Hey! Wait a minute, oh say that again!

Following up on Andrew Sullivan's fanciful praise of John McCain earlier today, Sullivan has now taken note of John McCain's ridiculous association of Barack Obama with Hamas.

When it comes to McCain, I don't think Sullivan, or much of our media, gets it. There is no "Good McCain, Bad McCain." It's just John McCain. That's who he is. He feeds what he believes will be eaten up. He is portrayed as a man of principle. But he's not. He's a man who knows how to play the media. Sullivan got punk'd by McCain, and when the evidence was presented, he just gave a soft rebuttal (because, as we know, that's just not the real McCain, right?). McCain makes a half-hearted (and likely disingenuous) statement to the purveyors of the North Carolina attack ad, and gets praised profusely for his integrity. He equates Obama with Hamas and Sullivan basically just notes the comment for the record. Because it doesn't fit the narrative of John McCain as an honest, straight-talking man of principle.

If either statement came from Hillary Clinton, Sullivan would be all over her. But, like Chris Matthews and the bulk of the broadcast media, he doesn't share the cynicism about McCain's condemnation of the North Carolina ad because, well, nobody wants to believe that McCain is like that. He's a maverick, a war hero, who tells it like it is.

But the evidence that McCain is indeed the type of person who plays dirty politics, twists facts and will do anything to win is all over the place. In what sense has John McCain, in his words, "done everything that [he] can to repudiate and to see that this kind of campaigning does not continue"? By making a statement and sending an email regarding the North Carolina race-baiting ad, but keeping the story alive so the ad keeps getting play in heavy rotation on the cable news channels? McCain is vying to be the leader of the Republican Party and, more importantly, the nation. So either he's too weak to stop his surrogates, or he doesn't want to stop them.

As always, McCain is getting the best of both worlds -- Obama gets smeared, but McCain gets to look like the good guy who stood up to those mean folks who are saying all those nasty things In the meantime, McCain uses the cover of his stand-up guy comment to launch an attack of his own, which will, in typical fashion, be dismissed as meaningless, just campaign stuff.

Cause we all know that McCain is a good man, right.

Classic John McCain, all of it.

Hey! Wait a minute, what's that you said?

In today's blog, Andrew Sullivan says that "McCain Gets It," that John McCain "is sincere in not liking or appreciating this kind of [race bating and scare tactic] politics."

On cue, here is today's high-minded quote from John McCain:

"All I can tell you Jennifer is that I think it's very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States. So apparently has Danny Ortega and several others. I think that people should understand that I will be Hamas's worst nightmare....If senator Obama is favored by Hamas I think people can make judgments accordingly."

Andrew Sullivan keeps telling us how a campaign between John McCain and Barack Obama would be a dignified campain of ideas, principles and substance and a break from the partisan hackery that we've experienced for much too long. But this quote is another example of the deep misjudgement of John McCain's dignity and honor that is so pervasive in the minds of many. If Hillary Clinton made anything resembling that statement from McCain, Sullivan would be apoplectic.

McCain consistently wants -- and gets -- to have everything both ways. Of Hagee's words on Katrina as God's punishment to New Orleans for a gay pride parade, McCain says "it's nonsense, it's nonsense, it's nonsense," but McCain's rejection, as it were, was painfully slow in coming and he still sought and remains "glad" to have Hagee's endorsement, and continues to coddle the extreme right wing. Yet McCain has the nerve to attack Obama in the basest possible way for a so-called endorsement by Hamas, as if anyone in America is taking direction from Hamas on the election or that in any way what Hamas says should decide anything. It's extreme Bushist stooping and fear mongering and guilt by non-association, no less vile than the 2004 election propaganda that Al Qaida and Fidel Castro preferred John Kerry.

Even before his recent cave on waterboarding, McCain objected to torture yet supported -- was the "sensible" and all-important mavericky voice defending, in so-called rebellion against the Bush Administration -- the so-called (and still so-called, despite the fact that it's just not so) anti-torture amendment to the defense appropriations bill over a year ago that for all intents and purposes actually legalized torture by, among other things, ensuring no habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo prisoners, allowing evidence obtained through torture to be used, and giving just-following-orders defenses to interrogators, all the while allowing Bush to elect to define torture as he saw fit. McCain gets his moderate bonafides by protesting a U.S. constitutional amendment against gay marriage, to the calculated ire of the right wing and the adoration of the McCain-enthralled media, yet stumps for the anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment in Arizona. I could go on about his divergent (with himself) views on immigration reform, Roe v. Wade, the confederate flag, and the successes and failures of the Iraq misadventure. These all speak to the character of the man, in what are often unflattering ways, despite their portrayal by his media "base."

But where's the rage about McCain? His response to Hagee's comments is noteworthy, but the broader context, and John McCain's overall character, notwithstanding that he is a genuine hero for what he endured in Vietnam, demands a full assessment, and that picture is not so rosy.

Talkin' Trash

Betty Botter bought a bit of O-Bama's butter.
"But," Hill said, "O-Bama's butter is a bit bitter.
He's also a real bad bowler.
If I break that to that beginner's backer,
It will make my chances better.
I'll make Barack do so much badder."

The blogs all buzzed on their banner
'Bout 'Bama and his bit of bitter butter.
And Bill and Hill both blathered and badgered
To blast Barack for his bitter butter.
Didn't care it helped the bomb bomb bomber
Bomb Iran, bomb bomb, bomb bomb bomb bomber.

"Betty Botter can't like O-Bama better.
That sound bite has bit him in the butter!"
But Bill and Hill's race to the bottom was such a bummer
Betty gave up on Hill and went to Obamer
Put a big new sticker on her bumper
Now Betty Botter's a bigger O-Bama Backer.