McCain And The Integrity Problem

One of my old friends is as easy to read as a book. His deepest fears and self-doubts, the ones he'd never share with even his closest friends or his wife and children, come out as accusations against everyone around him. He's so big on projecting that all you have to do is sit back and wait and sooner or later he'll tell you all about himself-- in his criticism of others. Today's Washington Post has a much talked about piece on how Obama will stand up to the barrage of smears coming from McCain, his lobbyists and the arms-length surrogates like the execrable Jerome Corsi, who may not ever get an invitation to a State Banquet but who still is a vital part of the McCain campaign.

At one time McCain, suggested they run a respectful campaign. It only took minutes for him to come around to his advisors' perspective that that wouldn't work and that if they were to have any chance of success, it had to be all about smear and racism. McCain took to it like a duck to water. And the relentless attacks say far more about McCain than they do about Obama.

McCain showed no signs of letting up his attacks Monday, charging that behind Obama's demand to end the Iraq war "lies the ambition to be president."

Even the most ardent Republicans in the land know that there is no politician in America, not even a Clinton, whose ambitions to grab the White House is more all-consuming than McCain's. McCain will say or do anything to be president. There's never been anyone like him in our political system before. Once he said he thought building a wall was idiotic but if the idiotic voters wanted a wall and that's what it took for him to get into the White House, he'd say he'd build them a wall. Once McCain said that tax breakers for the richest 10% was a disgrace; today he's promising tax cuts for the rich that will almost make Bush like progressive! This is what the L.A. Times reported on January 4, 2000:

Sixty percent of the benefits from his tax cuts go to the wealthiest 10% of Americans-- and that's not the kind of tax relief that Americans need... Gov. Bush wants to spend the entire surplus on tax cuts. I don't believe the wealthiest 10% of Americans should get 60% of the tax breaks.

Well now he does-- or says he does. Many Democrats want to see Obama come out swinging. Others think McCain is painting himself so ugly with his own brush that it isn't necessary. They're wrong. It is. At Pastor Rick Fest on Saturday, the audience preferred McCain's shallow memorized lines to Obama's thoughtful attempts at real dialogue. Should you ever feel yourself underestimating the naiveté and desire to be pandered to by any democratic electorate, just remember this-- even if Bush stole both 2000 and 2004's elections, as seems likely, many millions of people voted for him.

This morning CNN is offering more than just Jack Cafferty's incisive look at McCain's wretched shallowness. Their business show lays out the startling relationship between McCain and Big Oil special interests.

If cash equals friendship, then John McCain and the oil industry are best friends.

The Arizona Republican has taken $1.4 million from oil industry employees in the 2007-2008 election cycle, more than any other politician, according to CRP.

That's over three times as much as Barack Obama, who ranks just below Hillary Clinton as the highest Democrat recipient.

Those numbers are consistent with how employees in the oil sector give overall - nearly three quarters of their money usually goes to Republicans, although they have been leaning a bit more Democratic in the recent election, according to CRP.

With gas prices near record levels and the public clamoring for something to be done, now is a dangerous time for any politician to be taking money from the oil industry.