I had this one typed up last night but thought it might be overkill yesterday. If I start posting more than three or four entries in a day you’re going to think I don’t have a life. Well, that may be true, but I hate to be quite so obvious.
Here’s a response to McCain’s most recent dip in the muck: falsely accusing Obama of supporting comprehensive sex-ed to kindergartners (implying Obama supported teaching the full complement of sex ed to five year olds). This simply isn’t true.
This is a deliberately misleading accusation. It came hours after the Obama campaign released a TV ad critical of McCain’s votes on public education. As a state senator in Illinois, Obama did vote for but was not a sponsor of legislation dealing with sex ed for grades K-12.
But the legislation allowed local school boards to teach “age-appropriate” sex education, not comprehensive lessons to kindergartners, and it gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators…
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Tuesday of McCain’s ad: “It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls.”
Then there’s the dubious claim of sexism over the pig comment – a common idiom that McCain has used himself. Hell, am I the only one that thinks McCain is on shaky ground here, accusing someone of a disturbing trend of sexism, considering his long history of questionable comments? Many of his can’t be explained away… like that just plain disgusting joke about Janet Reno and Chelsea Clinton. You know, the one that resulted in apologies to then President Clinton, his cabinet, and a couple news organizations. And lets not forget McCain made the same reference when speaking of Hillary Clinton in October 2007. Pot meet kettle… only in this case McCain isn’t really a pot – more like a 35 gallon cauldron (assuming they make ’em that big).
Look, I’m assuming most of us can agree warning children away from sexual predators is a good thing. I’m assuming most of us can agree that joking about a politician’s daughter – and a minor at that, is flat out inexcusable. If we can agree on that much, perhaps you’ll entertain the notion McCain is a schmuck.
Meanwhile the McCain camp is giving themselves a big pat on the back. They’re seeing this stuff cause some movement in the polls, thanks to all of us – the lemmings of the political process. We’re lapping up his swill like milk laid out to a bunch of clueless, adoring puppies, and more is certain to be in the pipeline.
It’s gotten to the point that I don’t give a flip about his efforts at bipartisan reform – like campaign finance. Those were years ago now. The McCain of this election cycle has been a dirty politician without conscience. He’s lost a heck of a lot more than my vote. He’s lost my respect. Shame on him for stooping so low. Shame on you for listening.
What I have trouble with re: the Chelsea Clinton Joke is McCain has daughters himself. One is a few years younger than Chelsea, and probably meets the mainstream definition of beauty (such as it is), but when her father made this joke she was at a very impressionable age, and her father sent the message that Looks Matter, especially if you’re a girl.
McCain has another daughter who is now just at the age Chelsea was when he made his joke, but I can’t imagine anyone saying anything similar about her. And not just because families are (conveniently) off-limits in this campaign.