Excuses, Excuses

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by hilzoy

Yesterday, Jonathan Chait (who I normally like) wrote a piece about John McCain in which he said:

“McCain is pretty easy to take. His demagoguery comes with an awkward forced smile, which doesn’t make it more forgivable but does make it less irritating.”

Call this the Chait/Cohen/Kristof line on McCain: yes, he’s willing to throw his principles overboard, but the fact that he hates doing it (and we are supposed to take their word for that) makes it all rather endearing, somehow. I find this baffling: why the fact that John McCain knows that what he’s doing is wrong makes it “less irritating” is a mystery to me.

Chait also says:

“The best aspect of a McCain presidency is that, while it would probably follow the policies of George W. Bush, it would put an end to the politics of Karl Rove.”

Really? In that case, I’m at a loss to explain not just McCain’s willingness to take Rove on as an informal advisor, and to staff his campaign with Rove proteges, but his willingness to say things like this (h/t):

“I had the courage and judgment to say that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Sen. Obama would rather lose the war in order to win a political campaign.”

I don’t know what Chait et al mean by ‘the politics of Karl Rove’. To me, it has always involved a willingness to do just about anything to win, and in particular to make deeply dishonorable attacks on one’s opponent. Saying that one’s opponent would lose a war on purpose, for political reasons strikes me as pretty deeply dishonorable. Duels have been fought for far less.

McCain does have an “awkward forced smile” at the end of the clip I posted, but while that might make it less irritating to Chait, it does not have the same effect on me. Likewise, I’m sure Senator McCain knows that what he’s saying is not true. But, as I said, I have no idea why the fact that he’s lying about his opponent’s patriotism and honor on purpose is supposed to make me think better of him.

John McCain is an adult. No one is forcing him to say these things. It’s time people stopped making excuses for him.

16 thoughts on “Excuses, Excuses”

  1. “It seems to me that Sen. Obama would rather lose the war than win a political campaign.”
    Shouldn’t that be “would rather lose the war than lose a political campaign”?
    Does that even make any sense?

  2. The quote in the clip is “Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”

  3. McCain’s only redeeming quality is that, although he is as mean-spirited as Rove, he is not smarter than Bush. I can respect persons who acknowledge that and support McCain anyway. But it’s getting awfully hard to respect persons who deny it.
    Radovan Karadzic has been described as ‘avuncular’. He described himself, in passionate tones, as a ‘patriot’. I’m not sure Karadzic ever literally extolled ‘serving a cause greater than self-interest’, but I would not be a bit surprised if he had. I do not mean to equate him to McCain, for Karadzic never (to my knowledge) got shot down while riding in a fighter plane. But I do suggest that one can call himself a ‘patriot’ and say ‘my firends’ a lot and still be a mean and misguided man.
    So, to the extent that McCain’s supporters (or McCain himself) base his pretensions to the presidency primarily on those characteristics he shares with Karadzic, I say to hell with them. If that makes me ‘unpatriotic’, good.
    — TP

  4. I do not mean to equate him to McCain, for Karadzic never (to my knowledge) got shot down while riding in a fighter plane.
    Ground attack plane [/Farber]

  6. Ground attack plane [/Farber]
    Had I been dropping bait for Gary, I would have typed “says ‘my friends’ alot‘. My use of ‘fighter plane’ was in fact a snark-spirited quote of Bob Schieffer’s ignorance, not a demonstration of my own.
    The fact that Schieffer used ‘fighter plane’ is of course an example of subliminal media favoritism to McCain. ‘Fighter’ pilots are by implication gallant knights duelling in the sky. ‘Ground attack’ (aka bomber) pilots are too easily perceived as delivery men.
    — TP

  7. McCain: More fake than Romney.
    I wonder if everyone who thinks McCain is okay thinks torture is okay. I mean, until he pancaked on torture I thought he was an okay guy. He flipped, he flopped, I changed my mind, completely.
    For me Bush is the torture president, McCain is the torture candidate, which is to say without principles other than ironic ones.
    McCain and Romney; that’s the ticket! Four more years of duplicity and falsity and cruel crap, but with the odd tantrum and maybe heart attack.
    It’s gotta be a winner.
    And stunned applause for they who praise him. How can they do that?

  8. I think the point Chait is making is that presumably all politicians know when they’re lying, otherwise it wouldn’t really be lying. What makes McCain better is that at least he’s slightly self-conscious about it. Which I guess is something, but it’s a pretty sad state of affairs if that’s all you have to do to be better than average.

  11. I really love that quote. “I had the courage and judgment to say that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war”…so vote for me, because I don’t want to lose this campaign. Not that I mind! But I do.

  12. I don’t know why I’m supposed to assume the fake awkward smile indicates a conscience, rather than a Coriolanian distaste for doing what it takes to make the proles like you.

  14. “John McCain is an adult. No one is forcing him to say these things. It’s time people stopped making excuses for him.”
    Yes!!!!
    Journalists loooove to go all meta, and to see beneath the surface (see? McCain is uncomfortable when he lies).
    Who cares? A lie is a lie is a lie, and a real journalist concentrates on revealing the truth, not on guessing how much angst a given liar feels.
    Who cares if McCain is a sincere liar?
    Thanks, Hilzoy

  15. You said “Coriolanian”!
    With all these superhero and Tolkien references, it’s time someone brought the highbrow.
    Though I think the analogy is inexact — Coriolanus is much colder than McCain, more aristocratically self-controlled.
    It is inexact, although the more I think about it the more I like it. Might make a good limited-edition bumper sticker: “McCain ’08: Coriolanus Without the Impulse Control.”

  16. “His demagoguery comes with an awkward forced smile, which doesn’t make it more forgivable but does make it less irritating.”
    I don’t get that at all, how does it make it better because someone smiles while they deceive you. I absolutely loathe McCain’s smile. It sends shivers up my spine.

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