At The End Of A Terrifying Week, John McCain Steps Back From The Abyss

Having lived through the second week of September in 2001, I never thought I'd see a week that terrified me more. But as my wife and I made plans to move to England if Barack Obama is assassinated, I realized that this week might just top it. On 9/11, after all, America was attacked by foreign terrorists. This week most of the madness was homegrown.

Watching the stock market plummet at record speeds. Seeing the rest of the world follow our lead, as it were, and tip towards financial chaos. Reading articles about "the end of American capitalism." Watching Iceland -- an entire country, for Pete's sake -- throw in the towel and effectively go out of business. All that was unsettling enough.

But it was even worse to watch the hate-filled crowds at McCain-Palin rallies spewing their rage at Senator Obama, punctuated with cries of "Terrorist!" "Treason" and "Kill him!" You could almost hear the entire country ripping messily in two.

This week has been like the scariest elements of 1929 crossed with the scariest elements of 1968. And it made me wonder if Sarah Palin wasn't just whistling Dixie about "the end of days."

All week, it's seemed like America is a nation coming very close to a complete economic, political and social meltdown. And much to my surprise, it was John McCain -- the man who's helped to unleash a lot of the hatred that's now running amok -- who took the first baby steps away from the edge.

It may be a case of too little, too late. I don't know. I'm just happy that McCain has finally attempted to quell his most rabid, vitriolic supporters by reassuring them that they have nothing to fear from an Obama presidency, and that Senator Obama is a decent family man. And, oh yeah, NOT an Arab.

Who knows if the haters will pay any attention? And who knows if the increasingly erratic McCain campaign will back off from what he said at that Minnesota town hall? But I think America has now seen the real John McCain for the first time in a long, long time. And it's a shame, because that man would be doing a lot better on the campaign trail than the partisan nitwit who's been running for the office these last couple of months.

So thank you, Senator McCain, for showing your true colors. I still think you'd make a lousy president, but for a few hours, at least, you've brought back a little decency and dignity to America.

Comments

[BarackMarley]

John Lewis was right. McCain's rallies have turned into fear and hatemongering events similar to those of George Wallace. You'd think McCain would take into consideration what Lewis said, seeing as how he told Rick Warren that John Lewis was one of 3 people he would confide in if made president.

Read About John Lewis vs John McCain and Why Lewis was Right
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/john-lewis-vs-john-mccain/

[mandalaina]

I disagree. McCain's true colors (according to his biographies) are more in line with doing something despicable, getting caught, begging tearfully for forgiveness, receives it to only then eventually start the whole cycle all over again. He takes some half-hearted responsibility when it is expedient but doesn't change the behavior that got him into trouble to begin with.

It is the pattern of the serial abuser who never really pays for his wrong-doing.

I have no forgiveness for him, because the damage isn't over yet. We will never know if his evil seed has taken root in some psycho's mind. He had it in his power to tell--convincingly!!--the truth about Obama to begin with, but allowed the pull of power to control him. What little he offered was too little too late, and compounded the insult to Arab-Americans (He's not Arab--he's a "decent family man.").

[genetiks]

I wonder who got to him, how he figured out that he had to tamp it down.

[phae100]

Could we bury the myth that the real McCain is a great guy, and that this guy we've watched go from flip-flopping to spouting pathological lies, to holding Nazi-style rallies is somehow not the real McCain. Dude, we've been watching this guy be unsavory in various ways now for many months. This is the real McCain. To pretend like its not is relieving him of responsibility for his actions.

[rpollard1986]

Dude.

[Rog49Thomas]

Brother John has a consistent record - say one thing do another.

Just like the suspending of his campaign, his new face of tolerance is another charade.

The dirty work continues to go on.

And the crazies continue to be riled up.

[BethStuart]

The lurch by the McCain campaign into moderation was short lived. Less than 24 hours after McCain made those moderate statements about Obama, Palin was at work all but accusing Obama of infanticide. This is a despicable campaign.

[genetiks]

Plus, the tv commercials about obama & Ayers are still shown in my state (by the McCain campaign)

[hawkeyeinsc]

Wingman is so right with those comments about the McCain-Palin demagoguery and the need for apologies. McCain might have it in him to offer something resembling an apology, but his ignorant arrongant, and power-seeking-at-all-costs running mate clearly does not.

[GrainOSand]

USA, USA, USA, they chanted. One wondered if USA stood for Ugly Separatist Antagonist, or Unseemly Sadistic Arrogance, or Unruly Simpletons Articulating, or Uncontrolled Satanic Arguments. One thing was certain; they did not mean the United States of America that is comprised of people of all hues and religions. Hockey mom, true American, and Joe six-pack are code words for "white backwards America", or "white fearful America", or "white, I do not want change in America because I only want whites in positions of power in America", or white, "those were the days¦songs that made the hit parade" America. They seem to forget that the 50s were not a party for some Americans. The America of McCain and Palin is divided and dismissive of any who do not look like them.

USA, USA, USA, they chanted. Like a mangy pack of howling rabid fang dripping wolves turning their snouts upward in unison, to howl at a moon of hate that awakened their primordial instinct to hate and to blood lust, they howled their manic canine approval of the foul and evil beast of divide, and their disapproval of the hard charging, decent and disciplined dark horse of enlightened leadership now making a challenge for the heart of a nation.

The GOP is the party of exclusion, of dismissal, and of divide. If they maintain power after this election, let there be no spin on what America is. Let us admit that USA stands for, Unfortunately Supportive of Apocalypse.

[rpollard1986]

"Ugly Separatist Antagonist, or Unseemly Sadistic Arrogance, or Unruly Simpletons Articulating, or Uncontrolled Satanic Arguments"

... Good ones

Lets be real here people and all remember that Martin Luther King, Jr and Aberaham Lincoln, were in fact registered and active republicans. Most definately two of the most influencial ones as well. Where do you people get your facts from? MSNBC?

By the looks of your above comment, you would be the one who is hatemongering here. Lets all call a spade a spade.

[Gidster]

McCain spoke of stepping back for one reason, Plausible Deniability!

"McCain never "TOLD" that mob to attack, he even said on several occasions that Obama was decent" Said Tucker Bounds following the recent attack on Senator Obama's motorcade......

[demfriend]

I have not been alone. I read the above and realized that I am only one of many whose fears have been stoked by the campaign of the GOP. But while you believe McCain has stepped away from it I believe he is too far into this machine of hate he built with the help of Palin and the GOP. The amount of incredible nasty lies and hatred based on color, true racism, has built in me a fear that surpassed the terrorist threat we live with. How can we claim to have learned anything from these horrible years under Bush when this kind of hate and fear mongering is daily and as it gets closer worse than I can believe. Three good decent men who only wanted to make us and this country a better place with a future have died in our past. It only took one man (supposedly) one weapon and an insane desire to stop the person from doing his best for us. The media hasn't done near enough to stop this hate and racism either as the GOP has built/whipped it up and I hold them to task too. Who will take the blame if it happens again?

[island-in-alabama]

McCain did not build this machine of hate, he's just trying to ride it into the White House.

Palin is on the ticket because that was the price of the ride.

McCain didn't initially realize the full dimensions of the deal he made with the devil; he may be starting to understand now, but that does not forgive what he has done.

This machine has been in place, and strengthening itself for decades.

This machine includes right-wing hate radio, sycophantic Fox News, hateful xenophobes and intolerant fundamentalists. They've brewed a mix of hate and fear that they serve up to the the American public every four years to demonize the Democratic candidate for electoral advantage and scare the public into voting against the Democrat, rather than for the Republican.

What we saw this week was that machine revving out of control and showing more of its true nature to the public than they intended. Since most people are decent at heart, they were revulsed by what they saw, understanding that such hatred is dangerous to America, as a people and nation, and started to flock to the Democratic side, where the only rational adults in the presidential race are.

This is the true face, not of all Republicans, but of the core of their power. Now that they've tipped their hand, don't forget it.

[RRG64]

What we are witnessing is the death knell of an ideology that is quickly becoming the minority one mind at a time as witnessed by the latest defections from the Republican party.

They will not go quietly in the night nor will they discontinue the path they have chosen.

This is quickly becoming about what is right, decent and true and what is not.

United we stand, divided we fall.(or splinter)

[tompoe]

McCain did no such thing. He did not step back, not even for a moment. What he did do was to signal to the crowd that they are to keep stirred up, to keep going, to not stop, but not when he's talking, not when he's in the room. Easy enough, is the response from the crowd. Don't cancel your move just yet.

[Oonagh]

My sentiments exactly... ... for the first time in my life I fear anarchy, .......... McCain has riled up the mob... .

[harriscrl3]

I got the same feeling you did. I thought we would be on the verge of the country splitting along the lines of racial and ethnic conflict and quite honestly I think we would if we didnt have someone like Barack Obama. He remained calm he urged people not to panic to remain calm and he tells them how Americans have been through this kind of adversity before and how we battle our way back from it. He reiterated that what will pull us through is not allowing ourselves to be divided to remember that we are all in this together. He hasnt taken office yet but he is the current leader of this country in my book.

Carol

[stax920]

Nice post, as always. I would argue, however, that he realized that the response to the anger that he stoked was hurting him with the swing voters he needs to have any chance at winning this election. He made his response for reasons of political expediency, not out of any sense of nobility or righteousness. He forfeited that long ago.

[JimMan35]

I agree that McCane's step back wasn't for honor or anything positive, but for expediency because he realized his not saying anything was hurting his campaign. And he didn't step back far and it wasn't for long because his campaign is still stoking the same fires and spewing out the rhetoric and McC himself (through R Davis) had an incredibly inept response to John Lewis' comments about the atmosphere of the M/P rallies being sadly similar to Geor ge Walla ce's events.

[zanzig]

In fact I would be grateful to anyone else here who can point me to examples of McCain's honor, decency, nobility (other than his POW record). This seems to be a statement that is made often about McCain, but watching on from a distance of 9,500 kms I can't see it - at least not in this presidential campaign. Say a thing often enough and it is taken for gospel.

[Poboy]

Come out, come out where ever you are, you punks.

You were cowards when you hid behind the Declaration of Independence, but denied it to your slaves.

You were cowards by raping Black women who submitted to your bestiality.

You were cowards when you hid under the white robe.

You were cowards when you hid behind states rights and your racist opposition to equal rights, to affirmative action, to welfare for women and children, to Black men with your anti-crime rhetoric.

Land of the free and home of the brave?

Or land of the slave and home of the coward?

[jhNY]

As a nation whose economy was founded on slavery so as to maximize the profitability of our cash crops-- tobacco, sugar, cotton, rice-- it is no accident of history that the 'peculiar institution' was enshrined in law and to no small degree in the Constitution itself (see formula for calculating representation in Congress by population count). Further, there is no credible theory whereby the slave states of the south would have ratified the Constitution without the addition of slave populations at a rate of 3/5 of a vote each in the census calculation. And indeed when Lincoln ran as an anti-slavery candidate, his victory was the precipitous cause of the secession of what became the Confederacy. There were a great many abolitionists to be found throughout the country, although far fewer in the south, but nearly no white person anywhere sincerely believed in the literal equality of Blacks and whites. Even Lincoln was convinced that the equality could not be expected to extend past the legal sphere.

Buit it would be wrong to project cowardice onto the racists here. They have been, until the last few decades, happy to trumpet their opinions and force them into law and all areas of American society whenever it was possible politically, even by means of fire, guns and bombs. And they were not ashamed to do it, but felt it to be their moral obligation as self-apppointed guardians of a superior race.