Playing with Fire.

it's important to defend yourself. no one wants to be perceived as a pussy, so it's important to defend your words and your actions. on the same note, it's also important to stand corrected sometimes. admit your defeats. i think it grounds us, being put in our place, as they say, once in a while. we're not all perfect, and especially when in the midst of a passionate debate, about anything that we actually care about, we say things sometimes without thinking them through.

defending yourself and being defensive are two very different things though.

keep that all in mind as you read on...

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse...

George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama...

As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better."

those words were spoken by georgia congressman and civil rights legend john lewis in response to the recent footage from mccain/palin rallies across the country showing a growing tone of negativity and hostility.

of course, john mccain had to go on the defensive again. because he couldn't just let one man's opinion stand. because dogonit, he doesn't just want to lose the election, he wants his entire campaign to go down in flames. his response to the above...

"Congressman John Lewis’ comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale. The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama’s record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I’ve always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.

I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."

i personally think that obama should have ignored mccain trying to drag him into a mess that he created, but his campaign responded with the following...

"Sen. Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies.

But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for president of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’

As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Sen. Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead."

i'll remain scared shitless that this man could become president, but even when the day comes when he is defeated, i can always say that i learned something from john mccain: exactly how i NEVER want to be perceived. by anyone. ever.

[via slog]