Apparently nothing is off limits as McCain seeks to gain the White House. Much time is spent denigrating Barack Obama and trying to befuddle the public with a skewed vision of domestic and world events. With a nod to the religious right, it is clear no stone will be left unturned as he works to grind out a few more votes.
Supporters remain enthralled with the celebrity-drill-drill-drill gambit, since these efforts seem to be "working." And just in time to affect the final months of the campaign, Corsi's book arrives to dredge up every debunked tidbit about Obama in the same sort of broadside he unleashed against John Kerry in his book Unfit for Command. McCain, who criticized the Swiftboating of Kerry, has not taken exception to An Obama Nation.
In one of his ongoing assaults on Obama's integrity and patriotism McCain accuses him of trying to "legislate failure" in Iraq. Actually the failure occurred with the decision to invade Iraq in the first place when Congress abdicated its constitutional prerogative to declare war by granting war powers to the president. As one of the war's ardent supporters it is McCain, not Obama, who must share responsibility for our failed Iraq policy, with or without the much vaunted surge of which he is so proud.
Adding to the drama of the season, events in Georgia, a former Soviet satellite, have provided McCain with an opportunity to justify his recent bellicose comments regarding Russia. Why just a few months ago he was suggesting that Russia be thrown out of the G8, an informal amalgamation of countries that gathers to address such things as world health, energy, the environment and non-proliferation. Whatever might have given him such an idea? Some have described his observations as prescient, but there could just be a chance he learned of growing tensions in the region from advisor Randy Scheunemann, lobbyist for Georgia's government, and decided to use the information in his campaign as evidence of his superior foreign policy credentials.
Now, as the situation in Georgia's breakaway sectors deteriorates, McCain and the Bush White House have been trying to pressure Russia with whatever they can dream up to halt its deeper penetration into Georgia's heartland. Hey, how about threatening to throw them out of the G8? Strangely, in his remarks the other day, Bush spoke of the "G7" - - perhaps some entirely new organization? One is reminded of the Sondheim song "Send in the Clowns" which concludes, "don't bother they're here." The prospect of another president so unimaginative, so unenlightened and as retrograde in his world view as the one we have been encumbered with for two terms is disturbing in the extreme.
There is a déjà vu quality emanating from the McCain camp, an echo that sets memory bells to ringing. Seeking to turn the situation in Georgia to his advantage he said ponderously at one point, "today we are all Georgians" suggesting a national empathy with the people of Georgia, when most Americans didn't have a clue about its existence before it became front-page news. In any case didn't we hear similar thoughts expressed in Europe about us after 9/11 or from JFK in Berlin? Borrowing emotions ends up sounding a bit hollow just as McCain's disingenuous "my friends" in his speeches is an irritant to people who have no desire to be his friends.
This past weekend's stomach-churning affair with evangelical pastor Rick Warren addressing matters of faith with McCain and Obama was a puzzling event Why did it take place at all? Who thought it was a good idea for Obama to venture into hostile territory to talk about whether "evil" exists or when life begins? Obviously it was red meat for McCain who reiterated his opposition to abortion and said he wouldn't have nominated the four ‘liberal' or swing-voting justices to the Supreme Court. If elected he would undoubtedly nominate a series of Scalia clones.
What made this occasion unsettling, however, was that faith has become an acceptable campaign issue. With two Christian candidates in a Christian setting it could seem that Christianity is becoming the defining feature of our society. But we are a nation of people who practice many different faiths or no faith at all. Morality and ethical standards need not be defined by the religious precepts of any one discipline. It is important that all candidates keep this in mind and that we don't find ourselves trending toward advocacy of a state religion.
