At the risk of sounding clich, we can say that this election season has proven to be remarkable. From the exciting primaries that pit two potential political firsts against each other -- the first female major party nominee and the first African-American major party nominee -- to Obama's record-breaking fundraising campaign, things have certainly been dramatic and novel. No one can deny that, at least in some respects, this has been a step forward for participation in American democracy. It's something to be proud of.
Unfortunately, these positive developments have been met with unpleasantly negative reactions from some quarters. Perhaps this was to be expected, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing. The problem lies in attempting to determine how much of a problem these negative reactions are -- and how widespread the sentiments expressed will prove to be.
We have all read about the disturbing exclamations of some of the attendees at McCain-Palin rallies with phrases such as "off with (Obama's) head" and "kill him." While no one can claim that Sen. McCain or Gov. Palin have been so brazenly inappropriate in their attacks on Sen. Obama, their reactions to their supporters have not been clear enough. For a campaign that has focused on negative associations and the inferences we can draw from them -- for example, the issue of the unrepentant Weather Underground member Bill Ayers -- these kinds of uncommented-upon associations seem beyond the pale.
Now, of course, opponents of President Bush in the 2004 election campaign were often quite uncivil in their treatment of his administration, not to mention his person. And there will be those who argue that negative campaigning is simply par for the course these days and so we should not devote special attention to these particular events lest we view the present out of perspective from the past. This kind of approach argues against viewing the McCain-Palin campaign as truly or egregiously violating any historical norms.
We should be wary of this kind of forced moderation that insists on nothing ever being viewed as historically anomalous. Right here in the state of Virginia we have heard shockingly inappropriate proclamations from members of the Republican Party. The Buchanan County GOP's Bobby May produced a dismayingly anachronistic racist caricature of Sen. Obama that claimed he would hire rapper Ludacris to paint the White House black and alter the American flag to reflect his Islamic and environmentalist leanings. An Ohio women's GOP group produced a mocked up dollar bill marked as "Obama Bucks" with a graphic caricature of the senator eating fried chicken and watermelon. And a recent Virginia GOP mailing featuring a close-up of the eyes of a dark-skinned man with the text "America must look evil in the eye and never flinch" clearly appeals to deliberately circulated fictions that Sen. Obama is a Muslim, an Arab, or both.
Having rambunctious supporters who make crass, crude and incredible statements is one thing, but having one's own party perpetrate things like this is indefensible. No one is claiming that Sen. McCain or Gov. Palin hold these views themselves, but they should do more to distance themselves given the organs that are disseminating this information. They can't have their civic cake and eat it, too.
And we should not be afraid of calling the viciousness of this campaigning unprecedented. No one is calling the Obama-Biden campaign perfect -- its attacks on Sen. McCain as senile by way of the euphemism of "out of touch" come to mind -- but this imperfection does not establish their identity or equality with the vicious tactics of Republican operatives.
The editorial board is composed of David Grant, David McIlroy, Jackie Peters and Sally Bull.
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can you be any more bias?
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But let's just pretend that Obama supporters have all been totally civil the whole time. I'd contend that the most underhanded tactic of the entire campaign has been Obama's pre-emptive insinuation that the Republicans would tout his race as a disqualifier for office. The whole campaign has gotten out of hand, and why? Because two of the most vacuous and un-intelligent poseurs in the world have been nominated for the highest office in the land. There are idiots on both sides of this campaign - it's unbecoming of an editorial board to disregard the idiocy of one side.
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... that we should NOT vote for either? Did anyone even know that one of the Presidential Candidates was here last week, and spoke to a room full of VT students? Mainstream Media is so content to report only 2 candidates, especially when they can defame the one they don't like (guess which!), when there are many more; what a DISSERVICE to US citizens. Your media should give you all the information you need, and let you decide.. instead, they provide you biased information like this. And, when Obama is elected, they'll blame his failures on McCain still, I'm sure....
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It's not bias that Obama has clearly run the better campaign. Look at the polls and they can clue you in if need be.
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Unfortunately, the best campaigns are not always run by the best candidates. For instance, my campaign is completely nonexistent, yet I am quite certain that between Obama's derranged philosophies and McCain's ineffective ones, I would not be any worse for this country than either of them.
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This newspaper is a disgrace to this great university and reflects negatively on a student population that, for the most part, is not as narrow minded as this editorial board.
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Besides the fact that the cry of "Kill him" has been proven by the Secret Service to be made up by the reporter (see: http://www.timesleader.com/news/breakingnews/Secret_Service_says_Kill_him_allegation_unfounded_.html ) Where exactly is the criticism of the Obama campaign that the title implies? Such obvious bias is unsurprising from this paper.
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Who cares which one is worse if they are both garbage? Would I rather eat a dirty diaper or the excrement of a bullfrog? This is what are choices boil down to. This is why prompts like "How do we get students to vote" are ridiculous. The attitude of "It is your civil duty to choose which is worse on election day" is patently undemocratic. We don't have a choice. We have an aristocracy. The only thing we can control is which out of touch rich bastard will be on the tubes every day.
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I suppose it's better for Obama to insult the American public by declaring that they cling to guns and religion and hold on to antipathy to others not like them. Or for him to repeat Rev. Wright's line "white folk's greed runs a world in need." Or perhaps it's okay for him to insult blue collar workers by insisting they need gov't handouts to survive? McCain's supporters might insult Obama, but Obama insults America. Obama is an inexperienced, infanticidal, indecisive racist elitist with socialist tendencies, and that's being nice.
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By historical standards, both campaigns are quite mild in their criticisms of each other. The talk hosted by VTU on monday called "Anything for a Vote" went over the history of mudslinging. In the first election (between adams and jefferson as washington was unopposed), John Adams was called a hermaphrodite. In a later election, one candidate who had a birth defect that caused his neck to tilt. His opponent claimed the tilt was due to an unsuccessful attempt at hanging himself, and who wants a president that cant even kill himself correctly. And these are just the two that stuck out in my head.
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@ Jonathan You can say its insulting, but that doesn't make it false. What the GOP does (straight lying) is not on the same level. You can say that people cling to guns, and some do. You can say that some blue collar workers need handouts, and some do. But saying Obama is a Muslim (and what is wrong with that?) is completely false. So you decide. A campaign that tells the truths that no one wants to hear, or a campaign that lies?
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Jonathan = Bitter Extremists that will no longer control Domestic or Foreign Policy after November 4. Thanks to the "real americans" who see through the fear-mongering and hateful rhetoric of those losing their grip on power. Only two more weeks of jingoistic-race and religion-baiting from the Right! Better get your shots in while you can, Palin, Bachmann, and Jonathan.
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I dont think Jonathan is in charge of Domestic or foreign policy now. If I've read his past comments correctly, he's no fan of McCain or Bush. And even if he did support McCain, does that make him an extremist? Why aren't Obama supporters also extremists? Of course, I think supporters of either are pretty radical statists.
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TheResults, what do you call an Obama campaign which advertises heavily on the 'we can't stand more of the same' platform? It's fear-mongering and hateful rhetoric of a different sort. This is the very reason why I generally approach the pronouncements of people who affiliate with a political party with great skepticism - such people tend to be blinded by the inherent correctness of their own views and are generally unwilling to even entertain debate to the contrary. Both candidates in this election have done precisely that - Obama consistently discounts questions about his lack of experience and past affiliations as "distractions," when they are meaningful and important issues for certain segments of the population. McCain likewise routinely dodges questions in a similar manner. It's shameless, and to suppose that either one of these clowns is somehow capable of doing what they claim to be able to do is to completely disregard the Office of the President as outlined explicitly in the Constitution.
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Wow, that last post was equal parts preachy, pompous, and self-aggrandizing! Maybe you should change your name to Kyle Constitution and run for office. The bottom line is, McCain's campaign was hijacked by Bush operatives and the Republican party is in disarray with no coherent message, other than alternating scattered attacks with "isn't Palin cute!". It is called more of the same, because it is more of the same.
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So what, it isn't fear-mongering because you think the message happens to be true? That's a laughable way of approaching reasoned discussion, since only rarely in politics do we find any tautological truths. I agree that the GOP doesn't have much of a message anymore, in large part because it has abandoned the principles which thrust it into power in the 80's and early 2000's. It no longer represents the party of small government, and only few of its most visible members subscribe to the Federalist spirit enshrined so explicitly in the Constitution. Does that mean the Democratic party is inherently the better option? Of course not. The fact that one party lies to my face about what their policies are going to be doesn't change the fact that I vehemently disagree with the policies advanced truthfully by the other party. So the country needs a change - perhaps that's true. The question that nobody is asking, though, is 'why is Obama's brand of change in particular the change needed?' I mean, if we're looking for change, we ought to just put anyone in office - just have a national lottery for the top job. The issue here is one of ideological direction, and I for one find the policies Obama supports to be ethically questionable, economically unsound, and politically dangerous.
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By the way, you aren't required to like the rhetorical style I choose to use in my posts here. I try my hardest to give a reasoned, cogent argument supporting each point I make. I don't demand (or even suggest) that other people think the way I do - but this is an open forum for honest, legitimate dialog on some of the more important issues facing our country today.
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