Robert Parry: John McCain v. The Truth

[babylonsister]

John McCain v. The Truth
by Robert Parry | October 3, 2008


John McCain’s greatest character flaw as a potential President may be his brash self-righteousness, often expressed in a combative manner that shows little tolerance for even well-founded criticism.

After nearly eight years watching George W. Bush operate with a similar – though arguably less intense – personal style, the American people are fair-warned about the risks of having another President who is blind to his own shortcomings and then bullies those who point them out.

It would be like the fabled “Emperor with No Clothes” – if the Emperor were less a conceited buffoon than a petulant tyrant who punishes the child for daring to take note of the royal nakedness.

When anyone dares observe that McCain, like many other politicians, tells his share of self-serving fibs, he becomes belligerent about his own rectitude as if his assertion of his truthfulness is proof that he is telling the truth.

"I have always had 100 percent absolute truth," a visibly angry McCain told the Des Moines Register editorial board on Tuesday when asked about deceptive elements of his campaign. "An assertion that I have done otherwise I take strong exception to."

Yet, during the same interview, McCain told another whopper (or at least an out-dated claim): that the American public “overwhelmingly” embraced his vice presidential choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, even though new polls show that a majority of Americans doubt her qualifications and that she is becoming a drag on the ticket.

More substantively, McCain lies when he asserts that he has never violated the public trust. He did that earlier this year when his campaign reacted angrily to a New York Times article about his relationships with lobbyists and his connection to the Keating Five scandal two decades ago.

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