shawnaroo's Blogtag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/shawnaroo//20092008-09-10T17:00:47ZMovable Type Pro 4.21-enQuestion their integrity.tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk//17.2154252008-09-10T17:00:47Z2008-09-10T17:00:47Z The news media is still reluctant to flat out call McCain/Palin on their lies, but I don't see how they could ignore it if Obama just stood up and said it. There'd be some blowback about honor and all...shawnaroo
The news media is still reluctant to flat out call McCain/Palin on
their lies, but I don't see how they could ignore it if Obama just
stood up and said it. There'd be some blowback about honor and all
that, but seriously, all the facts are on Obama's side. And it won't
just come down to he said/she said, because there's endless video clips
of McCain/Palin saying all of this stuff. The Daily Show has already
compiled it all for pete's sake, all Obama's campaign needs to do is
find a way to get it in front of the eyes of more Americans. You have
to get the media to show it.
The media doesn't want to show it because they've been a part of it for
these past 8 years. They know, deep down, that they've been conned
pretty heavily by the republican party. They just don't want to take
the blame for the failings. What we need to do is help them shovel all
that blame onto the GOP. Turn that shame that they're trying to hide
from into anger and distrust towards the people who lied to them.
Obama could give them that out. Here's basically what I think he should say.
--
John McCain has been quick to tell everyone how different he thinks he
is from President Bush. Yet on almost every serious issue that's come
to a vote, John McCain has voted right in lockstep with his party, with
the neocons, and with George Bush.
But enough about the issues for now. Our campaign has already come out
on top on issues, John McCain's campaign has flat out said that they
don't want this to be about issues, they want it to be about character.
So let's talk about character. Over the past day or so, John McCain has
been complaining that a reference that I made to lipstick was sexist.
He was plainly twisting my words, but it was almost funny to see how
upset he acted about it. And seeing how he reacted to a controversy that he made up, I'm sure he's going to be
very angry about what I'm about to say.
I am questioning his integrity. I am questioning the integrity of his running mate, Sarah Palin.
The Bush administration has repeatedly lied to the American people.
They lied repeatedly in order to convince us to support an invasion of
Iraq. They told us that Saddam Hussein was just moments away from
nuclear weapons. He wasn't. They told us that he had giant stockpiles
of chemical and biological arms. He didn't. They repeatedly alluded to
links between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of 9/11. There were no
such links.
They told us that Iraq would be easy. A cakewalk even. They told us
that oil revenues would allow Iraq to pay for its reconstruction
itself. We were told that this would help keep the price of oil low,
and stabilize the entire middle east. And years ago, George Bush even
stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and told us that the mission
had been accomplished.
John McCain was lockstep in agreement with all of these lies, the entire way.
And, I'm sorry to see that Mr. McCain's disregard for the truth has continued as he's campaigned for president. I am amazed, not only by the amount of flat-out
lies that have come from his campaign, but also the sleaziness that
we've seen. One of his most recent ads states that I want to force
sex-education on kindergarden school children. Seriously. That is what
John McCain is saying about me. He knows it's not true. But just like
the Bush administration before him, he will tell the American people
lies in order to achieve his goals. This man, who loves to talk about honor and character, he has gone on television and told the american people that I want to teach your five-year-olds about sex. He is under no illusions that it's accurate. He wants you to believe something that is not true so that you'll vote for him to be President. He's trying to con you. Where is the honor in that?
His running mate is no better. She is the governor of Alaska, which
receives the highest per-capita amount of federal money out of all the
50 states that make up the USA. And yet, she has the audacity now, to
stand behind a podium, look the American people in the eye, and tell
them that she's against federal spending. She became the mayor of a
hardworking Alaskan town of 9000 people and left them with over 20
million dollars worth of new debt. And yet she has looked you in the
eye and said that she's a fiscal conservative. (Continue with the whole
bridge fiasco, the access road, hiring lobbying firms, etc.)
---
I can't remember exactly when it was, but I remember watching video of
a congressional hearing where Condoleezza Rice was being questioned,
and somewhere in the middle of it she said (paraphrasing) "Are you
questioning my integrity, I'll answer your questions but how dare you
question my integrity?" And the congressmen backed off a little. There
needs to be a watershed moment where someone stands up and says yes I'm
questioning your integrity. And more importantly I'm accusing you a
severe lack of integrity. You have knowingly and purposefully lied to
the American people. You have betrayed our trust.
"Integrity" seems to be one of those taboos of political discourse, and
it's a really destructive taboo. I understand that politicians are
often put on the spot, and can say things that aren't 100% accurate, it
happens to everyone. That plus the nature of political compromise can
make it easy for an opponent to twist your words to make you look
dishonest. I'm guessing that's the genesis of the Integrity taboo. But
there's a big difference between occasional gaffes (that are called out
anyways, just while avoiding saying "he lied."), and the sort of
systematic misleading of an entire country that we've seen from Bush
and co.
I doubt that Obama is squeaky clean, and no doubt the McCain camp could
dig up some videos where he's contradicted himself, or stated facts
that weren't entirely correct. But we've got stacks of lies that are way worse from McCain and Bush, (they've generally spread the same lies). Americans are feeling the effects of those lies. Our foreign policy is a mess, our progress in Afghanistan is falling apart, our economy is perched on the edge of a cliff, people are losing their jobs. Those lies have mattered, they have hurt us, and yet John McCain has no problem continuing to lie to us.