McCain’s Integrity

This particular letter is commendable but it doesn't mean McCain is consistent or has integrity. He has already tried to tie Obama to Hamas for fundraising purposes.

Ahh, what could be better for a politician to do than to have someone else do their dirty work while they get to look like they have some integrity.

Not that John McCain doesn't mean what he's saying in his press release, just that it is politically advisable for him to follow this path. As Balloon Juice states:

Step 1: GOP wingnut (is that redundant?) says something offensive, writes a nasty editorial, creates a vicious radio or tv spot.

Step 2: Ad receives widespread coverage and national attention.

Step 3: McCain condemns the ad/editorial/whatever.

Step 4: Chris Matthews and other bobbleheads in the media show off their man-crush for McCain while praising his integrity AND showing the offending ad/editorial on national television.

Oh please. He's secretly applauding them for doing this. McCain has no more integrity than Tom Delay. It's a media myth. He can say he's against this kind of campaigning, but it's the only way the Republicans know how to campaign.

Sometimes, I'm amazed at how much our individual feelings interpret how we take in information, and how we interpret positions. I was reading this story earlier today, and was impressed, because mccain seemed to be ahead of the actual story, and therefore deserved credit for the denouncment.

Then, I read chris' story, and I tried for a moment to explain it. There were available reasonings, but none that wouldn;t apply to any of the other candidates in similar situations. There was an urge to justify, which in some senses is comendable, but only inasmuch as it encouraged me to try to find pro and con pieces in the comments, and do a google search. In the end, it looks pretty bad. Not "I'm not voting for him" bad, but just a reality check. I think we all should be aware of these moments.

This is ever the modus operandi of McCain- decry the fouls while his underlings do the dirty work. This has happened before, and will happen again- it's his Cheap Shot tactic. Free press is still free, and by that I mean doesn't cost him a dime.

Pete, there is nothing more I'd like to do than agree with you about McCain's integrity, afterall, I voted for him in the primary in 2000, and there is always the chance he might be our next president. Unfortunately, I've learned far more than I wanted to in recent years about our modern day political system and it's inherent willingness to dispense with conscience in the pursuit of power - particularly if the perception can be created that conscience is at work, independent of the reality. Sorry if that sounds cynical. If I'd been able to pay a little less close attention to actions of our federal govt. over the past decade, and the Whitehouse in particular for the last two terms, then maybe I would have been able to salvage a little more trust and hope. That said, I certainly haven't given up, I just keep my crap detector set on high.

Rather than jump immeidately to umpteen degrees of analysis, I prefer fo just focus on the letter and say that this is a good letter, indeed.