Wow.
I have three reactions to McCain’s letter: 1) Obama is acting like a putz, and good on McCain for calling him (and the Democrats) on it; 2) McCain may think that he has no choice, because to do less than subject Obama to public criticism makes McCain vulnerable to getting rolled again (and it’s a chance for the opportunistic McCain to take the principled xenicaltab high ground); and 3) the political climate has changed to the point that for McCain the benefits of striking out harshly at cynical behavior by one of his colleagues clearly exceed the costs. In any event it appears the Democrats were foolish to assume that business-as-usual still applies.
UPDATE: Obama’s response is here (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
Wow, McCain’s getting fiesty. Way to go with those zingers in there McCain.
I’m starting to like McCain now
I am puzzled as to why McCain might have expected anything different. While Obama is certainly articulate and intelligent, nothing I have heard or read ever indicated to me that he would ever be anything than a part of the unquestioning Democratic mainstream.
And personally, I thought McCain’s “feisty” letter was more petulant, but then again, he’s always struck me as more like an abnormally whiny 8-year old who’s trying to distract attention from his new baby sibling than a responsible adult.
From that great letter, McCain sounds like he’s seen a certain “Babylon 5” episode, specifically “The Fall of Night” that ended the second season. Captain Sheridan made a great non-apology apology:
I apologize. I’m sorry. I’m sorry we had to defend ourselves against an unwarranted attack. I’m sorry that your crew was stupid enough to fire on a station filled with a quarter million civilians, including your own people. And I’m sorry I waited as long as I did before I blew them all straight to hell! [Here he muses to himself] As with everything else, it’s the thought that counts.
However, McCain’s letter is like Clinton signing NAFTA: it’s not enough for me to support the guy. For that reason, I still really, really, really hope he’s not the GOP candidate in 2008. I’m sure he’s right about Obama’s sincerity in lobbyist reform, but heaven help us if McCain gets a reform bill that turns out anything like McCain-Feingold.
Obama has ALWAYS acted like a putz, so what’s new with that?
He’s a fraud, with a great voice, but recall where he came from, recall where he went to school, recall which party he is in, enough said.
If you’re Democrat today, you’re not serious about issues that are important.
That party hasn’t been able to handle a real issue since the late “60s.