A group of moderate evangelicals calling itself Matthew 25 is running an ad tonight during the joint appearance by John McCain and Barack Obama with evangelist Rick Warren in California. It’s all about Obama’s commitment to his family, and it damns McCain in a subtle but unmistakable way, as Bruce Tomaso observes:
McCain is never mentioned in the ad, but at one point, Caldwell says, "Throughout his entire career, Sen. Obama has stood by familes."
Caldwell’s wife, Suzette, seated next to him, responds: "Including his own."
Caldwell nods, smiles, and says, "Hmmmm."
I was particularly amused by the reaction from the McCain camp:
A Republican strategist speaking on the condition of anonymity reacted to the Caldwell comments by telling ABC News: "My advice to the Obama people: ‘proceed with extreme caution.’ They don’t want to get into a discussion of character and background. They are opening a door that they will not be able to close. They are putting on the table issues and personalities that they do not want to discuss."
Oh really?
Just for the record, here’s what John McCain did with his first family: When he returned from Vietnam, he found that his first wife, Carol, had been disfigured in an auto accident. He began cheating around on her, and eventually hooked up with his current wife, Cindy, when she was single and he still married. He then divorced the first wife.
McCain has dealt with it somewhat forthrightly, casting all the blame (appropriately) on himself. (Nicholas Kristof lays out what happened here.) He was estranged from his children as well, and did not reconcile with them until later.
But owning up to mistakes does not mean McCain ever could undo the stain on his honor from casting aside his first family in such a callous manner. McCain constantly talks about honor and integrity and good-feeling stuff like that.
But what kind of honor was that? And what does that tell us about his character?
Related posts:
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- Sotomayor: Now Media Heathers Want to Talk “Character”
- Health Care Reform: Democrats Can Honor Their Legacy, America’s Will, and Also Win Elections
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But Dave! Everyone KNOWS that McCain IS an HONORABLE man. After all, he was a P.O.W. so that makes it all OK. Right?
After all, he was a P.O.W. so that makes it all OK. Right?
Damn, dakine, I had to check the name on that comment. You channeling Hannity? *g*
I guess I should have closed the snark tag on that.
Umm….the same sort of “honor” that lets him support starting WWIII at the behest of the authoritarian leader paying one of McCain’s lobbyist-campaign staff?
S’all right man, I ’saw’ it. But that *was* Hannity’s defense for McCrazy’s adultery.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..o-edwards/
McC has no honor but he obviously has a complete distain for women. They are just objects to be used when he needs them. blegh !
Hell, not just Hannity – that’s the all purpose response whenever ANYONE calls BS on McCain about anything.
Pat Buchanan was ranting the other day (tautology?) about how McCrazy is so war-oriented that he’d make Dick Cheney “look like Ghandi”.
I wonder if somebody could talk JohhnyMac into a little photo-op with his head sticking out of a tank?
IIRC, it worked real well for the Repubs once before…
McCain didn’t even stand by his family in 2000. When Rove/Bush smeared him in South Carolina, accusing him of having a Black Child out of wedlock, and bringing up his wife’s pill problem, he did nothing, publicly or privately, and later embraced them as his only way to higher office.
Um, yeah, and not to mention that McCain has been cheating on Cindy since the first moment he got elected and went to Washington. Continuously. Somebody needs to do some inquiry into the young blonde girl working in his House of Representatives office around the time he first ran for and got elected to the Senate. Just a for instance.
And when McCain pimps out his wife to a bunch of drunken Hells Angels/bikers at Sturgis like Job’s* daughters…that’s honor, too.
May be Lot’s daughters…my OT [Old Testament] off-the-top-of-my-head recall may be fuzzy. RevDeb or RevBev or Peterr would know the annotation where the man offers up his daughters so the strangers won’t bother him.
Always seems like an apt analogy for the ol’ man. Either that or his aging roue Edwardsian self.
Or am I the only one who thinks Cindi and Vicki are the only blondes in McCain’s long life?
This, too.
yep, McCrazy’s got a lifetime pass on every single inane or evil thing he’s ever done after the Vietnam War.
Not that he’d ever
talk about ituse it or anything…time to go out and get the bicycle some exercise. later, y’all.
Oh really?
Just for the record, here’s what John McCain did with his first family: When he returned from Vietnam, he found that his first wife, Carol, had been disfigured in an auto accident. He began cheating around on her, and eventually hooked up with his current wife, Cindy, when she was single and he still married. He then divorced the first wife.
—————
please dont forget he let his bitcharama mother sued Carol,for some earrings she gave her,and a freakin”butlers tray”……….yucky peeps imo
One has to wonder if he treated his family that way how could he possibly give a shit about anyone.
This link gives a timeline to his affair and the total lack of awareness
as to what was going on by Mrs McShame I
Was just interupted by the Mathew 25 ad – wow
Hmmm. The Rethugs make a practice of going after their opponent’s perceived strongest point. Have we been overlooking the obvious? Like everything else they project because they know their person’s own perceived strong point is a paper thin sham?
Maybe the Abramoff crowd could enlighten us? Always with the lobbyists….
that was sue
McCain is simply another Republican monster. A serial liar whose only goal is power which he will use for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful in this country. He is most certainly not a hero of any sort. He is merely a survivor and a deeply corrupt, lying, piece of work out of the Republican mold.
I cannot believe that the Obama campaign seems to remain relatively quiet while this scumbag and his supporters continue to run negative ad after negative ad in the St. Louis market. It’s working. The chatter in our local McDonald’s is changing from pro-Obama to got to vote for McCain as the lesser of two evils.
Like Pelosi and Reid, it looks more and more as if Obama is going to maneuver to allow the Republicans to win.
Can’t see why any woman would fool around with McC. He is singularly unattractive – must have something I can’t see or else these women just like to be close to power.
good exercising to ya, jayt (and remember the helmet!)
Forgot the link that ad wow
http://www.latimes.com/news/pr…..9459.story
IOIYAR. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever. There’s always a good excuse if there’s an R after your name.
The letter D means there’s nothing you can do right. Ever. According to our modern pundits.
The interesting/slash amusing thing about the comments from the unnamed GOP ’strategist’ (Rove?) is that he/she makes it sound as if they have some really damning oppo research in the bag, but won’t unleash it unless provoked. Anything’s possible, but I find that a little hard to believe. I have to think that, if they had something, they’d already have rolled it out.
Instead, they keep playing these moronic ‘celebrity’ commercials and lying about Obama’s record on taxes.
Kirk Murphy upstairs
Phil Gramm is Johnny McTeleprompter’s Dick Cheney, meaning….he is behind the scene screwing the nation over.
Ding! Remember how the singularly repellent Henry Kissinger was always surrounded by bevies of much younger attractive women? Power can be a powerful aphrodisiac for some.
David, I wrote a response to your article yesterday. Comment on, rebut, or ignore as you will.
As for the McCain character issue, I certainly find this ironic, particularly in light of what’s being written about the John Edwards affair. The news seems to be endlessly fascinated with every detail of that one. In the end, McCain left his wife for a new one, and Edwards stayed with his. If anything, McCain looks worse in that comparison, I think.
Very late to the table here. Thanks David for putting up that ad. It’s so sweet and reassuring. It’s my alltime favorite political ad I’ve ever seen. And… it does get the point across.
Cujo: I’ve left a detailed response at Orcinus.