Has McCain’s POW Talisman Finally Lost Its Magical Hold Over The McMedia?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If I had a dime for every time I have heard some lame reporter or commentator say the following, I would be almost as wealthy as John McCain by now: "John McCain is a man of honor and integrity, I don’t believe that is really what he meant to say.  I think his campaign is making him say these things.  It is not the John McCain I know.  I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and say…"  Of course, this is total B.S.  This is how the McMedia perpetuates the myth of McCain that they invented, and make excuses for his bad conduct.  It is always someone else’s fault, never his.  It is Flip Wilson’s old line: "The devil made me do it." The reporters and commentators who refuse to hold McCain accountable for his actions are usually the card-carrying members of "The John McCain Protection Society."

I have written here about how John McCain, from the earliest days of his political career in Arizona, has always resorted to pulling out his POW talisman to ward off any criticism of his character, judgment, honor, integrity and truthfulness ("straight talk").  He uses his POW talisman to bludgeon chickenshit reporters into cowering from asking him any more questions about topics he does not want to discuss.  At the same time, McCain declares that any inquiry into his POW days are off limits to the media – "I’m a hero, damnit!  You just report my old war stories like good little stenographers."

McCain recently used his POW talisman to ward off criticism that he lied at the Saddleback civil forum on Saturday.  Then yesterday, when he could not recall how many houses he owns and the Obama campaign jumped on his "housing crisis" gaffe, the McCain campaign again pulled out his POW talisman to say:

"This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War.

McCain Spokesman’s Retort: Obama Lives in "a Frickin’ Mansion"

The answer to every uncomfortable question is "a noun, a verb, and POW."  It has become a non sequitur response that is a parody of McCain, and the McMedia is finally beginning to notice – after 26 years. The magical power that his POW talisman held over the McMedia may finally be waning.

Howard Fineman of Newsweek said on Countdown Fineman: McCain Is Trivializing His POW Past that:

"I think they are going to it way too many times. It’s the original story that defined John McCain, that still when you read it in his book ‘Faith of my Fathers,’ when you read about it in ‘The Nightingale’s Song,’ you can’t help but have admiration and respect for the guy. And I think he wisely for many years stayed away from it as a political tool, he really did. But now it not only defines him, it’s become a crutch in the campaign. And I think he is in danger of trivializing it. By the time they get to the convention in St. Paul, there might not be much of it left to use."

Anne Marie Cox of Time In His House There are Many Mansions – Swampland writes:

The McCain campaign’s constant invocation of the candidate’s POW past is weird bordering on irrational: yesterday, Nicolle Wallace used it as evidence that McCain didn’t "cheat" at Saddleback. By a VERY generous interpretation, she could have meant that POWs don’t cheat. Or that once you’ve been a POW, you’ve been through so much you’re above cheating. Or maybe you can’t accuse a POW of cheating unless you’re a POW.

Today, spokesman Brian Rogers took the same tack against the "housing crisis" they currently face: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison." So is he arguing that we shouldn’t begrudge McCain his multiple house because he once lived in an awful prison? Is he saying POWs deserve multiple houses (and you thought Obama was pro-nanny-state!)? Or maybe he’s saying that McCain’s several houses are really just prisons… of the soul. Man is entombed by his possessions, it’s true.

It’s a head-spinning non sequitur, designed to distract us from something mildly troubling with the assertion of something impressive.

Jonathan Alter of Newsweek has decided that he will no longer give McCain "the benefit of the doubt" for his conduct.  He has taken McCain to task in his last two columns. The Smear Gap: McCain’s Obama Attacks – Jonathan Alter:

McCain’s campaign theme is that he puts the country first and Obama puts himself above his country. It’s understandable why this son and grandson of admirals–who has served his country in one way or another since he was 18-years-old, who has never been on a private payroll beyond that of his beer distributor father-in-law–would see himself as someone who puts "America first." He has been a largely honorable public servant for 54 years, and it’s acceptable within the confines of sharp debate to portray his opponent as a self-regarding celebrity.

But when he resorts to these kinds of falsehoods, and casts such aspersions on his opponent’s patriotism, John McCain is no longer putting his country first. If he were, he would recognize that the interests of the nation require a relatively truthful campaign. To fulfill his image of himself, McCain should stop lying about his opponent. For a man with his claims to honor and integrity, that’s not too much to ask.

I have known many veterans in my lifetime, and I have never known a veteran who believes that he is somehow entitled to a "get out of jail free card" for any bad conduct based upon his service the way that John McCain does.  I assume most veterans believe in personal responsibility and the rule of law.  John McCain believes he is above being held personally accountable or his actions or to the rule of law, and this is a character flaw which disqualifies him from the presidency.  We simply cannot afford another four years of yet another George W. Bush.

(image credit: tbctbc)