“They’re not listening to me because they’re out of touch with reality and the Republican Party. We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and this kind of campaigning is unacceptable. I’ve done everything that I can to repudiate and to see that this kind of campaigning does not continue.”
—John McCain on the Today Show on the refusal of North Carolina’s Republican Party to cancel an attack ad aimed at Barack Obama.
I’m glad to see McCain recognize that portions of the Republican Party are out of touch with reality. Hopefully we will see him stick to this standard throughout the campaign. Of course it won’t mean much unless he is able to get his supporters, including the Republican Party and the 527’s to also stick to a high standard. At the very least, McCain is coming out ahead of Hillary Clinton.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
—
Voltaire
In a world that contains Laffer Curve, an Axis of Evil, Iraqi Freedom, Mission Accomplished, Clear Skies, Clean Waters, Healthy Forests, Family Values, No Child Left Behind, and a Patriot Act it is
a good reminder for our time.
John McCain’s challenge is to convince independent voters that he is not one of the Republicans who believes the absurdities which most Republicans now believe in. So far he has not been convincing, but he is also faced with the challenge that he had to pander to the Republican mainstream to get their votes, and must continue to pander to them to get them to turn out.