Letters to the Editor
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Hero Worship at Home and On the Television
Glenn, you nailed it (again) about the double-standard in the media regarding McCain. I think there is an unexamined surge of emotion about McCain’s biography that seems to earn him a pass on every ethical misconduct or statement—or senatorial action—that contradicts a long-standing and well-crafted political persona. The MTP segment rejoiced Obama’s newfound “mortality” on the trail in the wake of Wright. Yet their real hero, McCain, makes a statement not once, but three times, and it’s a minor senior moment from an incredibly authoritative leader. Huh? Had a Dem or Bush or anyone else made the same error, they would be justifiably slaughtered and emblazoned with a scarlet letter "A" for amateur. Btw, if you think that was simply a senior moment I have a condo to sell you in Florida.
To personally illustrate the depth of the McCain-is-infallible-on-foreign-experience-myth: I was having brunch with the relatives on Sunday, and I gamely offered my thoughts of McCain as the best of the Republican from the bunch to get the right-wing side of the fam to speak to me, a known Democrat with corresponding opinions that don't matter (I'm counted as a blind loyalist even though I am far from it). I asked their opinion about McCain's major Iran-al-Qaeda statement.
Across the board, even moderate/swing Republicans were outraged that the gaffe was presented for their dissection. Their response: "He's suffered for his country and has earned the right" to screw up, to be hard line, to do whatever you name. His extreme, soul-destroying torture over five years is an important issue to voters looking for a sense of ethos and traditionalism in a time of intense conflict within and outside our country.
The press echoes this sentiment, either out of unprofessional chumminess or plain fear of challenging a figure whose sacrifice too rare and terrifying to contemplate. While I sadly understand and accept this bundling of emotion and fear from members of my own family at this stage of the election cycle, I cannot accept this attitude from the press. To be skeptical is their job—to challenge authority in all of its forms is their job—to attempt an objective (or at least fair) analysis of the issues and the candidates’ stands is their job. Why can’t they do their jobs with regard to McCain?