Oct 30, 2008

McCain and Palin: A Team of Madog Mavericks or Blusterous Bigots?


BY MARY MITCHELL
Chicago Sun-Times Columnist

¨If John McCain loses the election, he'll have Sarah Palin to thank. . . . But her recent acid-tongued attack on Barack Obama in which she accused him of "palling around with terrorists" is not only a turn-off, but dangerous.


. . . Together, McCain and Palin have managed to bring out the worst behavior that I've witnessed in a presidential campaign.

For instance, at a Monday rally in Fort Myers, Fla., Palin told her fans that Obama "launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist." She was referring to '60s radical Bill Ayers, a man who, like a lot of people who came of age in the tumultuous Vietnam era, is now part of the establishment. He teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago, lives in the trendy Hyde Park neighborhood and sits on several civic boards.

. . . As preposterous as her accusation was, it played to the fears of white voters who believe that Obama is too different from them to win the White House, but don't want to admit that they are prejudiced against him because he is black.

. . . A Washington Post reporter who was on the campaign trail also noted that Palin's attacks on the media have sparked some ugliness. Dana Milbank reported that the press was taunted by the crowd after Palin blamed the mainstream media for her abysmal performances in interviews. "At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African-American sound man . . . and told him, "Sit down, boy." At another point during her rant, Palin cited a New York Times article that described Ayers as "part of a group that quote 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,' " she rattled off as if she was talking about 9/11.

That brought a loud "Kill him!" from an unidentified man in the audience.

. . . What I find ironic is it is often members of the Republican Party who accuse black people of whining and blaming their shortcomings on others. Yet it is all right for Palin, who is clearly in over her head, to blame the media because she is not prepared to deal with the tough questions on just about every issue.

. . . By now, McCain and Palin must have heard about the racial slurs and inappropriate comments. Had this ugly incident occurred at an Obama rally, the McCain camp would be asking him to apologize to voters and to denounce the hateful behavior.

So why are these candidates being allowed to act like nothing out of the ordinary happened?

That doesn't make them look like a team of mavericks.

It makes them look like a team of bigots.¨


Read it all at The Chicago Sun Times, click here:

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Thanks to ABC News
Thanks to The Chicago Sun Times

10 comments:

Frank Remkiewicz aka “Tree” said...

The mean-spirited, evil speaking, pro-bigotry right wing of the Republican Party has overtaken the entire party and will continue to spew their garbage until someone with some strength rises up and returns the party to the likes of a Nelson Rockefeller or a Gerald Ford.

Doorman-Priest said...

And millions of American voters believe this woman is fit for high office? In any other democracy she would have been arrested for inciting racial hatred and causing a breach of the peace.

Do people seriously want those qualities in a presidential understudy?

Leslie Littlefield said...

I vote for bigot.
Happy Halloween Leonardo!

Leonard said...

Leslie, you scared me, I´ll pay, I´ll give you your treat...don´t do that again...I´m getting older, my heart, my heart!

Cany said...

Fred yes, until the GOP moves away from the neo con and right wing religious movements, they will have trouble. If, in fact, The O wins on Tuesday, the GOP is going to need to seriously rethink their party from the ground up. The earth shifted beneath them and they need a new foundation.

I'm not really too wild about Ford. His cabinet, like Nixon's, had all the bad guys we know today in it. I think he was a nice guy on the outside, but could be a very dangerous guy in the smoke-filled political room.

While Ford was prochoice, for instance, most of those in his cabinet were not, and we know those names well.

He took some major hits from his own party because he was night right wing enough.. sigh.

Tim said...

How I long for November 5, when this lady picks up her toys (and her brood) and goes home. Not that she's going away, mind you. But since about mid-September, every time I've seen her, I've prayed, "Oh Lord, how long?" A respite will be a most welcome thing.

I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing the pundits babble about how she's going to "be in the mix" for a long time. What are they smoking? The GOP, being the paragon of kindness it is, will never forgive her. She'll be remembered as the party's curtain-ringer.

I find it funny and ironic that all the cable chatty Cathies (particularly the FOX bunch) are so busy predicting her political future they've not paused to consider in all likelihood she'll probably take one of their jobs. (Sean Hannity beware!) And when that day comes, the remote control will be one of my favorite gadgets!

Leslie Littlefield said...

So sorry to have fightened you Leonardo. LOL!!! Nothing could be as scary as Palin in the White House though...
Let's keep praying.
I miss the patio scene.
Many Blessings...

Leonard said...

Dear Tim,

Me too, everytime I start watching Fox News (just to see what new plot they are weaving) I keep the ¨control¨in my hand...I particularly have trouble watching all those blonds (who all look like a version of one another and failed attempts at trying for the Playboy Mansion) start spewing out the ¨Fox Feaux¨ party line...Meghan Kelly actually snears...so filled with mischief this group...and poor Greata, it appears, isn´t as smart as I thought she was...or at least, she´s pretending not to be to fit in with the other strident lightweights over at Fox.

Dear Leslie,

Coming attractions. I´m preparing my Tuesday Night OPENING PAGE celebration...I´ve just finished a painting...you see, it´s not the patio but it´s loaded with fresh energy.

Dear Tim (again)

¨Love them anyway¨ is what Bishop V. Gene Robinson and God suggest...I´m still wrestling with that one.

Tim said...

Dear Leonardo,

My grandmother--who was one tough cookie--used to say, "You don't have to like 'em, but you sure gotta love 'em." It's hard, I know, particularly since they seem to get such pleasure out of their own bigotry and derision.

I personally have a less difficultly loving the people on the other side of my TV screen than the ones down the hall who agree with them. But I also see in these people a real need--even a craving--for love. They're lost, snarled up in a skein of lies and many of them don't know how to break free any more. They've got so lazy letting the hate mongers do all their thinking, they can't think for themselves.

I truly believe a lot of them subconsciously want to hear what we have to say, and when they do, they'll come around. But I don't think they'll listen if we first don't offer genuine love and acceptance to them.

We don't love with a hidden agenda--love IS our agenda. Bishop Robinson is right, I think. Love has to be the first plank in our platform.

Leslie Littlefield said...

Leonardo,
I can hardly wait to see the painting!