Richard Cohen (WaPo) Abandons McCain!! "The Ugly New McCain"

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502406.html

As many here know, Richard Cohen, has been solidly in the McCain camp, once writing that we should ignore McCain's little lies and flip-flops because of his service. Today, it appears that Richard has had a change of heart.

" Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised.

McCain has turned ugly. His dishonesty would be unacceptable in any politician, but McCain has always set his own bar higher than most. He has contempt for most of his colleagues for that very reason: They lie. He tells the truth. He internalizes the code of the McCains -- his grandfather, his father: both admirals of the shining sea. He serves his country differently, that's all -- but just as honorably. No more, though.

I am one of the journalists accused over the years of being in the tank for McCain. Guilty.....What impressed me most about McCain was the effect he had on his audiences, particularly young people. When he talked about service to a cause greater than oneself, he struck a chord. He expressed his message in words, but he packaged it in the McCain story -- that man, beaten to a pulp, who chose honor over freedom. This had nothing to do with access. It had to do with integrity.

McCain has soiled all that. His opportunistic and irresponsible choice of Sarah Palin as his political heir -- the person in whose hands he would leave the country -- is a form of personal treason, a betrayal of all he once stood for. Palin, no matter what her other attributes, is shockingly unprepared to become president. McCain knows that. He means to win, which is all right; he means to win at all costs, which is not.

Once is tragedy, a second time is farce. John McCain is both."

[kristopher]

1. WOW! Kick it to the greatest. nt

[LonelyLRLiberal]

2. We need a lot more columnists and editors to turn against McCain.

They have some influence, maybe enough to make the difference if the election ends up being close.

[TwilightGardener]

3. I'm sickened by all these "journalists" who are now admitting they

were "in the tank" for McLoon. WTF? I mean, I knew it, but it's still a slap in the face to realize it wasn't our imaginations.

[Mabus]

4. When will reporters admit they were complicit during the Bush years?

in promoting this war, the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, their faux debates about global warming, etc.

The bigger tragedy has been the political press corps and their undue influence on the American people. They've covered for those they like (and/or they want to be liked by) and attacked those that they personally didn't like. They have done a monumental disservice to the American people by not being truthful in their reporting. It has been the political media that has chosen to focus on personalities and not issues.

[samsingh]

5. i guess the thought of nuclear holocaust is making them reconsider

[DrZeeLit]

6. Last night I sent this column to almost everyone on my email list -- all the Repubs for sure...

I copied this and sent it to that list of people (maybe they'll never be my "friends" again, but who cares, I'm saving my country).
Most of the people on my list are conservatives. They aren't, for the most part, rabid Repubs. I think I could sway a few.

I've decided to take the gloves off for this election.
In the past, I've been fair and direct, but I've never been pushy. I've always thought, "they can figure this out; they're smart; it's their vote."

But... then a while back someone on that list sent me a horrid, disgusting email about Obama (early on). And I checked with Snopes and debunked it. Sent her the entire snopes file w/debunk links and all. Then I asked for an apology. The sender (yeah, she is now a FORMER friend) got all huffy with me. Why should she apologize? Wow, after sending that filth to about 100 people and then being shown that she LIED to those people, she felt no remorse?

Every time I find an article that is vetted and truthful and exposes the differences in the candidates ("truth" being the operative word), I send the article. I'm shameless now. Now it's all about "vote as if your life depended upon it."

I have already nudged a couple people over the line.

I think everybody should take a deep breath and give the TRUTH a try.

If you lose those friends, you might just want to rethink the need for their friendship: if they hate you for the truth, can they be your friends?

SEND THIS ARTICLE: a Conservative columnist "turning" on McCain might be powerful enough for "them" to listen. Hope so.

P.S. on edit -- my brother-in-law says he's "thinking"; my own brother is still voting for McCain. Oh well.

[Number23]

7. Did this ever make it to GD-P??

It's even being discussed here in the Australian papers.