There was a time when I really admired John McCain. I distinctly remember him standing up to the “swiftboaters,” telling President Bush that they were way out of line, and that Bush should direct his supporters to stop these attacks. Of course Mr. Bush did not do so, in my opinion, to his undying shame.

During the early months of the campaign, I continued to think that McCain was basically an honorable guy. So when did things change for me? It was when Senator Obama made his tour of the Middle-East and Europe.

You will recall that Obama considered making a visit to a military hospital in Germany, but canceled his visit when then the military brass voiced their concern that the visit could wind up being perceived as political, which was against policy. Nobody wants injured veterans to be “used” for political purposes. The McCain camp criticized him roundly for canceling the visit, calling Obama unpatriotic and stating that McCain would never miss an opportunity to visit the troops. And there was a very powerful commercial put out almost immediately that really tore into Obama.

Then came the leak…to me the first and most devastating insight into the Republican strategy for the campaign. It turned out that there were actually two commercials written and produced. One was critical of Obama for NOT visiting the troops. There was a second one however, which had been intended to be critical of Obama if he had actually visited the troops, accusing him of using them for political purposes.

So here’s the point. the Republicans were going to criticize Obama no matter what he did. I realized that they were not just critical of specific positions; they were happy to criticize him for anything! The point was to destroy Obama’s reputation, his character. The plan was simply to criticize and create anger and outrage. It seems to be a failed strategy.

May it rest in peace.

Just when you think it cannot get any worse, the McCain campaign comes through and leads the way to new lows.

One thing is sure. Sarah Palin, who should not be too cocky about her role in national politics, based on her recent performances in giving interviews and in the debate. None the less, she seems to have NO RESERVATIONS about going on the attack and spewing vile and even incendiary comments about Barak Obama. But, in a way, I expected it. What else can she offer but shamelessness. If she had any real integrity, she’d would have declined the nomination or already stepped down. She is empty, and everyone knows it, but her. Or maybe dragging the political discourse of the nation into the gutter is her way of being patriotic. Or maybe it’s her way of showing her Christian values.

How people like this can call themselves Christians boggles the mind. But who could have thought that after all these months,  Cindy McCain would become a vociferous cog in the Republican lie machine, or maybe it’s the Republican outrage machine. That’s what it produces, not truth, not fact, just outrage.

She claimed Obama sent a chill down her spine for not voting for a troop funding bill (it did not contain a timetable that he had insisted on), but she omitted to say that her husband voted no a similar bill, because it DID contain a timetable. Not to mention the fact that John McCain is one of the primary reasons that we erroneously sent her son there in the first place. I guess she doesn’t care that Obama’s intent was to do the right thing but to perhaps bring her son home, too.

Cheap lies and half-truths. This is the McCain strategy. Dishonorable, which is why the Senator doesn’t stoop himself. He let’s the women get dirty.