John McCain’s former Chief of Staff, Mark Salter, has a column on AmericanSpeakOn.org titled “Double Standards” that is worth a read and merits a response, as I too, have been disappointed by the “race to the bottom” in our current political environment.
There appears to be a substantial difference between the protests (and lack of respect) for President Bush vs. President Obama. Obama’s predecessor had a 90%+ approval rating and overwhelming bi-partisan support as the country rallied around Bush following the September 11 attacks. We later learned that the Bush-Cheney administration abused their powers by attacking a country that did not have WMDs and wasn’t responsible for 9/11, supporting torture, unconstitutional wiretapping, and other actions.
Obama is a completely different story: The “conservatives” NEVER gave him a chance. There have been efforts to undermine his credibility since the moment he won the election — unfortunately, some in this country simply don’t believe an African-American should be president.
Thus, I do not think you can equate what happened with Bush to the current backlash toward Obama. As Salter knows, first-hand, from the whispering campaign in South Carolina that doomed John McCain’s Presidential run in 2000, the extremist fringes in the Republican Party will resort to tactics that even the most radical Democrats wouldn’t touch. As a McCain ‘00 supporter, I would argue that with his competent leadership in the White House, the state of politics and our broader culture would not have coarsened to the degree it has. It’s unimaginable to think of how much better state McCain would have left the country in!
But as proof of the depths that our political system has gone, American Hero John McCain cynically (or desperately) attached an unqualified laughing stock of a candidate as his running mate to be a heart-beat away from the Presidency.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Ben Padnos is an Internet entrepreneur based in Manhattan Beach, California. He Twitters @benpadnos.