After an RNC where Obama was relentlessly mocked for being a community organizer right out of college, McCain declared at the Presidential Forum on National Service yesterday that Senator Obama's record was actually "outstanding".
Look, Governor Palin was responding to the criticism of her inexperience and her job as a mayor in a small town. That’s what she was responding to.Of course I respect community organizers. Of course I respect people who serve their community. And Senator Obama’s record there is outstanding. And so I praise anyone who serves this nation in capacities that, frankly, we all know that could have been far more financially rewarding to individuals, rather than doing what they did.
Except McCain doesn't really respect people who serve their communities, because those people don't necessarily have "scars" like he does, as he said in his acceptance speech. And both Palin and Rudy Giuliani spent their RNC speeches belittling people who devote their time to helping people who need it. Giuliani because community organizers kicked his toochus all over New York City during his mayoralty, and Palin because it was an effective cheap shot. The racial subtext of this line of attack has been apparent throughout the campaign, implying that the real issue of Obama's time as a community organizer for a Catholic charity is that he was helping black folks, which Republicans find deeply offensive. (It sometimes interferes with their efforts to keep black people from voting, for example.) If Palin wanted to respond to criticisms about her experience, she could have done so without denigrating community service.
All of this occurred at McCain's convention. Put plainly, McCain speaks one way in St. Paul and another way in Manhattan.
But this explanation from McCain regarding Palin's shot at Obama is part of a consistent pattern of avoiding responsibility for his own actions. The nominee from the party of personal responsibility incessantly blames others for decisions he makes. When first asked the question about community organizers, McCain immediately blamed Obama for the outright lies he has employed as a political strategy.
First of all, this is a tough business. Second of all, I think the tone of this whole campaign would have been very different if Senator Obama had accepted my request for us to appear in town hall meetings all over America, the same way Jack Kennedy and Barry Goldwater had agreed to do so.
So it's Obama's fault that McCain's campaign has devolved into pushing outright lies. This is a line of reasoning I have most often seen from children and people with serious emotional problems. Like an abusive spouse, McCain shouts, "Why are you making me do this?!?," unable to understand that his actions are his responsibility. No one made his campaign lie about Obama's tax plan or position on negotiations with hostile regimes.
More frustrating is the utter hollowness of McCain's "national service" proposals, all of which amount to hot air. As Steve Benen points out, McCain has no agenda on national service other than trumpeting his own story. His service gives him a unique credibility on this issue, but he has chosen to use it solely to score political points rather than advance a policy agenda. This isn't surprising, since McCain doesn't respect the kind of service that doesn't give you "scars." Obama on the other hand, has explicitly outlined his plans for expanding service by, among other things, offering tax credits for college for people who serve.
--A. Serwer
