The real John McCain

By Paul J. Balles

13 September 2008

Paul J. Balles argues that US Republican Presidential candidate John McCain “has shown himself as a nasty, unprincipled maverick who will lie, lie, lie to get the world into the father of all wars” and that, when McCain isn’t lying himself, he’s approving campaign advertisements permeated with lies.

On 10 September 2008, Larry Rohter, writing in the New York Times, said "Escalating its efforts to portray Senator Barack Obama as a candidate whose values fall outside the mainstream, the campaign of Senator John McCain on Tuesday unveiled a new television advertisement claiming that Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee, favours 'comprehensive sex education' for kindergarten students." 

Rohter wrote that the accusation "seriously distorts the record". That's a gross understatement. Few pundits seem to have the courage to call an outright lie what it is: an outright lie. The lie Rohter reports is but one of many that McCain says he approves of during the campaign.

Few media figures express concern over the distortions expressed by a liar-in-chief. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC said, about McCain’s sex education advertisement: ”It is shameful and downright perverse for McCain to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack...”

McCain's campaign is full of them – lies that is. While some of us become angered by sleazy political campaigning, the latest polls suggest that half of the potential voters aren't disturbed by a candidate's lying.

Nothing could be more dangerous to America or the world than the election of another pathological liar at the helm of the US ship of state.. Bush and Cheney got America into a completely unjustified, unprovoked and illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

If they thought they could get away with it during the final months of their tyrannical rule, they would pull the same trick on Iran. That would not only delight Israeli hawks – recent reports reveal it would even please Osama bin Laden.

Should McCain get elected by the myopic Republicans, including the totally blind evangelical Zionists, not only will America be headed by another pathological liar, but the country will be faced with the total destruction of the US economy and a high probability of war.

Beneath the facade of a Vietnam prison camp hero (he wasn't alone) who rallies with cries like "bomb, bomb, bomb" in reference to Iran and "fight, fight, fight" as he satisfies his killer urges, McCain has shown himself as a nasty, unprincipled maverick who will lie, lie, lie to get the world into the father of all wars.

After McCain visited Iraq, he boasted, “The neighbourhoods were safe. We walked down the streets with no body armour on.” If the neighbourhoods were safe as McCain contended, why did he and his delegation need to be accompanied by more than 100 American soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache gunships overhead?

McCain reported that “General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee.” A CNN reporter checked with General Petraeus who said he never goes out in anything less than an up-armoured Humvee. These, and dozens of other lies that McCain has been caught spouting by only a few media commentators.

McCain claimed that he had never asked for an “earmark” (funds for his own constituency). He lied. He asked for funding for two Arizona projects. “In 24 years as a member of Congress,” said McCain, “I never asked for nor received a single earmark or pork-barrel project for my state.”

When McCain isn’t lying himself, he’s approving campaign advertisements in which his committee members are lying. He already has his running mate lying; and he lies about what she is and what she’s done. This points to a greater problem: when a leader lies, he inspires others to follow. The world doesn’t need another liar with clones in the White House.