28 Days
I am writing this from Orlando, where the election may be decided. Thirty-eight percent of the state’s independent voters live in Central Florida along I-4.
While I haven’t seen many yard signs, the airwaves are saturated with attack ads from John McCain and Barack Obama, as well as from two 527 groups, RightChange.com and American Issues Project.
With 28 days to go, the charges and countercharges are flying fast and furious. At a rally in Clearwater, Sarah Palin went on the attack:
And I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America, as the greatest force for good in the world. I'm afraid this is someone who sees America as “imperfect enough” to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.
We will likely hear at least 28 half-truths, personal attacks, smears, and insults when Obama and McCain square off tonight in their second presidential debate.
If McCain brings up Ayers, he better duck. Obama told radio host Tom Joyner:
One of the things we’ve done during this campaign: we don’t throw the first punch, but we’ll throw the last. Because if the American people don’t get the information that is relevant about these candidates and, instead, in the last four weeks, all they are hearing about are smears and Swift Boat tactics, that can have an impact on the election. We have seen it before, and this election is too important to be sitting on the sidelines. If Sen. McCain wants to focus on the issues, then that is what we focus on. But if Sen. McCain wants to have a character debate, that is one that we’re willing to have.
Meanwhile, McCain is channeling Bob Dole, who during the 1992 Republican primary campaign told George H.W. Bush, “Stop lying about my record.”
McCain accuses Obama of lying about his record:
My opponent has invited serious questioning by announcing a few weeks ago that he would quote – “take off the gloves.” Since then, whenever I have questioned his policies or his record, he has called me a liar…
Senator Obama has accused me of opposing regulation to avert this crisis. I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed. But the truth is I was the one who called at the time for tighter restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could have helped prevent this crisis from happening in the first place.
Lies, damn lies, and presidential politics. Are we there yet?
