Joe Klein Lowers The Boom On Corsi, Matalin, McCain

Joe Klein, who's been recently fighting the same sorts of base attacks, makes a stern denouncement of the entire Swift Boatesque operation behind Jerome Corsi's Obama Nation. It's damn near pugilistic, and pointedly criticizes all the parties involved.

Klein barely dignifies the book itself with a comment, terming it a part of "the market for trash." Of McCain, Klein says, "Back in the day, John McCain was the sort of politician who would stand first in line to call out this sort of swill," that there's "no way to balance it, or explain it other than as evidence of a severe character defect on the part of the candidate who allows [the book] to be used," and finishes him off with this tercio de muerte:

Apparently, though, McCain isn't confident that conservative policies and personal experience can win, given the ruinous state of the nation after eight years of Bush. So he has made a fateful decision: he has personally impugned Obama's patriotism and allows his surrogates to continue to do that. By doing so, he has allied himself with those who smeared him, his wife, his daughter Bridget, in 2000. Those tactics won George Bush a primary--and a nomination. But they proved a form of slow-acting spiritual poison, rotting the core of the Bush presidency.

For my money, though, his calling out of Mary Matalin is the most riveting:

But hey, Mary stands to make big bucks off this scholarship, which I'm sure was submitted for peer review and otherwise held to the highest editorial standards--and I'm sure her reputation and mediagenicity won't be damaged by this poisonous crap, and we're all friends here, aren't we? And, yknow, they say politics ain't beanbag...and it's all in the game to tell innocent, well-intentioned people that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim or that John Kerry wasn't really a hero in Vietnam. Or, as George W. Bush once told a rightly outraged John McCain--whose wife and daughter Bush's minions had smeared--"It's just politics."

Yowch. More than the sarcasm, it's that poisonous reference to "mediagenicity" and the "we're all friends here, aren't we" remark that stick out in my reading. Klein's not taking any editorial distance to the matter: he's firing shots from inside the clubhouse. That sort of gives this assessment a little extra heft:

Back in the day, John McCain was the sort of politician who would stand first in line to call out this sort of swill. (As, I'm sure Barack Obama or John Kerry would do, if some hate-crazed, money-grubbing left-winger published a book claiming that McCain had been successfully brainwashed in Vietnam--as Kerry did indeed do when a group of spurious Bush-backing Vietnam vets tried to claim exactly that about McCain during the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina.)

But we're not seeing those sorts of claims being made about McCain this year...because Democrats tend not to do that sort of thing. They are the sorts of claims that Republicans--Bush Republicans--make.

Comments

[Anonani]

The end justifies the means for the McCain campaign. He is not being held to task by his party or the American public. Once Obama pulls out in the final heat, it will only get worse.

[mnash]

Finally, someone who will speak forcefully against MC. I thought he was a decent man too but have since changed my mind. He should go back in time to 2000 and remember what he went through.

[pahpah25]

I THINK DEMOCRATS HOULD REVIVE THE ADS BUSH RAN AGAINST MCCAIN IN 2000 TO REMIND MCCAIN OF WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM AND HIS FAMILY........WERE THESE ADS LIES?...SO WHY IS MCCAIN NOW LYING ABOUT OBAMA?..MCCAIN USED TO BE AN HONOURABLE MAN......MAYBE BUSH ET AL WERE RIGHT, MAYBE BEING A PRISONER FOR ALL THOSE YEARS DID AFFECT MCCAIN IN WAYS WE, THE PEOPLE, WILL NEVER KNOW......MCCAIN DOES SEEM TO HAVE AN UNHEALTHY FONDNESS FOR WAR AND KILLING.

[LewisWalsh]

What a great idea pahpah25; and they should include the part that says: "I'm George Bush and I approved this message."

[Lexie]

Good! I like this pugilistic side to Joe Klein who is attacking the BS head on. I wish more journalists would see how this particular iteration of the Republican Party has been SO destructive to this nation in so many ways.

[Mojane]

Damn, Joe! Sweet. Take that, and that, and that! Yahoo!

[exhale09]

Well! How do I love thee Joe Klein! Thank you.

[serena1313]

I do not know enough about John McCain from his early childhood years, however, what I do know is that I cannot trust someone who does not live by his word. A colleague asked to describe McCain said, "In one word: deceitful."

I read McCain's father helped get him into the Naval Academy from which he graduated 5th from the bottom out of over 800 graduates. He crashed 3 or 4 planes -- one plane would have gotten him thrown out. But his father came from a long line of Admirals so he got a free pass.

McCain's entire political career has been fraught with corruption: The Keating-5, lobbyists, shut down the Abramoff investigation before completion, pulled strings for corporate interests and did special favours for ranchers. It has been reported McCain has over 100 lobbyists working on his campaign. Five or more have been forced to resign.

Nothing to date gives me any reason to trust this guy. I don't care that his wife is worth over $100 million dollars, but he flies cost-free in her jet which breaks campaign laws.

My father taught me that the only thing we really have in this world is our word. Someone can have all the money in the world, but if people cannot trust you what good does it do? McCain's idea of being is a straight talker is not what I consider a "straight-talker." Like his colleague, I consider McCain deceitful, too.

[notthistime]

I am sure the McCain campaign was the only one who bought the books. They probably intend to give them out at McCain's town halls.

[InfosolutionWiz]

AGREE 100%!!

[WFV]

I heard one reporter saying the book was being bought 'in bulk' by conservative groups. Are they really that blind?

[YellowDogInRedCounty]

Yes.

[MargaretO]

One of the big wholesalers, CostCo, is selling that piece of garbage. Not sure if Sam's Club is doing it. Somehow, I doubt that CostCo would be doing it on purpose, though, as they are pretty pro-worker and have good business ethics. I can see a wholesaler buying this in bulk just because the name Obama is in the title and not even knowing it was garbage but thinking the title would be a big seller because of his popularity.

This would explain probably the largest bulk buys, though.

[Greygolla]

Distortions, inuendo, false flags, and lies; tools of the devil. Obama is a
subversive out to ruin the country, he will carry on business as usual.
Elitist, ethnic, Islamic, collectivist; these are charges hard to believe.
In truth, he represents our story as effectively as the flag. The man by
talent and hard work comes to be President of the U.S. Moreso deserving
than an angry, spoiled, child of privilege. I believe McCain would consent to
be Vice President under Obama if only he could also be Commander- in-
Chief. This might give him the validation he craves, "See Father, I finally
outrank you."

[Junius]

Obama Nation is an abomination. I hope the Amercian people recognize the evil, mendacious swill that the political right is offering them to drink. America I hope that P. T. Barnum was not right when he said that there was a sucker born every minute. Don't buy it.

Junius

[maying]

and just out of curiousity what do you think of george w. bush??

[NER]

Thank you, Joe Klein. But we can't expect that this will be enough, so I ask all readers: if you're outraged by the lies and cynicism of the McCain campaign and those they allow to carry their water, please speak up in more mainstream outlets than this one. And I urge you to join me in contacting the McCain campaign to demand that they call Corsi's book for what it is: a collection of smears and lies. We can't let it happen--not this time.

[AnnieinOR]

remember h arold m elvin's song: the love I lost? macncheese needs to add that to his i pod:

I can remember planning
Building my whole world around you
And I can remember hoping
That you and I could make it on through
But something went wrong
We loved each other
We just couldn't get along

[HipHopYouKNOW]

AnnieinOR,
I've got another "song" for them, only this time from Obama:
"What you won't do,
Do to be prez?
You've tried everything,
But you don't give up
In my world, only you,
Would do to be prez
What I would not do..."

I forget who sang it but the title is "What you won't do for love" - it was a huge hit!

[AnnieinOR]

yeah, I remember that song - one of my favorite jazz artists: Bobby Caldwell - good catch!

[AnnieinOR]

Thank you Joe Klein for standing up for TRUTH.

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

I wish more reporters, talking heads, and all journalist would do the right thing and speak out about this kind of cramp. I don't think it helps solve the serious problems in this country. I don't like it with either party when they do it. If all of the journalist put the american people first we would be better off. We never had a Fox news. CNN used to be a great station until they started to become Fox light.

[Ockham]

The funny thing is, Klein is notoriously moderate. The guy's a little arrogant at times, but when he says stuff like this, you can tell he really means it, every word. I respect him for saying exactly what should have been said in this situation. I can no longer trust McCain to do what's right for America, I can only trust him to do what he can to win.

[Merersu]

Joe Klein is someone with power (editorial page in Time Magazine) and obvious integrety. I know it may be hard for some to understand that last word, but he is exactly what we need more of: members of the MSM willing and brave enough to call a spade a spade. I fear though that besides Mr. Klein, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, the good bloggers here at HuffPost, and occasionally Dan Abrams, I'm not real sure who else there is to challenge this swill. Especially now that Tim Russert is gone.

[Sparty1]

What McCain won't do to become POTUS. I was leaning McCain in early 2000 and when the Repthugs called his adopted daughter the product of an affair with a black prostitute, I just knew that he'd let them have it. When he didn't, I assumed that he was too scared of those fools. To align himself with the very same people now, amazes me. To not stand up and call this book the piece of crap that it is tells me that he's not the Mac of old, he's just full of sh*t!

[MyAudacity]

There are some who must be commended in their efforts to speak out against this atrocity. At least their lones voices won't give the MSM total control, and just maybe someone will hear, understand, and become the true "straight talkers", and not lying minions, and children of Satan.

My Bible tells me that Satan is the father of lies, and the author of confusion.

So, when deliberate lies are embraced and used with the motives of personal ambition.....then it will be very interesting to see the results, again. Just how low are we in the USA willing to go?

[pkafin]

It's not about "Satan". That's a mythological loophole that these folks don't deserve.

It's about people making bad choices. Choices which the makers, of their own free, are making despite their knowledge of the results of their actions.

Bad people making evil choices. They have no excuse. They, and they alone, are responsible for their own actions.

[egal]

To be fair, the existence of Satan would no more absolve them of their actions than the existence of Hitler absolved those who slaughtered or tormented in the name of his goals. They ARE responsible for their actions either way, rationally, so long as we're assuming something tantamount to free will.

Of course, I do agree that this isn't the type of situation in which any representative of evil as an ideal would be necessary. For the sake of personal gain or bullying, human beings of this ilk stoop far and often believe themselves righteous just because they want to--
just because cognitive dissonance makes it easier to change their beliefs in regards to what constitutes evil when they're doing it or under certain circumstances than to accept that anything they did might BE evil. If they presume their own righteousness, they ensure their own defeat, with no need of Satan or anything more than the pride that could as easily be extrapolated from human nature as accorded to Biblical revelation.

[fetchezlavache]

Good post! McCain, having been the victim of this sort of smear, is making a conscious decision of his own free will to refrain from denouncing it. Don't let him off the hook!