Man, McCain's VP is Smoking Hot!! I Wonder Why He Picked Her...

The media's reverence for John McCain is really beginning to look silly. For a while, after the John Edwards sex scandal broke, a few people in the blogosphere thought that perhaps in the interest of journalistic integrity, questions surrounding John McCain's fidelity might start being kicked around in the political media.

Democrats have known better.

Of course, the tire-swingers would tell us that it was the National Enquirer that broke the story, that no respectable media wrote about it before Edwards admitted the affair on 20/20, that the rumors swirling around McCain need substantiation before they can be asked in good faith, that a candidate's private life should be respected unless it might interfere with their ability to run the country and that even Barack Obama is tired of the old politics of personal destruction.

But that ignores two key reasons (and a couple of ancillary reasons) for asking the question.

First, John McCain has absolutely no shot of winning this election of the Christian Right does not turn out for him in substantial numbers. (Witness his VP pick). To the extent these voters rely on the media to provide an accurate and complete picture of the candidates, they are being massively underserved by the 4th Estate. The question of whether or not John McCain has followed the 10 Commandments -- whether the elites in the media think it is tasteful or not -- is relevant to a key segment of his base. It is unforgivable for the media to ignore their concerns.

Second -- and more importantly -- is the fact that John McCain has claimed that his "greatest moral failing" was the failure of his first marriage.

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I don't think any reasonably informed observer could have possibly come away from that exchange without believing that McCain was referencing his well-known philandering that eventually led to his meeting, bedding and marriage to Cindy McCain. At the time, Cindy was 24. John was 42.

The point is this: if John McCain says his disrespectful behavior toward his first wife was loathsome... If he considers it his "greatest moral failing"... Well... Is there anything in his more recent past that he would also consider morally repugnant? And if there is, does that say anything about John McCain's ability to learn lessons from history? Does it say anything about how he may handle other emotionally-charged situations? Does he have the capacity to draw upon experience and reject the morally-repugnant path when an easier, more tempting path lies before him?

I want to show you something:

Roberta McCain -- John's Mother

Cindy McCain -- John's Wife

Vicki Iseman -- the lobbyist McCain is rumored to have courted. She's 41; 13 years younger than Cindy McCain.

Do you see a pattern here, Oedipus?

Anyway, I mentioned earlier that there were also a couple of ancillary reasons that McCain's peccadilloes may be newsworthy.

This is John McCain during the 1998 impeachment proceedings:

Presidents are not ordinary citizens. They are extraordinary, in that they are vested with so much more authority and power than the rest of us. We have a right; indeed, we have an obligation, to hold them strictly accountable to the rule of law.

Adultery is a crime in Arizona.

Oh, and for the record, John McCain voted guilty on both counts of impeachment.

Finally, I think we will all recall the conservative caterwauling about Bill Clinton being too preoccupied with his zipper (and its consequences) to properly hunt down Osama bin Laden. If that is the case -- and you'd be hard-pressed to find a conservative Republican that does not stand by the assertion -- then how wise it to install another president that may very well be easily distracted by every passing skirt? Especially today -- with a hot war on terror, a boondoggle in Iraq, the domestic mess we're in on the economic and cultural fronts... Won't conservatives agree that we need a stable family man that respects the 10 Commandments and upholds family values in the Oval Office?

So again... given that such a large slice of the population has expressed such grave concern for the rule of law and traditional values... Why does the media refuse to ask the simple question so many demand: John McCain, has your marriage to Cindy McCain always been monogamous? If not, when was the last time sexual intimacy took place outside of marriage?

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[provgrays]

"Do you see a pattern here, Oedipus?"

Great stuff!

[mule66]

i'm movin north

[playsindirt]

Palin makes McCain look like Yoda ...... and not in a good way.

[1will]

Palin is hot. She looks like a librarian....a naughty librarian.

[gettysburg]

Quit criticizing Sen. McCain. Aren't you aware he was a POW for five years and lived in a house without a kitchen or a chair. He is excused from everything.

[BigBen]

When it comes to ugly you guys give the Swift Boaters a good run for their money.

[ArchibaldWatt]

By using the very reasons republicans attacked Bill Clinton and holding them against John McCain? It goes both ways, Bigben. Did they think that all of their candidates would be perfect little angels and wouldn't have to answer these sorts of questions?

Also, isn't that always the way, the republicans lead by Karl Rove have been running disgusting campaigns for the last 12 years and then, when the democrats rightly point out, "Hey, you said our guy was terrible because he had an affair, well, your guy had an affair too," all of a sudden the republicans are 'outraged' and 'appalled'.

When it comes to ugly, I guess we learned from the best.

[Norsky]

Wasn't that the same time period when he was faithful to his vows and his wife?

[pcplz]

Yes, BUT, he was a POW for 5 years and...............................................................................therefore.....................

[FGAofFLA]

Who knows whether any of John McCain's peccadilloes will ever see the light of day. But consider this: If Palin had been Obama's VP pick, can you imagine the moral finger-wagging attack ads, not to mention the piling on by the extremist Christians and the right's media surrogates? Obama-Biden Democrats, on the other hand, have and will continue to treat Palin with polite respect. That's another important difference voters should consider in casting their vote in November.

[dutchgirl55]

--but they won't. Or at least half of them won't. Hopefully more people in this country will finally--finally--vote with their brains this fall.

I used to have to take my Republican mother-in-law to vote, as she was blind. (How ironic.) I believed everyone should have the right to vote, though, so I took her...even though every year I cringed as I helped her vote because she liked where one candidate lived, or she wouldn't vote for another candidate because he/she had a squeaky voice.

[BigBen]

I don't have to Imagine them I just read you guys.

[johnnygoodwud]

he was giving her the once over, much like a hound dog man does when he's looking for some 'fun'

[toocents]

that's pretty hilarious. nice try. the three of them are blond so it's oedipal?~!!!! i dunno.

seems a little dirty and if they WON'T ask and its NOT TRUE it could cause some really unwanted backlash about GOP moral authority. i think Palin will be a frighteningly skilled ASSET in this. also - didn't you witness how fast they covered up the last McCain affair story? SEE! you don't even remember it!!!!

sigh... its so disturbing what a foxy VP lady is going to inspire for tactics on the left. please please please keep the focus on issues - where DEMS can win. if this gets ugly it won't help Obama/Biden. the idea that palin would be our prez if he kicks the bucket is horrifying. Just because this pick makes us so much more scared of McCain's judgement does not mean we should lose ours

[brijit]

Oh hell, she's not real. She's a character being played by Gina Gershon.

[pcplz]

Tina Fey

[Ides]

Could have sworn that was Megan Mullally....

[MWChris]

We already know the answer, but the question will not be asked.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Have a beer with Bush.

Palin is smoking hot.

Great way to elect the leader of the free world.

[Indeedwespeak]

Me thinks others folks did the thinking for McSame re: Palin, just as Cheyney does the thinking for Bush.

[miatch]

Look, John has answered all infidelity questions, and his answer is simple: I was a POW.

[Norsky]

The one time in his life that he wasn't messing around........

[NotWithObamaCampaign]

Here is Palin on education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww