A Conservative Republican's Ultimate Put Down of the McCain/Palin Ticket.....

"McCain lacks the character and temperament to be president. And Palin is simply a disgrace"

I used to nod wisely when people said: "Let's discuss issues rather than personalities." It seemed so obvious that in politics an issue was an issue and a personality was a personality, and that the more one could separate the two, the more serious one was. After all, in a debate on serious issues, any mention of the opponent's personality would be ad hominem at best and at worst would stoop as low as ad feminam.

At my old English boarding school, we had a sporting saying that one should "tackle the ball and not the man." I carried on echoing this sort of unexamined nonsense for quite some time—in fact, until the New Hampshire primary of 1992, when it hit me very forcibly that the "personality" of one of the candidates was itself an "issue."

In later years, I had little cause to revise my view that Bill Clinton's abysmal character was such as to be a "game changer" in itself, at least as important as his claim to be a "new Democrat." To summarize what little I learned from all this: A candidate may well change his or her position on, say, universal health care or Bosnia. But he or she cannot change the fact—if it happens to be a fact—that he or she is a pathological liar, or a dimwit, or a proud ignoramus. And even in the short run, this must and will tell.

On "the issues" in these closing weeks, there really isn't a very sharp or highly noticeable distinction to be made between the two nominees, and their "debates" have been cramped and boring affairs as a result. But the difference in character and temperament has become plainer by the day, and there is no decent way of avoiding the fact.

Last week's so-called town-hall event showed Sen. John McCain to be someone suffering from an increasingly obvious and embarrassing deficit, both cognitive and physical. And the only public events that have so far featured his absurd choice of running mate have shown her to be a deceiving and unscrupulous woman utterly unversed in any of the needful political discourses but easily trained to utter preposterous lies and to appeal to the basest element of her audience.

McCain occasionally remembers to stress matters like honor and to disown innuendoes and slanders, but this only makes him look both more senile and more cynical, since it cannot (can it?) be other than his wish and design that he has engaged a deputy who does the innuendoes and slanders for him.

I suppose it could be said, as Michael Gerson has alleged, that the Obama campaign's choice of the word erratic to describe McCain is also an insinuation. But really, it's only a euphemism. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear had to feel sorry for the old lion on his last outing and wish that he could be taken somewhere soothing and restful before the night was out.

The train-wreck sentences, the whistlings in the pipes, the alarming and bewildered handhold phrases—"My friends"—to get him through the next 10 seconds. I haven't felt such pity for anyone since the late Adm. James Stockdale humiliated himself as Ross Perot's running mate. And I am sorry to have to say it, but Stockdale had also distinguished himself in America's most disastrous and shameful war, and it didn't qualify him then and it doesn't qualify McCain now.

The most insulting thing that a politician can do is to compel you to ask yourself: "What does he take me for?" Precisely this question is provoked by the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. I wrote not long ago that it was not right to condescend to her just because of her provincial roots or her piety, let alone her slight flirtatiousness, but really her conduct since then has been a national disgrace.

It turns out that none of her early claims to political courage was founded in fact, and it further turns out that some of the untested rumors about her—her vindictiveness in local quarrels, her bizarre religious and political affiliations—were very well-founded, indeed. Moreover, given the nasty and lowly task of stirring up the whack-job fringe of the party's right wing and of recycling patent falsehoods about Obama's position on Afghanistan, she has drawn upon the only talent that she apparently possesses.

It therefore seems to me that the Republican Party has invited not just defeat but discredit this year, and that both its nominees for the highest offices in the land should be decisively repudiated, along with any senators, congressmen, and governors who endorse them.

I used to call myself a single-issue voter on the essential question of defending civilization against its terrorist enemies and their totalitarian protectors, and on that "issue" I hope I can continue to expose and oppose any ambiguity. Obama is greatly overrated in my opinion, but the Obama-Biden ticket is not a capitulationist one, even if it does accept the support of the surrender faction, and it does show some signs of being able and willing to profit from experience.

With McCain, the "experience" is subject to sharply diminishing returns, as is the rest of him, and with Palin the very word itself is a sick joke. One only wishes that the election could be over now and a proper and dignified verdict rendered, so as to spare democracy and civility the degradation to which they look like being subjected in the remaining days of a low, dishonest campaign.

By Christopher HitchensPosted Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, at 10:44 AM ET

As does Palin, 'Alaskan Independance Party' , anyone?

Oh and didn't McCain get publicly endorsed by that religious nutjob  'reverend' who said Katrina was punishment for New Orleans having a Gay Pride Parade ?

It's gonna be funny to see how the Repubs try to twist this...

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.

The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/mccain-transition-chief-a_n_134595.html

So basically, Obama merely has the middle name Hussein, that was given to him at birth and means nothing more than that, but the lobbyist McCain hired actually WORKED *for* Saddam Hussein? Ha!

So , now McCain has associated with terrorists ?

McCains campaign manager must be a Dem spy. It's the only thing that makes sense.

It's funny/sad how the 'Repubs' are expected to 'twist' while the Dems are allowed to simply 'deny & ignore'.  Having said that, Timmons' background should have been known to McCain if the article accurately describes his prior activities & he should never have hired him.

And Hitchens' arrogant, elitist Brit streak is now out in the open.

That translates into.. I know you are but what am I.

How about not being hypocrites?

He's not being a hypocrite, Hichens is an elitist prick.

All you need to know to ignore the rest of that cut and paste post...

Fact check me on my bios of those two candidates.  Go ahead.  Go for it.  I double dog dare ya! 

Neither does it mean they are not.

Usually, this is an issue of ideology rather than ignorance.  This allows people to buy into the most ridiculous accusations as long as there is one mentally ill person with a blog (right or left wing) preaching the conspiracy theory gospel.

However!

If someone believes Obama is a Muslim, they are IGNORANT of the facts as vetted by countless organizations for years.

If they believe he is a secret terrorist because he met one, they are IGNORANT of the very nature of politics, especially CHICAGO politics.

If they believe that EITHER candidate's pastor issues (and they BOTH have them) is the least bit relevant, then they are IGNORANT of the fact we all have crazy uncles that we still think of as family and friends, even if we don't agree with them.

Oh, and for the record, NO ONE is "born" a given religion, despite what all those "brainwashers from birth" would tell you.  To claim Obama is a Muslim because his dad was one, even though he was raised as a Christian by his mother and her family here in the US AFTER said father fled the scene is to condemn the son for the "sins" of the father. 

It's a shame we didn't hold GW to account for having the same name as his dad.  We'd have saved ourselves about $6 trillion and left a lot more people alive in the world.

Oh and don't forget, Bush Sr., Cheney, and Rumsfeld CREATED Saddam Hussein as a buffer when their patsy the Shah was overthrown.  Those boys were the best of friends and Saddam was our ally in the region before he went on the reservation and used the weapons we gave him against our other friends in the region.  The same men did the exact same pattern with Noriega, Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, etc. etc.  See a pattern?

Seanskycanadian: Right on.

Am I the only one who thinks Sarah Palin is an "optical Aleutian"?

Seanskycanadian & Dr J0622:  Right off.

The one good thing about letting this rant thread go on (thanks bradley) is you get to learn a lot more about some people. 

For example, Daiwa and bebi, seansky, snidely, etc. 

like blaming the current administration for the financial crisis

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/easescredit.asp

The Konservative Purge Has Begun.....