Speaking at the Democratic convention on Wednesday night, Senator Evan Bayh made a qualified case against John McCain: he’s a good man who has made some bad decisions. Senator John Kerry, who hit the podium later on, sharpened the attack and raised questions about McCain’s integrity, age, and fondness for military confrontation.
Integrity:
Candidate McCain now supports the very wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once called irresponsible. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain’s own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding me, folks? Talk about being for it before you’re against it.
Age:
So remember, when we choose a commander-in-chief this November, we are electing judgment and character, not years in the Senate or on this earth.
Eagerness for military confrontation:
John McCain stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier just three months after 9/11 and proclaimed, “Next up, Baghdad!,” Barack Obama saw, even then, “an occupation” of “undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined consequences” that would, in his words, “only fan the flames of the Middle East.” Well, guess what? Mission accomplished.
Kerry also took a swing at McCain for adopting “Rove tactics” and depending upon GOP Rove-bots to win election–and for perpetuating the politics of “Swift boating.” For Democrats looking for a side of anger with their hope, Kerry came through.
