Dear Senator McCain:
Wow, I was really nervous after you won the nomination. You said you wanted to run a campaign that focused on issues and you promised to take the high road. You said you weren't going to run a divisive campaign that personally attacked your opponent, whomever it was. You know, the type of campaign that destroyed your chance at being president in 2000. You remember, the kind of campaign that used wild accusations and half-truths to get a few votes. I mean, that's why people turned away from you after you won the New Hampshire primary and voted for George Bush.
To be honest with you, senator, that one is still hard to believe.
You're a war hero and people have praised your record during this campaign and criticized anyone who questioned your foreign policy experience because you were a prisoner of war. And yet, eight years ago, you were defeated by a man with no foreign policy experience whose own record in the military was, to be polite, questionable, to say the least.
I thought for sure that you would talk about the housing crisis, the fact that thousands of people across the country lost their homes. I thought maybe you would talk about the fact the economy was struggling. Didn't General Motors announce plans to close automobile plants and lay off thousands of people just a few months ago?
I thought you'd talk about the high gas prices and how we are paying record prices at the pumps.
Maybe you'd talk about the fact that after almost seven years we still haven't captured Osama bin Laden and how we're still mired in a war in Iraq with no end in sight. Maybe you'd talk about how and when we plan to get out of Iraq. Maybe even go out on a limb and explain to us what victory means. What it means besides the abstract statements of President Bush when he says we'll stay there until we win or until we're successful, whatever, exactly, that means.
You had me worried. I was afraid you'd keep your word.
But, thankfully, you haven't.
Instead you've complained about Barack Obama traveling overseas. You've criticized him, some of those liberals would say unfairly, for not visiting wounded soldiers in Germany. (The fact you planned to criticize him if he had visited the wounded soldiers is not the point, right, senator?)
You've questioned his leadership and ability to serve because he drew 200,000 in Berlin and large crowds in France and Great Britain.
And I love the ad with Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton. It may not tell me anything, it may distort reality a little, (OK, maybe a lot) but it sure takes people's minds off their real problems.
Oh, and the comments about Obama wanting to win an election rather than win a war and making him sound like a traitor? That was priceless. Heck, mention his middle name sometimes when you speak. That might make people wonder if he's really just out to destroy the United States. It's not true, but so far that hasn't been a problem for you.
Thanks again, senator, for not boring us with real issues but keeping us distracted.
The way it looks, this strategy might work for you. Oh, sure, it might make it impossible for you to get anything done if you do win the election, but the main thing is that you get to sit in the Oval Office.
That's the main thing, isn't it, Senator McCain?
- Brian Gray is a reporter for the Monroe Times He can be reached at bgray@themonroetimes.com
Wow, I was really nervous after you won the nomination. You said you wanted to run a campaign that focused on issues and you promised to take the high road. You said you weren't going to run a divisive campaign that personally attacked your opponent, whomever it was. You know, the type of campaign that destroyed your chance at being president in 2000. You remember, the kind of campaign that used wild accusations and half-truths to get a few votes. I mean, that's why people turned away from you after you won the New Hampshire primary and voted for George Bush.
To be honest with you, senator, that one is still hard to believe.
You're a war hero and people have praised your record during this campaign and criticized anyone who questioned your foreign policy experience because you were a prisoner of war. And yet, eight years ago, you were defeated by a man with no foreign policy experience whose own record in the military was, to be polite, questionable, to say the least.
I thought for sure that you would talk about the housing crisis, the fact that thousands of people across the country lost their homes. I thought maybe you would talk about the fact the economy was struggling. Didn't General Motors announce plans to close automobile plants and lay off thousands of people just a few months ago?
I thought you'd talk about the high gas prices and how we are paying record prices at the pumps.
Maybe you'd talk about the fact that after almost seven years we still haven't captured Osama bin Laden and how we're still mired in a war in Iraq with no end in sight. Maybe you'd talk about how and when we plan to get out of Iraq. Maybe even go out on a limb and explain to us what victory means. What it means besides the abstract statements of President Bush when he says we'll stay there until we win or until we're successful, whatever, exactly, that means.
You had me worried. I was afraid you'd keep your word.
But, thankfully, you haven't.
Instead you've complained about Barack Obama traveling overseas. You've criticized him, some of those liberals would say unfairly, for not visiting wounded soldiers in Germany. (The fact you planned to criticize him if he had visited the wounded soldiers is not the point, right, senator?)
You've questioned his leadership and ability to serve because he drew 200,000 in Berlin and large crowds in France and Great Britain.
And I love the ad with Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton. It may not tell me anything, it may distort reality a little, (OK, maybe a lot) but it sure takes people's minds off their real problems.
Oh, and the comments about Obama wanting to win an election rather than win a war and making him sound like a traitor? That was priceless. Heck, mention his middle name sometimes when you speak. That might make people wonder if he's really just out to destroy the United States. It's not true, but so far that hasn't been a problem for you.
Thanks again, senator, for not boring us with real issues but keeping us distracted.
The way it looks, this strategy might work for you. Oh, sure, it might make it impossible for you to get anything done if you do win the election, but the main thing is that you get to sit in the Oval Office.
That's the main thing, isn't it, Senator McCain?
- Brian Gray is a reporter for the Monroe Times He can be reached at bgray@themonroetimes.com
