As Senator McCain's poll numbers have dropped, the negativity of his campaign has increased and so has the level of hate that can be seen in his supporters. The covert racism of his and Palin's statements ("He's not one of us," "Pals around with terrorists," etc) has stoked the overt "Kill Him," "Bomb Obama," and people that bring Curious George dolls with Obama stickers on them to rallies. Hate begets hate and although McCain wished solely for the intensity of his base to increase (it did), it also provoked a negative reaction in the press and for the undecideds that are crucial for him to sway back into his corner. By the end of the week, he had to tell a woman in his crowd that Obama wasn't an Arab (why that would be bad, well, speaks volumes in and of itself) and he got booed for it.
So by the time the Sunday talk shows rolled around, the media that has started falling out of love with " The Maverick" media-hating McCain called him out on all the hate. When he went on CNN yesterday it was still a fancied topic and he was asked point-blank. His excuse for it? Another baseless attack of course!
From Crooks and Liars:
In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash Monday, John McCain actually said the following with a straight face:
BASH: Now, whether or not, since I know you've heard this during your rallies, since you have been talking about Ayers -- and your running mate has, also -- we've heard people in the crowd screaming things like "Terrorist!," "Traitor!," when you talked about Senator Obama -- and worse. When you hear that do you...
MCCAIN: I've heard the same thing, unfortunately, at Senator Obama's rallies being said about me. There's always a fridge element that's in politics in America. The overwhelming majority of the people that come to my rallies are good and decent and patriotic Americans. And if they're worried about this country's future, that's correct.
But to somehow -- to somehow intimate that of the thousands of people -- 17,000 people were just with us in Virginia. And to somehow intimate that the overwhelming majority of those people, with rare exception, are somehow not good Americans or are motivated by anything but the most patriotic motives, is insulting. And I won't accept that insult.
Like everyone else talking about it, no candidate can be responsible for everything being said with thousands of people around them. Yet the tone of the candidate and what they condone plays a major part. Barack Obama goes after McCain, but nothing resembles an ad hominem attack, everything is based on issues and ideas (or lack thereof). Obama inspires hope (he's attacked for that too) and a better way forward. You do not hear McCain being called a terrorist, or for him to be killed, or for camera operators that share his skin color to be screamed at with racial epithets.
It is possible for him to be associated with George Bush. It is possible for him to be called out for screwing the middle class by voting with the President 90% of the time. It is possible for him to be called out for lying about his record. There are many things we can yell out about McCain at an Obama rally. Yet nothing will ever come close to the racism on display at any given McCain or Palin event. Unless someone wants to prove it with actual videotape, no one is going to believe it.
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