Election Priorities

I had intentions of sharing a different post but my complete disgust in the McCain campaign has motivated this one. This is an all-time low. We’re headed down a shitty path. Today, McCain and Palin decided to revisit Jeremiah Wright, exploit Obama's middle name and accuse him of "palling around with terrorists.” They also seek to disregard the economy:

“If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose” said Rick Davis, a senior McCain campaign adviser, to the New York Daily News.

What happened to McCain's message of "Country First?"

In Southwest Florida, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott gave an introductory speech where he repeatedly emphasized Obama's middle name, Hussein. Following his remarks, Sarah Palin took the stage and attempted to connect Obama with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground member. One audience member was over heard yelling "kill him!" It is uncertain whether that remark was aimed towards Ayers or towards Obama.

But perhaps the most horrific of all these smears came at a McCain rally in Albuquerque, NM. McCain asked the audience "Who is the real Barack Obama?" At least one member replied "A terrorist!"

Upon watching the video, anger and fear overwhelmed me. It's sad enough when we have a society of citizens who have "no desire to educate themselves," as one friend put it. But it's even more disconcerting when we have leaders who feed and allow such statements to pass so they can score points with voters to win a political contest.

These unsavory comments, shameless attacks and racist implications have a potent effect on the American psyche that McCain and Palin probably don’t know about or don’t care to acknowledge. This kind of rhetoric justifies ignorance. It incites more intolerance and empowers hate mongers who should have no place in America’s dialogue for our next president.

It’s a sad and despicable state of affairs. And it comes after McCain himself acknowledged American's attitudes towards negative tactics. "America has already rejected this kind of campaigning" he said back in April.

All this reminds me of a quote I once read. That "our nation will never be invaded or defeated by an outside force. That if defeat comes, it will come from within."

The symptoms of the McCain/Palin strategy seem to reinforce the steps towards such a defeat. As American’s, combating ignorance and intolerance should be our priority internationally and certainly at home. Justice and understanding, always. Only then can we move forward as a nation and tackle the concrete issues before us.

Here's one last quote that brings us full circle and strikes me as the most poetic I've heard all day:

"I just have to rely on the good judgment of the voters not to buy into these negative attack ads. Sooner or later people are going to figure out. If all you run is negative attack ads, then you either don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it." - [The once respected] Sen. John McCain.


UPDATE - OCT. 10, 2008

This is exactly what I'm talking about - Rage in the Town of Bethlehem. The ramifications of such rhetoric is much greater and has lasting effects on the psychology of our society. These are reckless attacks aimed more at the individual and less at his policies. The issues are no longer front and center. The person is front and center. The person is the issue. A woman was asked outside a McCain rally - "Is Barack Obama a terrorist?" Answer: "He has the blood lines." Those feeble minds who feel threatened by a black man, with a Muslim name and a liberal voting record may feel a need to "save this country." This worries me.