Maverickism

I'm confused.

If John McCain is truly the maverick we are bludgeoned into believing he is, why was it left to Bill Kristol the choice of Sarah Palin as running mate?

Much has been said and written about how McCain failed the very first executive test as a presidential wannabe: the choice of vice presidential candidate. Palin was a truly odd, and now obviously reckless choice, but at least we believed McCain himself had made the pick.

Curiouser and curiouser.

To The Reichstag!

Put Godwin aside, for the moment.

Consider the recent assertions by the McCain/Palin campaign that Senator Obama is "palling around with terrorists". It has been spoken by Palin at her rallies, spurring cries of "terrorist!" and "kill him!". The locals who introduce either candidate continue the disingenuous maneuver of using Obama's middle name every time they mention him, in an effort to paint him as "other". McCain has just released an ad for the web (which inevitably get lots of free air time on the various cable news programs - talk about return on the dollar!) which reaffirms that Obama is friends with a violent terrorist and "cannot be trusted" with the presidency.

They say this:



And people believe it:



I realize we are not in second grade any more, but go ahead and take a moment to read that over again, and really contemplate what it means. A major party candidate for the highest office in the land, and possibly the most powerful office on earth, is accusing his opponent of being a sworn enemy of his own country. That is exactly what those statements and ads amount to - an accusation of murderous treason on the part of a US Senator with aspirations on the presidency.

And those making these assertions know full well there is not a shred of truth in them.

So while I am not usually inclined to make a serious comparison between the Republican party and the Nazis, I am free to make it now, and it sticks. This is the "Big Lie" tactic, where one political party or figure asserts the other party or candidate is in fact, the enemy, a person who intends to commit treason and destroy his own country. Not content to frighten Americans with "the terrorists" from some foreign land, they have moved to equating a fellow serving senator with those who really would strap on a bomb or steal an airliner and murder American citizens. It is astonishing when you really consider the magnitude of the accusation, and the likely ripple effects it is engendering now that will be in play well after McCain loses the election and returns to the senate.

Bereft in this campaign without a policy leg left to stand on, they have descended to the lowest form of political discourse, beyond the usual shots at character involving hints and allegations of financial wrongdoing or sketchy family background. This entire "Obama is a terrorist" meme is directly on par with the "he's a Jew" or "he's a communist" labels used in Germany in the 1930's to paint people as enemies of the state and all good Germans everywhere. There is absolutely no substantive difference between what the Brown shirts were doing then, and what McCain, Palin, and their campaign surrogates are engaged in today.

Open mic night

I admit I am taking no small amount of glee in Republicans recent misfortunes, so many of which center around the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain's VP pick. Teen pregnancy aside (yes, abstain from ragging on the youngsters) she is the gift that keeps on giving, with an abuse of power investigation only the tip of the rotten ice berg.

Mike Murphy, a former McCain adviser, and Peggy Noonan, formerly a speech writer for Ronald Reagan and indubitably still in puppy love with him, are caught on an open microphone during a stint on MSNBC giving their assessments of the Republican National Convention.

The video with all of the unintended truthy goodness.

And for the video impaired, the transcript:

Chuck Todd: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.

(cut away)

Peggy Noonan: Yeah.

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PN: It's over.

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MM: I totally agree.

PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.

MM: Yeah.