More of McCain's Base Leaves Him

Jonathan Alter, in Newsweek, writes about how McCain is “making stuff up about Barack Obama.”

As usual, news organizations are deeply afraid to say that one side is more negative than the other. Doing so sounds “unfair.” It’s much easier, and less controversial, to say that “both candidates” are being negative. That would be “balanced”, but also untrue.

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Overall, and to his credit, Obama has not engaged in anywhere near the number of falsehoods as McCain.

For about a month, McCain’s campaign has been resorting to charges that are patently false. When Obama traveled abroad in July, to positive reviews, McCain decided he had to make attack ads that went far beyond the norm. In the past, plainly deceptive ads were the province of the Republican National Committee or the Democratic National Committee or independent committees free to fling mud that didn’t bear the fingerprints of candidates. But not this time. These smears come directly from the candidate.

McCain has been lying repeatedly about Obama's tax policies, saying he wants to raise taxes when in fact the average family will see a significantly larger tax cut from Obama than McCain. McCain lied about Obama being to blame for high gas prices. He lied about Obama not wanting to visit wounded troops in Germany. Finally, he's lying about Obama motivation for his foreign policy. Obama is not a traitor.

When he resorts to these kinds of falsehoods, and casts such aspersions on his opponent’s patriotism, John McCain is no longer putting his country first. If he were, he would recognize that the interests of the nation require a relatively truthful campaign. To fulfill his image of himself, McCain should stop lying about his opponent. For a man with his claims to honor and integrity, that’s not too much to ask.

Another one of John McCain's base leaves him.