Character: The Old Man and the President

In a pivotal election year like this, the real issues, like the economy and foreign policy, count. The non-issues, like whether Sarah Palin abused her power to get a state trooper fired, do not. And then there’s character.

John McCain, realizing that a growing number of voters prefer Barack Obama’s economic policies to his own, has decided on his latest change of subject for his campaign, and has attempted to shift the discussion to the character of the candidates. Ironically, this decision has highlighted a big difference between McCain and Obama that has developed over the past few months: Obama has conducted himself and his campaign in an even handed, considered, thoughtful, and, dare I say it, presidential manner, and John McCain has not.

Don’t believe me?

Ever since January, Obama has been both liberal and unifying in his message to Americans. To paraphrase him, our country is great, but it has gone astray, and we can make it better. His economic policies promise to focus more on those who have been hurt the most by recession, and he represents a foreign policy that fully accepts that mistakes were made by invading Iraq. And he is, if anything, the best statesman to appear on the national scene in a long time. He has been honest about race in America in a way that we need a president to be, neither shying away from discussion nor dwelling on past wounds. Facing off against Hillary Clinton, political knife-fighter extraordinaire, Obama consistently took the high road, running his campaign without frequently resorting to the negativity that characterized the Clinton political machine. He has continued that pattern to a considerable extent against McCain. Obama devotes most of his time to discussing the issues at hand rather than wading into personal attacks that have characterized the McCain campaign. Yes, cheap shots were taken, most notably the negative ads that tried to associate McCain with arch conservatives opposed to immigration from Mexico, (and included an out of context clip from Rush Limbaugh) and the mini-documentary rehashing the Keating Five scandal McCain was involved in during 1989, but the central Obama argument has been that McCain is too much like George W. Bush and his policies won’t help America climb out of the rut we’re in. When the Obama campaign has accused the McCain campaign (as it correctly accused Hillary Clinton) of ignoring key issues while engaging in petty personal attacks to distract the voters, it has been correct.

McCain, on the other hand, has lurched from one message to the other. With his foreign policy predictions coming apart around him in the summer of 2008 when the Iraqi government suggested a timeline for withdrawal of US troops, and America started to put out feelers towards the Iranians, McCain decided to go negative. After July, most of what he talked about was how Obama wouldn’t make a good president, and that McCain’s experience would best suit America. Then, for reasons best known to himself, the McCain campaign turned around and papered “Reform” over “Experience” on their campaign letterhead, and selected a young, ultraconservative journalism major from Alaska as his running mate. Not only does Sarah Palin lack the sort of experience John McCain undoubtedly has, but she appears to have never given much thought to any political issues beyond tax cutting, oil drilling, and a general support of Jesus.
McCain responded to the Wall Street collapse by “suspending” his flagging campaign to go to Washington, though his action didn’t seem to accomplish anything, especially since his campaign was promptly un-suspended a short time later. Realizing that he failed to win America’s trust as steward during an economic crisis, McCain decided to change the subject and talk about Bill Ayers instead. Oh yeah, and he decided that since Experience and Reform hadn’t worked, he would run the remainder of his campaign on anger and fear. The hilarious part is that after angry, bigoted, and occasionally violent outbursts at McCain-Palin rallies began to appear on the nightly news cycle, the McCain campaign spokesman tried to blame the Obama campaign for creating this negative atmosphere by not agreeing to have town hall style debates earlier in the season.

The McCain who has appeared over the past few months is not presidential. Erratic, angry, impulsive, and dishonest, McCain has run a dirty campaign unbefitting a man of his record. And there isn’t an excuse for it. Either McCain thought these strategies up, or he was pushed into doing them. Either way, after seeing his campaign spin out of control, I have certainly lost faith in his ability to judiciously run a nation.

Specifics and links will be added to this post, but the verdict is clear as of the end of Debate #3 on 10/15. Obama has been displaying the qualities of a leader. McCain has showed a side of him that is anything but: angry, unfocused, and seemingly overwhelmed by events. The McCain campaign has tried to turn the focus of this election away from the economy and onto the character of the candidates. He may have done so, but I have a feeling the outcome will be the opposite of what the Arizona senator hoped for.