v. Palin. If that is not true, maybe you could help the rest of us out by actually running a "news campaign" (there is an idea) that focuses on Issues and Candidates. But the lack of interest in both shows us the media really knows neither!
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