Pinocchiobama

Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC was so quickly overwhelmed by John McCain's announcement of his running mate and its sensational aftermath that the speech itself has received little discussion. Truth to tell, there wasn't much in it to discuss. But those interested in the integrity of the democratic nominee may wish to consult a fact-check report on the speech, which they can do at factcheck.org, under "FactChecking Obama," 8/29/08.

The article contains the by-now familiar corrections of quantitive assertions to which the speeches of both candidates are subject. Of particular concern to the Post Liberal, however, are the personal claims made by Senator Obama about Senator McCain and the statements Obama attributed to him. These distortions of fact are especially disturbing, at least to me, because they could easily have been avoided, and served no other purpose than to smear Senator McCain's good name as a citizen. I quote a couple of bullet points from the FactCheck report.

Obama twisted McCain's words about Afghanistan, incorrectly implying that McCain saw no need for more troops there.
Obama: When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11.
Actually, McCain said in 2003 that the U.S. "may' muddle through, not that we could or would. He also said he was very concerned about a rise in al Quaeda activity there. He said then that he was "guardedly optimistic" that the government could handle it.

The FactCheck report then continues with a fuller quotation of McCain's actual words, which I urge readers of the Post-Liberal to examine for themselves.

Here's another observation about Obama's speech from FactCheck:

Obama used a clumsy attempt at humor by McCain as evidence of his supposed insensitivity to middle-class economic realities:
Obama: Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year?

What McCain actually said at the Saddleback Church forum on Aug. 16 was that he favors low taxes for all income levels. He drew a laugh, then said, "but seriously" as he struggled to make his point.

The FactCheck report continues on to quote the exchange at greater length, and again I urge readers of the PostLiberal to consult it themselves, because it doesn't reflect badly on John McCain at all. Indeed, after getting a laugh for the $5 million remark, McCain is quoted as saying "But seriously..."and then adding, "I'm sure that comment will be distorted." Again, McCain was right. First the surge and now this!

It would not be unfair to say of Senator Obama that his misleading references to Senator McCain's words represented awfully sloppy work for a man who wants to be our president, particularly on an occasion which, if really "historic" as claimed, will be remembered and studied for more than one day. As Obama himself might say, we can do better than this! And if we elect as our president a man so tone deaf that he can't tell when John McCain is cracking a joke, what will he do in his meetings with Ahmadinejad and Putin if they get sarcastic with him? The fate of the world might depend upon President Barack Obama's sense of tact! (Just kidding.)

But it would be truly patronizing to Senator Obama to suggest that a guy with degrees from Columbia and Harvard doesn't possess the reading and listening skills to understand what McCain actually said. What Obama doesn't possess is the integrity to care about what McCain said. All Barack Obama cares about is getting into office.

I have found it rather shameless of the democrats and their supporters to accuse their opponents of "swiftboating" Obama, using fear tactics, etc. etc. etc. The entire Obama campaign amounts to little more than "They're stupid, they're stupid, they're stupid." And that is capped by an inspiring peroration about bringing America together! How stupid does he think we are? You can run against the Republican Party and its popularly elected officeholders as the embodiment of unmitigated stupidity, and you can run as the candidate who will bring America together, but you can't do both at the same time. And since John McCain is not nearly as stupid as Barack Obama and his supporters would like us to believe, Obama can't do either. It is Obama's campaign that is leading the divisiveness, demagoguery and fear-mongering. What I'm afraid of is that it will get worse and worse as the election approaches. Especially if the voters don't seem to be fearful enough of McCain to vote for his opponent.