Lies and obfuscations are standard in major elections. They’re accepted. Let’s face it, considering how the public reacts to them, they’re outright encouraged. They also can only go so far until people start calling bullshit so often they put it on their speed dial. McCain’s campaign has gone so far past lying that they’ve outright started to deny all form of reality.
I’m not talking about McCain’s accusations about Obama’s policies, or even the bulk of his accusations about his campaign. Those are normal lies. They’re standard. No big deal. I’m talking about the statements McCain made about Palin, the debate, and the entire election.
After Friday’s debate, McCain was caught saying this at his campaign headquarters:
“I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie but I think that means, when they call it a tie, that means we win.”
Roll that around in your head for a few minutes. It’s okay, I’ll wait. I’m text. This is a good place for a jump, anyway.
“If they call it a tie, that means we win.” That’s some crazy right there. Of course, he was responding to various media outlets’ analysis of the debate. When you consider polls taken right after the debate that say Obama won, McCain must think he’s heading towards a landslide victory.
During the debate itself, McCain and Obama discussed the possibility of going into Pakistan after high-value targets like bin Laden. McCain said;
“You don’t say that out loud. If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government.”
McCain’s problem wasn’t that Obama would go into Pakistan if we got reliable intelligence that there was a major target in the western part of the country, where the government refuses to enforce law. He problem was that Obama admitted it. Obviously it’s still on the table for McCain, but you don’t say that it’s on the table. You keep it a secret. Of course, the threat of us performing targeted strikes in western Pakistan (not “invading,” like we did in Afghanistan, or like right-wing nay-sayers like to characterize Obama’s policy) might be what Pakistan needs to get its act together and start going after the lunatics hiding in its rural mountains. There could be genuine enemies of the U.S. hiding in those mountains, including the mastermind behind 9/11. I’m not a warmonger, but I think that specific policy of targeted strikes if we have the intelligence and if Pakistan is unwilling to act is reasonable.
I’m sorry, I digress. The main point is that Palin contradicted McCain on that point:
“So we do cross-border, like from Afghanistan to Pakistan, you think?” Rovito asked.
“If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should,” Palin said.
Okay, disagreeing with your running mate, a fairly big gaffe (one that Biden has made and that I won’t deny makes you look foolish), but not a huge deal. But then McCain tried to apply some damage control. The important parts are bolded for your irritation.
“She would not…she understands and has stated repeatedly that we’re not going to do anything except in America’s national security interest. In all due respect, people going around and… sticking a microphone while conversations are being held, and then all of a sudden that’s—that’s a person’s position… This is a free country, but I don’t think most Americans think that that’s a definitve policy statement made by Governor Palin.“
So Palin didn’t say what she said, she didn’t mean what she said, and in giving an answer to a citizen’s policy question, she was completely full of shit. In fact, anything she is caught saying near a microphone shouldn’t be considered a policy statement, because she might disagree with McCain. Also, if you engage her in conversation, her statements about policy might be complete lies.
If the media disagrees with McCain, it’s not simply that the media is wrong, it’s just that reality is completely different from what they say. Palin says something that goes against his statements, it’s not that she made a gaffe, it’s that she didn’t mean what she said and meant something completely different. If the public thinks that Obama won the debate or that it was a tie, McCain still won because everybody is out to get them. Oh, and anything Palin is caught saying near a recording device might be completely different from what she’s <i>really</i> saying.
Lying only works if the lies at least try to mesh with the climate, whether it’s the media, the public, or your own VP. If you’re trying to choreograph something, make sure the players know where to put their feet before the show starts.
