Et Tu, Senator McCain?

A few months ago, Mark Nicholas posted a strategy memo from John McCain's campaign manager--and famous lobbyist--Rick Davis (hat tips to blogger Mark Nicholas, and Ari Berman of the Nation):

Here's a key line from that memo: "John McCain will continue to run on his principles and will focus on the future of our country." Oops. To quote former Nixon Press Secretary Ron Ziegler, I guess that promise is now "inoperative."

Here's another broken pledge from that memo: "Throughout his life John McCain has held himself to the highest standards and he will continue to run a respectful campaign based on the issues." Maybe they forgot to add the other section: "...at least until I start falling behind in the polls, at which point I will unleash a bunch of nasty, irrelevant character attacks on my opponent."

What's most troubling about the McCain camp's desperate decision to unleash a barrage of character attacks on Senator Obama is that they understand perfectly the nastiness, the pettiness, the just-plain-wrongness of what they're doing.

Here's campaign manager Davis again, from an essay entitled "The Anatomy of a Smear Campaign" that ran in the Boston Globe 4 years ago, dissecting the smear campaign that the Bush team ran against John McCain in South Carolina back in 2000. A key section in Davis's essay reads:

"Campaigns have various ways of dealing with smears. They can refute the lies, or they can ignore them and run the risk of the smear spreading. But 'if you're responding, you're losing.' Rebutting tawdry attacks focuses public attention on them, and prevents the campaign from talking issues. We chose to address the attacks by trying to get the media to focus on the dishonesty of the allegations...We also pledged to raise the level of debate by refusing to run any further negative ads--a promise we kept, though it probably cost us the race."

So they know full well what they're doing. And they know it's wrong. This isn't about Wright and Ayers. This is about right and wrong.

The troubling question for John McCain is obvious: "Et tu, Senator McCain?"

And the question for the traditional media is just as obvious: Since you understand exactly what the McCain/Palin campaign is doing, are you going to abet them in this sleazy, divisive, below-the-belt behavior by promoting their preposterous charges?

Perhaps instead we could spend the last month of this campaign talking seriously about how we can update FDR's New Deal, and save the American economy from collapsing.

Comments

[Alonso Quijano]

I am sick and tired of having Democratic candidates not win because they shun telling the truth about their opponents -- while the Republicans win time and time again with negative ads . . .

TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY -- There is plenty of truth about McCain-Palin that is being covered up by McCain-Palin and not ever mentioned by the Obama camp. The list of subjects is well known to Huffington Post readers -- "Keating 5" is the only one used up till now. What about the Alaskan Secessionist Party? There isn't any question that Sarah attended their events with her member husband. Why isn't that UN-AMERICAN? There isn't any question that McCain was a dangerous and foolhardy pilot -- DO YOU WANT TO GET INTO A PLANE PILOTED BY McCAIN? -- There isn't any question that McCain took out a marriage license to marry another woman while being still married to his first wife -- IS THAT HONORABLE?

The list goes on and on. There isn't any possible penalty to the user of negative ads other than TURNABOUT. Citizens have the right to expect their future President to defend the country, when necessary, by ALL MEANS, including distasteful ones. The Democratic campaign is justly criticized by the opposing party as being too wimpy in attacking enemies.

[IllinoisTexan43]

And sure enough, as Rep. Jackson posited, the MSM DID abet the McCain campaign. If it weren't for the debate, trust and believe it would have been Ayers and Wright 24/7- again. I'm glad the MSM got played for suckers by McCain that's what they deserve.

[Itchybiscuit]

I watched the debate on the BBC early this morning and what struck me most is that John McCain looked like a drowning man.

Unfortunately for him, his smears and innuendo meant that, while he thought he was reaching for a log, he actually ended up with a hand full of poop.

Best wishes for Nov 4th from Scotland.

[orangemom]

Thanks for the good wishes, Itchybiscuit. I'd love to visit your country someday.

[sgrl]

Will the 24 hour news shows stop giving Palin free coverage so her attacks can be broadcast? If she wants the public to hear something, force her to go live on Meet the Press, or Fox News Sunday, so she has to defend her rhetoric, not just read it.

[theducator]

In 2000 I had a great deal of respect for McCain and his independent style and non traditional stance on issues. He was subsequently destroyed by Carl Rove and because I am of his generation I was appalled but chalked it up to the extreemists in the RepubliCain party.
Now it is clear that McCain has sold his soul to those devils just to become president. All else pales by comparison to his abandonment of principle. Say it ain't so, John. You could have continued to be heroic, even in defeat to O. Now, you have become a sorry puppet with the RepubliCain extreemests' hands in your back pulling the levers. Forget falling on the sword, just go home quietly and send that breeder bitch back to Alaska. They can drill till their hearts content. All they have to fear is an erection that lasts more than 4 hours.

[darthmaul]

For McCain and his entourage, the words, "The ends justify the means" have never been more true. At the debate last night, he showed himself to be small and petty. For god's sake, he wouldn't even shake Obama's hand!

[RepugsOut08]

Obama gets it! He got it when everyone else, didn't. This year will not be the year of the sucessful smear campaign. Hillary didn't get it, and it cost her the nomination. McCain's camp, incredibly, decided to follow her lead almost step by step. Why did they think her losing strategy would be a winning one for them?
If McCain had adopted just a couple of Obama's ideas, say ending the war and a sensible healthcare plan, he might have been able to actually run as a maverick and beat Obama on experience. Instead, much to my relief, he decided to let the Roves in his party turn him into the very thing that will cost him this election. He is now not just Bush 2 on policy, but also in the art of dirty politics.
The voters responses in the CNN monitoring groups for all three debates now, flatline everytime McCain or Palin bring up Iraq. McCain truly is the only person other than Bush and Cheney who still believes in that war.
I expect McCain will be writing another book after this election, chastising himself for not having a clear reason for running other than just wanting to be president. Americans deserve better. They need and deserve Obama!

[radioalbany]

Very well put, Rep. Jackson.

McCain campaign aides were clear enough about why they adopted the low road
as their own. If they didn't, they said, McCain was going to lose.

Now, to a professional campaign manager, that sounds like the death of the universe.
But McCain should know better than he appears to that there are worse things than
losing an election -- like losing your personal principles AND the election.

Really, very sad.

[monicaangela]

Thank you for your thoughtful comentary. I think you're absolutely right about the McCain campaign reporting they will do one thing and then changing to dirty smear tactics when they notice their lies aren't fooling anyone. The media is partly responsible for allowing these terrible McCain/Palin rallies to be aired but if they didn't air them we wouldn't know how dispicable these people really are. I think the majority of the public can see through their tactics, they're trying to appeal to that group of people they call Joe Six Pack. They think their constituents are so stupid they will fall for this garbage. Well, maybe some of them will, after drinking their six packs. Thanks again for the article, I'm a fan.

[jan4insight]

Perhaps instead we could spend the last month of this campaign talking seriously about how we can update FDR's New Deal, and save the American economy from collapsing.

----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­--

Yes! That's exactly what we should do! Thank you for spelling this out so clearly!

Which, of course, is one more reason why the Repub's have to distract with lies, smears, and worse. the last they want is a New New Deal - they might actually have to admit that we're all in this together. On, the horror!

[Blain]

It will backfire and after watching Barack win another debate tonight I'm more confident than ever that the majority of the American people will not fall for the politics of diversion and character assasination this time. However I do believe that Barack should fight fire with fire. Democrats can't afford to let Sarah Palin lob bombs daily without firing back HARD. I can't believe there is no discussion of Palin and her husband's ties to this separtist group in Alaska. I find that deeply troubling and I think most independents will also. Now is the time for Biden, 527s and all surrogates to turn up the heat while Barack stays on message.

[oldfart1]

Obama handled the 2nd debate poorly. Listening to the debate one would think it was not a debate at all, just two Demos splitting hairs.

McCain never mentioned Bush, not even once, but Obama failed again and again to mention Bush; he must have blown 2/3 of his chances, and instead sounded like a Professor.

He should have hammered on Bush, McCain, Bush, McCain, Bush, McCain, Bush, McCain... until he got McCain to say Bush at least once.

[lukebenward]

I wonder how many readers will get the "Et Tu" reference. :-)

[topkatnc]

HUFF why did you take Make Believe Maverick.? It needs to be here every day!!!

[Biffmeister]

They said they wouldn't run this kind of campaign at their convention after doing just the opposite the previous night--per Giuliani and Palin's mean spirited convention speeches.
They announced they would get even more mean spirited just a few days ago.
They know and believe it to be wrong, yet they continue on.
This is a pattern that basically says "We knew from the start we would do anything to win the election".
Most of us weren't fooled at any point. Those who were are realizing McCain is not the person they believed him to be, and are coming aboard with Obama. It is never-the-less a sad state of affairs in American politics. McCain fiddles while America burns.
We can solve our problems and become a model of human civilizations. But the time to act is now, and the pathway is with the Democratic party and Obama-Biden.