No More Mr. Nice Guy

I’m tired of being a peacekeeper. I’ve tried to maintain some dignity throughout this campaign season by finding some sort of middle road despite my favoritism towards the Democratic candidates and the party in general. I’m well aware of the many miscues, scandals and shameful associations connected to Democratic candidates and I feel that those negative nods have, for the most part, been properly vetted out, or are now in the process of. But, I feel I’ve reached my breaking point. It’s painfully clear to me that people, in general, are all about image. It’s what has won or lost elections for two hundred years. I’ve finally succumbed to the level that the opposing party wants me to reach. Because if Barack Obama can actually win this thing, every ounce of my being wants to stand up and scream, “ Neener, neener, neener!!!” and, “See…you can dish it out, but you can’t take it, now, can you?“

With McCain looking like he must overcome an imposing deficit, the haters and blamers from the right are out in force. They are saying and doing ALL of the things they mocked the Democrats for, both 4 and 8 years ago. I realize that desperate times call for desperate measures but must it be at the expense of common sense and dignity? John McCain happens to be a decent man caught in an uncomfortable web of frantic politics. It’s his last stand. His last hurrah. And naturally he wants to win. But you can see in his speeches, his debates and his rhetoric, that whenever he utters an accusation towards Obama and the Democratic party…he doesn’t believe it. At least, not all of it. He knows he must say anything at this point (Although “anything” has been reduced to a small handful of talking points that are barely rousing even the staunchest of supporters).

I live in Arizona. Although I don’t know him personally, I have seen him more than most. On the local news and in the local newspapers for years as our favorite Senator…our beloved Senator…our war hero. Yes, even as a lifelong Democrat and after many grievances towards his politics there has always been an honor and respect when speaking about McCain. Obviously, despite the bureaucratic bullshit of both the Vietnam War and whatever surrounded the Senators' prisoner-of-war status, spending 5 years of your life in a jungle prison carries an enormous amount of sympathy, honor and clout. He may not have been the best husband or even man he could be in his early life, but there is plenty of room for fallibility for a soldier who was tortured for years fighting for you and your country. He’s always had that "forgivable imperfection card" that he’s never abused…until know.

Arizonans know when McCain is speaking with conviction…and when he is not. When Senator McCain is speaking from the heart he stands firm, his face unchanging, his confidence steely. Although he was never the best public speaker, he still garnered the respect of a man who believed what he was telling you. Even if I disagreed with him, I knew that he believed with all his heart that what he was fighting for was for the best. But not anymore. As an Arizonan, his posture now tells me he has doubts, his facial contortions tell me that he hates to say these things about men and women he has respect for…and his confidence is barely there, if it’s there at all. So many folks are saying that McCain is different than he was before. That he’s not the Maverick he once was, or was he really ever one?

I still believe that John McCain is a good man. But if he loses this election, it won’t be because he’s changed. It will be because the GOP wouldn’t allow him to be the man he really is, which is not a "Maverick"…it's a "survivor". Allowing himself to be debased into name calling, character attacking and picking a horrifically under-qualified running mate with an image that was sure to overtake his own was a dicey move. And it crapped out. With the state of the union as it currently is…perhaps a “survivor” was the only image the GOP needed. Someone they could show has the fortitude to get past the worst of times. Instead they have a poorly devised campaign strategy to match a laundry list of poorly devised policy strategies of the now shamed Bush Administration, making McCain look exactly as Obama has painted him. A carbon copy.

Call me a bleeding heart liberal, I don’t really care…but if the Republicans come out the winners on the morning of Nov. 5th when Obama conclusively "leads" the polls just a week out, it will be less about a victory for McCain and more about the fears and prejudices of the American people.