In any high-stakes competition where the prize is high value; and one has to acknowledge that the presidency is a pretty high value prize; tensions are bound to run high. When tensions rise, so does the danger that someone will cross the line of propriety and say something . . . ugly. We’ve seen it in the GOP primary campaigning. It came early, has come often, and has been really, really ugly.
Up to a point, the Democratic contest between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton was a model of decorum. Both candidates vowed at the outset not to engage in dirty politics and name-calling. And, folks, it was working until Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ tried three times to bait Clinton into saying that Sanders was not ‘qualified’ to be president. Reacting to news reports insinuating that Clinton had said he was not qualified, Sanders went on a toot, claiming she had called him ‘quote’ unqualified ‘end quote’ and retaliating by calling her ‘unqualified.’
The problem with this not-so-little temper tantrum on his part is, Clinton never said any such thing. As someone who has been on the receiving end of a reporter’s attempt to get a ‘sound bite,’ Sanders should understand the situation she was in and, instead of blowing his top, should have admired the way she managed to deflect Scarborough’s lame attempt.
While I’m a Clinton supporter, I have—or should I say at this point, had—the greatest respect for Senator Sanders. Sure, he’s an Independent who is using the banner of the Democratic Party to achieve his aims, but until this latest rant, he’d impressed me as a man with principles. He’d vowed to keep his rhetoric confined to the issues and eschew personal attacks. Wow, did he break that vow!
One can only hope that this is a momentary aberration, brought on by the heat of the campaign, and that he’s not decided that mud-slinging is not the best means to achieve his ends. If that’s the case, the end he’ll be bringing is a total end to anything resembling decency in American politics; at least for this campaign cycle.