At a Friday night fundraiser, Barack Obama warned supporters that Republicans "are going to try to scare people. They're going to try to say that 'that Obama is a scary guy.'" Someone in the crowd shouted, "Don't give in." Obama shot back: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.".... The next day, John McCain's campaign capitalized on Obama's wisecrack to announce that the gloves are off, declaring in an emailed statement: "Barack Obama's call for 'new politics' is officially over. In just 24 hours, Barack Obama attacked one of America's pioneering women CEOs [McCain supporter Carly Fiorina], rejected a series of joint bipartisan town halls, and said that if there's a political knife fight, he'd bring a gun."
I keep hoping against hope that the looming Presidential campaign will be one that we can be proud of...but it appears that my naivete is once again betraying me. By all indications, the McCain campaign is looking any sliver of justification that the can use to rationalize reducing this campaign season to the usual mud-slinging and pointless personal attacks. Perhaps this is merely indicative of McCain's troops recognizing that they got nothin'- they can't compete on the issues, they have no ideas. so they're really on left with that good ol' Republican standby: personal attacks, questioning their opponent's patriotism, and painting those who oppose them as evil, America-hating Libruls who would rather turn this country over to terrorists than to allow the real men (i.e.- Republicans) to take care of the dirty work of keeping our Homeland safe and secure. My fear is that the Obama campaign will feel the need to respond in kind, thus ceding the moral high ground and in effect handing McCain a moral victory.
You'd think that with so many pressing issues facing this country, good people on both sides of the ideological divide would be able to come together and discuss our differences- as well as what we all have in common. We all want our country to be safe, secure, and prosperous. We all want our children to have opportunities to achieve their dreams and have a better life than we've had. What we may differ on is how we go about achieving those goals. There's no magic formula, and neither side has a monopoly on the most correct path. Unfortunately, it's beginning to appears as if the McCain campaign- despite their man's promises to take the high road- is about to unleash the dogs of war and turn the next four-plus months into just another mudslinging marathon.
Then again, when you have nothing to offer, and winning is not only everything, but the ONLY thing, I imagine that you'll be willing to do whatever it takes to win. The fact that this may not be the best thing for the country we all profess to love seems completely beside the point...because it's all about winning.
Same as it ever was.
