photo credit: springhill2008
How quickly they rush to rewrite history. News media all over have been quick to praise McCain’s concession speech last Wednesday (Australian time). And without a doubt it was a very pleasant speech, interrupted only by the boos and catcalls of his ‘diehard supporters’. Journalists and commentators rushed to praise the speech and give accolades to McCain – a great man, a hero.
Um… hello? What about the last 6 months? Do we just forget that?
Are we just meant to forget the slurs, the insults, the downright dangerous campaign that McCain and Palin waged? Do we forget the shouts of ‘kill him’ at McCains rallies? We’re meant to forgive the outrageous lies and the attempt to paint Obama as a terrorist in the minds of the American people?
WEE think it’s astonishing that this is all now forgotten. WEE don’t want to ruin the Americans party. The election of Barack Obama is worth celebrating, but not without some perspective and commentary on what was the most unpleasant campaign in American history. It is the first time that the patriotism of a candidate was called into question – the first time that a question was raised by a campaign that their opponent doesn’t love America.
When will the apologies be coming from the GOP? When will the media hold McCain and Palin to account for the appalling way they behaved during this campaign.
So as well as inspiring us all this week with the election of Obama, the US continues to astonish in its ability to brush aside rank hypocrisy and create a fairytale where the viciousness of the McCain/Palin campaign is simply ignored, forgotten or forgiven. WEE think that is bizarre. At some point it must be acknowledged that the campaign mounted by the Republicans was not only divisive and deceitful, it was down right dangerous.
You can praise McCain all you like for the speech after the election was over, but what about all of the speeches prior to that? The ones where he was hoping to paint Obama as an unpatriotic, dangerous, treasonous, America-hating individual who ‘pals around’ with terrorists? They are just ignored now.
If McCain had fought an honourable campaign, if he had debated, argued and presented his presidential ambitions with grace and generosity then you might be able to call his concession speech gracious. All WEE see is that it was too little, too late. WEE see a man diminished by his attempt at high office.
WEE see no reason to celebrate the man or his campaign. Not until there is some acknowledgement that it was wrong and dishonourable to disparage your opponent to the point that you encourage others to propose that some violent, physical harm comes to him. That isn’t politics, that is capricious incitement of hatred. That was what McCain and Palin contributed to the last presidential election – and that’s hardly presidential.
