McCain finally got back in the headlines by suspending a staffer today for posting a video about Obama and his pastor Wright. Apparently aired on YouTube, the video implied that Obama was somehow unpatriotic and included the now recognizable clips of the Reverend's sermons.
What is interesting here though, is not the scandal of the video, but the stance that McCain is taking. He is touting, publicly, that he will not engage in personal attacks with Democrats. Does he expect us to forget his campaign against Mitt Romney. Granted, Obama and Clinton are distracting enough but you cannot imagine the people who are truly passionate about politics to forget the heated debates where Huckabee pleaded to be heard with comments such as: "I didn't come here to umpire a ballgame between these two [McCain and Romney]... I came to take a swing at a few myself."
I do not think this is an attempt to gain media attention; he did the right thing to refute his staffer's opinions. I do think that he his choosing his words a little too carefully. We have seen him succumb to personal attacks before so why would that be different when he is facing opponents that aren't even a part of his own party? It seems like he might be trapping himself.
No one should ever intentionally say things meant only to hurt feelings or point out baseless flaws, but occasionally there are aspects of a person's life that should be highlighted in order to get a better view of the whole picture. By promising not to use personal comments in debate, he may be gaining some short term publicity and respect for his ethical decisions, but he will be limiting himself in the future at best, and at worst, he will be condemned as a hypocrite. This is a lofty strategy and one that could come back to haunt him.
2 comments:
Kudos to McCain for disciplining the staffer. I agree, this comment could come up to bite him in the general election. That is a black-and-white statement, that he will not personally attack Clinton or Obama. But it will only hinder his chances if he actually, all of a sudden, goes personal and negative. With so much subjectivity applied to what constitutes a personal attack, he will still have some flexibility with his approach to casting a negative light on his Dem opponent. In my opinion however, I believe McCain's word. He does not strike me as one to "go there," he never retaliated in kind when the Bush-Rove team was doctoring a ludicrous accusation that he fathered an illegitimate black child, which is about the lowest of lows. I think character will be a central theme to the fall debates, but McCain will tout his unmatched years of service to this country rather than degrade his opponent's character. And I would expect Clinton and Obama to do the same.
Campaign 2008 is becoming somewhat drab. Are there no more pertinent topics to discuss in the political arena of America?
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