In an insightful column today entitled McCain's integrity, Andrew Sullivan concisely outlines the case against John McCain:
- Although he knew the war in Iraq was a fiasco, in 2004, he endorsed George Bush for the presidency against his fellow Vietnam veteran John Kerry
- He did not join the vote in 2006 to condemn and end the torture regime of Bush and Cheney, instead he capitulated and enshrined torture as the policy of the United States
- He has run a dishonest and dishonorable campaign against Barack Obama, filled with trivial and grotesque Rovian-style attacks on Obama's character
- With no concern for national security, he hastily chose a candidate for VP after one meeting and gambled the security of the world on a total unknown because she polled well with the Christianist base.
Sullivan concludes:
McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States. And that is why it is more important than ever to ensure that Barack Obama is the next president. The alternative is now unthinkable. And McCain - no one else - has proved it.
Since the Democratic Primary, Obama has opened the section of his stump speech where discusses John McCain with the phrase: "Now, John McCain is an honorable man." He had to start from the position where most of the electorate was - holding onto the belief that John McCain is a honorable man - and he could show how he has been gradually dismayed and disappointed by the tactics of this so-called honorable man, and gently guide the electorate along with him.
When he was running against Clinton, it was a lot easier use the "politics as usual" line, because (fairly, or not) Hillary started out fairly low on the "trust"/"believability" scale for most folks. But with McCain, so many people out there (particularly those who have not been paying much attention) hold McCain up very high on the "honor" scale. So Obama could not begin the attack at the beginning of the summer. All summer long, he's stuck by "John McCain is a honorable man." But, step by step, with each lie, McCain's star is dimmed, and right now, with the "he wants to teach kindergartners about sex" ad and the bridge to nowhere lie, the Obama campaign feels it is time to go in for the kill. Believe me, within a few days, we hear that McCain ultimately is "in charge" of this dishonorable campaign and all responsibility for the sleazy, slimy tactics, the lies, the misleading of the American public on the GOP platform rests with him.
If you are a longtime reader of Andrew Sullivan, we have seen this change manifested in his writings. Although he endorsed Paul for the GOP ticket, he thought highly of McCain (although he felt betrayed by the torture vote), and held out hopes for a civilized campaign. Well, his hopes were dashed, and I hope that there are many others of Andrew's ilk out there in the electorate.