No, John McCain Has No Honor

by Todd Beeton, Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 11:19:30 AM EDT

Wow. It's amazing the things people will tell themselves. Yesterday, in Chris Matthews' takedown of the McCain campaign's "lipstick on a pig" attack, while he was tough on the McCain campaign for lying about Barack's comments, he did let this doozy fly (h/t TPM):

"I do have a tremendous amount of faith in John McCain's integrity. He used to be on the show all the time ... I don't believe he'd sit where you're sitting and call his opponent or say his opponent called his running mate a pig. I don't believe he'd say that. So i wonder why his people agreed to do that ... This is a claim I don't think the candidate himself would make."

Yet that's exactly what he did when he said "My name is John McCain and I approved this message." But even with that, another McCain mythologist, James Carville, echoed Chris's sentiments on CNN.

This is pathetic. Here is a so-called Democratic strategist, presumably serving as an Obama surrogate (he was on the show with a Republican after all) saying this shit?

But I have to say, there's something comical about it too. These guys would rather believe that John McCain is completely and utterly impotent when it comes to running his own presidential campaign, essentially that he is merely a puppet at the whim of evil consultants, than to let this ridiculous notion of the "honorable John McCain" die. Really, that's their defense, well at least he didn't know what his own campaign was doing! Either option makes John McCain unfit for the presidency (read Andrew Sullivan's excellent take on this HERE.) But Jane xplains why Carville's words matter:

You're kidding me, right? The Republicans have made this campaign about character, once again. They've smeared Obama with the ugliest, most disgusting, distorted ads we've seen since Willie Horton, and what does Carville do? He lets McCain off the hook.

I often had issues with Obama's surrogates and their ridiculous lack of message discipline during the primaries. The inability or unwillingness of the Obama campaign to impose some discipline on them struck me as a real liability, one that I thought he'd remedied for the general. Maybe not so much.

Senator Obama, please get Carville off the teevee now or get him on message.

The world is truly upside down when you go to Joe Klein for a dose of sanity:

I just can't wait for the moment when John McCain--contrite and suddenly honorable again in victory or defeat--talks about how things got a little out of control in the passion of the moment. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.

Tags: 2008 Presidential election, honor, John McCain (all tags)

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

That's the same James Carville that was signatory to a letter pleading "Don't put Scooter Libby in jail because he has little kids!"

These DC "consultants" are a sick joke that make millions while running this country into the ground. If Obama has any sense after he gets in there all of these people will be unemployed.

by wengler 2008-09-11 11:23AM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Besides having no honor, McCain is also a coward.

But, do you think there's something to this "McCain's too honorable" approach?

Make him say, "No, I REALLY do approve it," or make him agree, to prove his so called honor, that his campaign's crossed a line.

Wishful thinking on my part, perhaps . . .

by vadasz 2008-09-11 11:57AM | 0 recs

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Time to start pushing it?

Seriously, I think making an honor attack is worthwhile.

If McCain can't have honor and know what his campaign is doing at the same time. So he's either out of touch, or dishonorable.

by iohs2008 2008-09-11 01:05PM | 0 recs

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Looking forward to the day

when women gain power in the Democratic Party and can begin running it right and winning elections.

There's something about working inside the Beltway that automatically causes Dem leaders to lose at least 10 IQ points.

2012, we'll get another chance then.

by Betsy McCall 2008-09-11 01:13PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

That is a LOT for Matthews to say. He is (was) a close personal friend of McCain's and would even attend birthday parties. Either Matthews is genuinely disgusted by the Republican campaign or he's ramping up for a senate campaign in 2010.

by RandyMI 2008-09-11 11:26AM | 0 recs

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Matthews is a jerk

was always a jerk and the only loyalty he has is to his power, ego and pocketbook. What is it going to take for democrats to wake up to people like Matthews. Why do the so called progressives continue to give Matthews a pass after all he has done, since the 90s, to hurt democrats.

Matthews trashed Gore and drooled over W on a regular basis all through 1999. He regularly invited Ann Coulter to his show. He was buddies with Tom Delay and was heard with Delay (when they thought the microphones were off) mocking and sneeing about Hillary Clinton and how no man wants to hear her voice.....

Seriously just because Matthews got a crush on Obama all the things he did to hurt democrats suddenly doesn't matter any more?

Matthews is a pro Catholic, sexist who loves him some paternalistic hero types. I really wish the so called progressives would pay attention.

by Jjc2008 2008-09-11 12:09PM | 0 recs

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Re: Matthews is a jerk

I would not go so far to attack him for being Cathoic, but you're right, he has a long history of attacking Democrats and praising McCain and Bush.

by RandyMI 2008-09-11 12:30PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Excellent, Todd. You're exactly right. The Real John McCain has no honor.

by TomP 2008-09-11 11:33AM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Those with true honor and priniciples don't shed them. McCain never had them.

by ObamaBiden 2008-09-11 11:47AM | 0 recs

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Carville an Obama surrogate

who wears Puma shoes on air.

by ObamaBiden 2008-09-11 11:34AM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Remarkable how this race is shaping up.

2004

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2004/Pr es/Maps/Sep11.html

2008

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Almost identical this time in 2004. But I still think Obama wins this election and wins it with 50% of the vote.

by RJEvans 2008-09-11 11:42AM | 0 recs

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Carville/McCain et al

Always remember Caraville sleeps with Mary Matalin;
together they are fixtures in the Washington social scene, and sure don't want to mess that up.

by susie 2008-09-11 11:43AM | 0 recs

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Wow, I'm going to need

an imagination-ectomy after that one.

by Neef 2008-09-11 11:57AM | 0 recs

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It seems to be a theme among the media

They really, really liked McCain.

by Neef 2008-09-11 11:58AM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

carvile is a. CLINTON surrogate. Big dog should shove carvile's size twelve Pumas right up his ass... Of course it will never happen. Carvile being off message benefits the clinton. If Hillary gave carvile one of her testicles, they'd both have two.

by lojasmo 2008-09-11 12:40PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Carville isn't an Obama surrogate anymore than Peggy Noonan is a McCain surrogate.

But that perfectly illustrates the issue we face: Peggy, like all good republicans, has no qualms about going on TV and feeding the party line even if she knows it is bull. Disagreements with the party line are for when the cameras are off.

Democrats feel no such compunction to lie about their opinions. Which you'd think is an advantage, except that it isn't.

by fsm 2008-09-11 12:49PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Not only does he not have any honor, he is also the only military officer I can think of who is proud of being a POW.

Before McCain, I have never heard of soldiers who were proud to have been captured, sailors who were proud to have had their ship sunk, or an airman who was proud to have been shot down. There is something seriously wrong with this guy.

"We live in fame or go down in flames ... "
- From The Air Force Song (Wild Bluwe yonder) by Robert Crawford

P. S. Yes, I know McCain's Navy, but the line makes the point.

by Airpower 2008-09-11 02:23PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Carville probably knows and likes McCain, so he's reluctant to trash his integrity. That's human nature.

But Carville is first and foremeost a Clinton loyalist. And I'm sure he's still pissed at Obama for letting the "Clinton is a racist" meme fester.

You're right, Todd. Carville is a loose cannon. Payback's a bitch.

by Upstate Dem 2008-09-11 03:43PM | 0 recs

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Re: No, John McCain Has No Honor

Senator Obama, please get Carville off the teevee now or get him on message.

Not really an option... Carville works for CNN, not Obama. Still, I agree that it would be nice if he was more "on-message."

by CooperCraigM 2008-09-11 05:33PM | 0 recs