I’ve never liked him, but at least I used to respect him. Now, after watching just how dirty McCain can campaign I find myself completely unsurprised by the final election numbers. I suppose he figured If Bush had beaten him AND won the presidency with the tactic it MUST be Gold. If anything, Republicans should learn from this election that the good old-fashioned values of politeness and courtesy can go a long way towards victory for your candidate. Throughout this election cycle, I never ceased to be amazed by the politeness and passion shown by the Obama campaign, and honestly not until the end did I find anyone acting in a manner disgraceful or demeaning to the McCain camp. But a few haters aside, the message of love, peace, and caring that came out of this campaign should send a message loud and clear to the Republican party; wake up to your heart.
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James Thoburn (twitter: @you_count) is the founder of Backyard Politics. Comment here or @reply you_count on twitter to join the conversation.
Wake up!
I have never been a McCain supporter, nor will I ever be, but I think that the man should be given some credit for not going as far as some in his party wanted him to go on the attack front. (i.e. Palin who was critical of his unwillingness to go after Obama on issues like Wright towards the end of the compaign.) Don’t overlook that McCain gave a truly classy speech last night when he announced to his supporters that his bid for the White House was over. Overall though, Obama ran a cleaner, classier campaign throughout. Some of the mud that is flung does need to be brought to light, but there are better fora than attack ads. I’m thinking specifically of Elizabeth Doles attack ad that questioned Kay Hagan’s Christianity. Certainly Americans supporting Dole needed to know that Hagan was accepting donations from organizations that advocate the removal of God from the pledge of allegiance, but the information does not need to be extended to become a personal vendetta. I think mudslinging in this election cycle is a huge part of what caused the loss of even more Republican congressional seats — including Elizabeth Dole’s. Conservatives do need to wake up to their heart, but they also need to wake up to their manners!
Right on Amanda.