McCain Going Negative, GOP Worried?

Image from source, New York times

This week, I'm reading a book called Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush by Robert Draper. The read is unsettling, at least so far. The section I've just finished reading detailed the 2000 Republican primary, and Bush's fight against John McCain.

McCain was doing well--too well--so Bush's hit man, Karl Rove, released the dogs. Nothing was too slimy, too underhanded. And true to form, Rove was not afraid to use innuendo and lies to further his objectives. At times, I just want to jump into the book and do something--anything--to put a stop to it. All of it.

But McCain, for the most part, did not jump into the negative fray. And as far as I can see, he didn't lie either. Sadly, after Bush secured the nomination, McCain caved, and fell in line behind Bush. And now that he's running again, McCain seems to have taken on the tactics of his former adversary.

Lately, McCain has been attacking Barack Obama at every turn, with no care for accuracy, hypocrisy or truth. If the attack sounds good--in other words, if it has "truthiness"--he's issuing it. Smacking him down has been a fairly easy exercise for bloggers, left-wing pundits and the like. But the vast uninformed electorate often only gets the high (or low) points. Still, it would seem that some in the GOP are a little worried about the former Straight Talk Express, and its shotgun approach.

[Excerpt]

McCain Goes Negative, Worrying Some in G.O.P.

In recent days Senator John McCain has charged that Senator Barack Obama “would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign,” tarred him as “Dr. No” on energy policy and run advertisements calling him responsible for high gas prices. . .

Read more at: New York Times