The Phony Campaign
2008-05-25 Update
Hillary maintains a slim lead in the only poll that matters:
The big upward swing in McCain's hits may have something to do
with what blogger John Hawkins calls
his propensity for "lying through his teeth on one of the most crucial
election issues and then changing his position the first time he
believes he can get away with it."
The issue, in case you haven't heard, is so-called "comprehensive
immigration reform," a hot-button issue for Hawkins and a lot
of other conservative bloggers. You'll want to read Hawkins' full post
(and this
followup) for the full dose of outrage. But the bottom line is:
Put very simply: John McCain is a liar. He's a man without honor,
without integrity, who could not have captured the Republican nomination
had he run on making comprehensive immigration a top priority of his
administration. Quite frankly, this is little different from George
Bush, Sr. breaking his "Read my lips, no new taxes pledge," except that
Bush's father was at least smart enough to wait until he got elected
before letting all of his supporters know that he was lying to them.
Not everyone's with Hawkins on this. Professor Bainbridge
deems
Hawkins' post a "screed" (and Michelle Malkin's reaction is a "hissy
fit"). According to the prof, nothing really changed in McCain's
position.
Jim Geraghty was concerned enough to get the word from
the McCain campaign.
Team McCain tells me the senator's comments were poorly worded. There's
been no discussion within the campaign of altering their stance on
illegal immigration, and as far as everyone on the campaign is
concerned, the policy is still, 'secure the border first.'
Well, that's a relief. The
campaign's policy hasn't changed.
My view: Hawkins has it essentially right. McCain altered his public
pronouncements on immigration just enough to gull GOP primary voters.
But he's simply too self-righteous to whole-heartedly adopt a policy at odds
with his pro-comprehensive history.
His "poorly worded" comments were just the result of a slipping mask.
Which is why Senator McCain gets sole posession of this week's phony
posting.
Posted
2008-05-25 1:07 PM EDT
Last Modified
2014-12-01 11:02 AM EDT