Should Obama play dirty?

More often than not, I am disappointed in Democrats for one main reason: they refuse to get down and dirty in election battles. Outrage and finger-pointing aplenty comes from within the party about Karl Rove and his divisive politics, or about the Swift Boat Veterans, or the Willie Horton blame game. Democrats always see what is done to them as being unfair or mean-spirited.

Well, of course it's unfair! It's politics! And of course it's mean. We are talking about two very large groups of Americans who are fighting for the reigns of the most powerful country on earth.

I read more than my fair share of blogs and comments on major news websites (probably more than I ought to), and I have noticed many self-proclaimed independents already bashing Obama for going negative.

Objectively speaking, he has yet to go negative. McCain has lied about Obama's tax policies, falsely tied him to rich celebrities, and pegged him as arrogant and elitist. And we aren't talking about misleading little nuances, we are talking about outright lies. And Obama's most aggressive or controversial attack yet was based on an actual McCain quote (he forgot how many houses he owns).

Can Obama afford to go negative? Absolutely. It may be the only thing that saves him. And to pretend to take the high road and not respond to attacks cost Carter in 1980, Dukakis in 1988, Kerry in 2004, and countless other state and local races for Democrats throughout history.

Suck it up, Obama. In politics-- at least recently-- the victory goes to he who took the low road.

Blind followers of the Republican Party

I always say that if you are a wealthy white Christian heterosexual male, go ahead and be Republican. If not, you really have no reason to be. Abortion is sometimes necessary, guns are not, gays will soon be able to marry and fiscal responsibility went by the wayside the day Bush took office.

Any Republican who is in favor of the government staying out of their affairs need look no further than legislation passed and signed by Bush that allows cell phone companies to spy on you (Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" took up this notion in a very scary way).

But this is all general... It should be obvious to even a casual political observer that the Republicans have been way off course lately.

What has bothered me lately is the attacks on Obama, and the "tit-for-tat" mentality McCain's campaign insists on using. John McCain is the elitist, Obama isn't (McCain's economic advisor was so out of touch he was asked to step down, he owns seven homes, he is married to a multi-millionaire trophy wife, he wears $500 shoes, he had a private jet before Obama did, etc).

The McCain tort? "Obama said that Americans 'cling to God and religion'", and "he wants to know the price of arugula."

If that's the best they have, they should go back to Arizona now.

Anyone who believes in the "moral fabric" of the Republican Party ought to look right through McGolddigger. He abandoned his first FAMILY (not just his first wife) for a bimbo millionaire, and was dangerously close to being implicated in several shady business deals (see Keating 5). Plus, his precious Cindy was a pill-popper for years, stealing from her own charity.

And as far as experience goes: having a lousy, inconsistent record in the Senate and getting shot down in Vietnam is hardly the stuff that most presidential aspirants would brag about.

So, to those of you who only vote Republican because you are looking out for your money: McCain can't remember how many homes he owns. Family issues: McCain's two marriages and convenient dismissal of his first FAMILY ought to speak for itself. Military service: Probably would have never happened if not for his daddy. Independent record: He flip-flops more often than he stays on message.

Republican faithful: Get a brain for Christ's sakes!!!

McCain- Worse than Bush?

While it might be hard to fathom that a president could be worse than Bush, McCain certainly has the track record to edge out ol' Dubya on this dubious honor.

As recently as Saturday night-- where his obviously rehearsed Q&A with a famous megachruch pastor received mass applause-- McCain has been gaffing his way into the books of political infamy. Take this one: "If you were to put a number on being rich, say, $5 million?"

The audience laughed, as did McCain. But it was clear that he wasn't joking. He distinctly and uncomfortably laughed only after the audience had begun to do so.

So, he's out of touch on economics (something most of us already knew a la Phil Gramm).

How about military service? Well, he voted against Jim Webb's bipartisan plan to bolster money for the GI Bill (a fund that educates returning troops and veterans). More recently, he endorsed the veto of a bill that would have limited the CIA's ability to torture (the veto that Bush eventually penned, of course). And, perhaps most telling, he was in the bottom 2% of his graduating class at the Naval Academy.

Well, surely his record as a "maverick" is good enough... Think again. Flip flops on gay marriage, the Confederate flag, the Iraq War and offshore oil drilling, to name a few. Check it out here.

In sum, it's pretty clear that McCain is peddling the same Bush formula-- on the economy, the war(s), social justice issues, and even benefits for soldiers.

John McCain. A real American loser.