Marc Ambinder asks the question: Is it the same to call McCain a liar as it is to call Obama a terrorist or an Arab?
Of course not. You can make a reasonable argument that John McCain is a liar, in that he's said things that are false. You can't make a reasonable argument that Obama is a terrorist, an Arab, or treasonous, for that matter. You could make the argument that Obama is a liar* -- I'd disagree with you -- but certainly he's said things that aren't true in the past. The other thing that Ambers doesn't mention is that people at the McCain-Palin events are also making violent threats that result in Secret Service investigations. That issue, certainly, is where there is a difference in standards. I haven't heard of anyone demanding someone's death at an Obama rally.
--Tim Fernholz
*This debate about who is a "liar" really tickles me because technically it's an extremely low bar: One lie told, and you are a liar. Thus, basically every politician is a liar. But of course we're very uncomfortable using such a standard, and so it's really that pattern of pernicious, uncorrected, repeated lies that allow for labeling.
