In April, the Republican Party of North Carolina was planning to run an ad featuring Rev. Wright and attacking Barack Obama. The targets of the ad were the Democratic candidates for Governor, both of whom had endorsed Obama. Stretching the already thin guilt-by-association argument beyond its limits, the ad implied that, by endorsing Obama, the two were endorsing Wright. "They should know better," the narrator said. "He's just too extreme for North Carolina." Whether "he" was Obama or Wright was unclear.That ad earned the NC GOP this letter from John McCain:
From the beginning of this election, I have been committed to running a respectful campaign based upon an honest debate about the great issues confronting America today. I expect all state parties to do so as well. The television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats. In the strongest terms, I implore you to not run this advertisement...
This ad does not live up to the very high standards we should hold ourselves to in this campaign. We need to run a campaign that is worthy of the people we seek to serve. There is no doubt that we will draw sharp contrasts with the Democrats on fundamental issues critical to the future course of our country. But we need not engage in political tactics that only seek to divide the American people. Once again, it is imperative that you withdraw this offensive advertisement.
In a matter of months, John McCain has shed himself of all that high-minded principle. Looking back at the ad (it's featured at the link above), it seems tame. John McCain's attacks lately have been desperate, brutal, and lying. Where a principled campaign based on the issues was the plan in April, today the plan is to smear, to slime, and to treat the voter like a freakin' moron. That "campaign that is worthy of the people we seek to serve" is gone now -- either that or John McCain has recalculated our collective worth and found us worthy of complete crap. In McCain's new calculus, your worth is zero...
[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
