What a buzz-kill.
At a time when these candidates have no shortage of relevant issues to talk about, McCain-Palin has resorted to pandering to gullible voters with the myth of Sen. Barack Obama's "relationship" with Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers -- a contention roundly debunked many months ago.
It's the latest in a string of desperate moves by the GOP, intended to divert support away from Obama-Biden. The campaign seems to be ignoring, however, that these frantic ploys will work only if votes shift directly to (or turn out specifically for) McCain-Palin. With polls indicating growing support for the Democratic ticket, it could be that McCain-Palin's negative attacks are having precisely the opposite effect.See, I'm one of those people who won't vote for Obama-Biden, period, and given a choice between a Democratic or a Republican victory, I'd prefer (reluctantly and by default) that Sen. John McCain be elected the next President of the United States -- but McCain-Palin keeps giving me reasons not to cast a so-called "defensive vote."
It's no secret that I view Sen. McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as an egregious tactical "hail Mary" and nothing more. Instead of being asked to consider a running mate who's actually qualified, American voters have been treated to a bad remake of Fargo -- a winking, babbling, you-betcha darlin' who makes Dan Quayle look like the second coming of Ronald Reagan.On September 25th, Sen. McCain announced that he'd temporarily suspended his campaign to devote all of his time, energy and "influence" to the corporate-bailout legislation -- a transparent political antic that completely backfired when House Republicans went south and the markets followed. I won't get into Sen. McCain's dishonorable conduct surrounding the announcement itself, but let’s not forget his proposal that the first Presidential debate be pushed back by a week and the Vice Presidential debate scheduled for that day be postponed indefinitely -- for obvious reasons.
Then last week, McCain-Palin confirmed that it'd no longer spend time or resources in Michigan, all but conceding the state to Obama-Biden. For a campaign short of funds, it'd seem to be a reasonable decision -- except for the message it sends to voters enduring similarly dire economic conditions. Strategically, it was a terrible move.
And now McCain-Palin is coming back with the discredited Ayers canard -- what's next? The reappearance of Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Incriminating photos of those fake columns at the Democratic convention? Sen. McCain pledging to serve only one term? The mind reels.
If I object to Washington's spin-dominated culture and decry the lack of honor in government, and yet I support a ticket that relies so heavily on stunts, half-truths and disinformation, my vote is no less corrupt. Simply not being Obama-Biden isn't good enough for me.
Right now, McCain-Palin doesn't deserve my vote. Short of suffering a sudden spasm of integrity, the Republican ticket has no chance of earning it.
