Old Man vs. O'bomb'a

The past few days of the 2008 Election have seen a lot of talk about associations, grandiose assumptions, and terrorists. The McCain/Palin campaign have kept to their word and launched a continuous barrage of character attacks at Barack Obama, particularly over his light relationship with William Ayers. While throwing this red meat at their rallies, the two Republican candidates have incited some supporters to scream violent threats directed at Senator Obama; including "Terrorist" and "Kill Him". (Question here: Has there been any previous United States Presidential Campaign in which one ticket accused the head of the other ticket of hanging out with terrorists? I'm serious, cause I've been looking but I can't find a concrete answer...I do however have my assumptions of what it is.)

Some question whether or not the Republicans are purposefully inciting these feelings in their base. I'd have to say that considering the campaign stated it would be "taking the gloves off," they know exactly what they are doing (Introducers say Barack Hussein Obama but not John Sidney McCain). If they didn't want this kind of reaction, they would stifle it immediately instead of simply releasing a statement condoning it. Coming from a man like John McCain who insists on action instead of talking, you would think he'd know that. But, this is politics; are any of us really surprised that its gotten to this point?

There is however something which disturbs me about how Republican pundits and supporters defend this action. Many (after being asked about the ethics of portraying Senator Obama as a terrorist associate) retort that the Obama campaign has been equally harsh and unfair in portraying Senator McCain as an angry, erratic old man. Let's weigh the two:

• On one hand we have the Democratic campaign asserting that Senator McCain is an old angry man who is anything but "steady at the tiller." This also highlights his health concerns, causing people to wonder whether or not the Republican candidate could serve out his entire term. The inherent characteristics of a stereotypical old man are inconsistency, crankiness, anger, and senility. These descriptors hardly invoke much emotion if at all; maybe sadness.
  

• On the other hand we have the Republican campaign accusing the Democratic Senator of associating with terrorists, and have even caused some supporters to believe that he is one himself. Terrorism inherently induces thoughts of conflict, evil, violence, death, and most importantly the events and players (Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, etc.) of September 11th. The root word of terrorism is terror, a term which invokes fear of "the other", mystery, and anger.

The harshest thing that has happened to John McCain because of "old man characteristics" is David Letterman embarrassing him live on national television. No one has threatened violence against him simply because he's 72, they've just hurled innocent jokes his way.

There are several violent, despicable acts directed at Barack Obama simply because of his "otherness," let alone terrorist assumptions. He's the first serious Black Presidential candidate in the history of this country and, as Dubois put it, "otherness" is impossible to avoid. From death threats to Republican supporters becoming violent with minority members of the media, there is nothing funny or innocent about trying to paint the Illinois Senator as a terrorist associate. All it will do is increase the amount of illegitimate anger; illegitimate because these are attacks based on untrue character associations, not policy positions.

So please, don't try to say that John McCain being portrayed as an old man is just as unfair as Obama being assumed a terrorist associate. One is clearly dangerous while the other is not, and for a man who is already facing anger and hate because of his skin color, "terrorist" is just another term to make Senator Obama seem dangerous and untrustworthy. The fact that these charges are based on such a flimsy argument (guilt by association) makes them all the more disappointing and sad. All of this has nothing to do with the issues nor the most dangerous economic crisis facing our country (and our world in this global economy) since the Great Depression.

However, just to make a point, when there's nothing else to go on I like to go straight to the video tape. There's just one thing: There is no video (nor any) evidence of Barack Obama supporting or engaging in terrorist activities. There's plenty of video evidence of John McCain being an angry, erratic, and even senile (note the space astronaut comment near the end) old man:






UPDATE:

I should've just posted this, makes my point better than anything I could've said:

Why Obama Has Already Won the Election...I Hope

Today is Monday, October 6^th and we are 29 days away from Election Day. After watching a concoction of news shows and looking at as many internet articles as I could, I've come to one conclusion about this political race: the only consistency has been the numbers. After all the rhetoric, spin, prodding, pulling, fudging, and bold faced lying, at the end of the day the numbers have remained reliable. Now that we're only a month out, let's take a look back to where we were a month ago.

A CNN research opinion poll conducted September 5 – 7 reported that the race was in a deadlock at 48% each. This is only 4 days after Sarah Palin's RNC speech which resulted in a huge bump for the McCain campaign. More importantly, this is 21 days before the Dow Jones tumbled 7% (777.68 points) in one session. It's also long before an $840 billion “bailout” which will be funded by taxpayers. The economy has been in the toilet for quite a while now and McCain has been lagging in the polls because of it.

In just a month, we've gone from a neck-and-neck race to something completely different. The economy has taken center stage, one presidential debate and the only vice presidential debate have come and gone, there are only a few game changing events left, and we find Obama holding a commanding 8-point lead nationally. In addition to this, voter registration is through the roof and seems to have a Democratic tinge to it (especially in Florida). All of this overwhelming evidence points to a strong advantage for Senator Obama with very little time left in the race. Any betting man would put it all on the line for the Democrats right now and the Republicans know it. That's why it's been reported today that the McCain campaign will step up the amount of character attacks on Senator Obama, trying to steer the conversation away from the economy (on a day that the Dow Jones dropped 800 points before rallying to finish down 369 and below 10,000 points for the first time in 5 years). If John McCain holds true to his word in the second presidential debate tomorrow evening, Obama will respond in kind without hesitation, having learned the lessons of Al Gore and John Kerry. The flood gates will have opened, and the culture war will be in full gear.

Unfortunately this presents a very important test for the country, one which it has passed many times, but failed many more. Will we give in to the demons which work tirelessly to alienate us from one another resulting in personal contempt for “the other”, a stagnation of advancement, and a lack of dexterity? Or will we reject moral corruption and rise as one in the face of perilous conditions to become what we know ourselves to be; a righteous and fair country which aspires to the success of all its citizens? I'm not a religious guy by any stretch, but God knows that in this current age of uncertainty (with WMD's, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the current activity of Iran and North Korea, the rising aggression of Russia, and a deepening recession if not depression) we as a people cannot afford to base our vote on anything other than characteristics of governance.

If people base their vote on false qualifiers like race, sex, and age, we will all lose. If people base their vote on smears, lies, and disingenuous attacks, we will all lose. But if people base their vote on their lack of quality of life, their inability to put food on the table, to pay bills, to find a job, to go to school, to live a decently cordial existence; if people base their vote on the hope of an America better than the faux visage that is currently being portrayed, we will all win. In just under a month we will know if our country has passed that test. After looking at the numbers, evaluating the current situation we're in, and feeling the omnipresent yearning for something more, I thoroughly believe Barack Obama will be our next president. I just hope that the country doesn't get in its own way.