Frank Schaeffer, writing in the Baltimore Sun …
John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as “not one of us,” I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.
At a Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, “Kill him!” At one of your rallies, someone called out, “Terrorist!” Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee – an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman.
Shame!
John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain.
You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate…
Meanwhile… Obama raises the issue for the first time publicly — and does it right.
Obama spoke up, McCain’s really screwed now. Any way you slice it, hate is not Presidential. But he allowed his silence to speak for him, so ultimately McCain screwed himself.
Greg Sargent has the full text of Obama’s prepared remarks.
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October 10, 2008 at 1:32 pm |
[...] The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates puts all this ugliness we’re seeing in historical context, and reminds us about the atmosphere of fear and hatred [...]
October 10, 2008 at 6:57 pm |
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