John McCain and the GOP are running scared. The first candidate on the Democratic ticket with a spine in a generation has so far refused to lie down and take it from the so-called "Republican attack machine."
On the contrary, Barack Obama has put himself on the offensive to frame the issues in his favor, from helping big city mayors and federal disaster prevention to national security, Obama's entrance into General Election campaign mode has Republicans crying foul on mean 'ol Obama.
Highlighting the fact that McCain was opposed to the recently-passed $23 billion water bill because it was "loaded with pork." During the initial debate in the Senate, Obama voted against an amendment by Russ Feingold and co-sponsored by McCain that would have established a commission to prioritize water projects with flood control a top priority.
It is beyond the pale that Barack Obama would attack John McCain for actually trying to fix the problem and change the way Washington works. Barack Obama's willingness to continue the status quo pork-barrel politics in Washington, and then engage in political attacks that entirely disregard the facts, once again fundamentally shows that he's nothing more than a typical politician.
I have increasingly seen quotes like this as a response to Obama's attacks on McCain lately. Ignore the overarching assertion of Obama's attack, signal Obama's call for a 'different style of politics,' and criticize Obama as human. As far as I'm concerned, they smell of desperation and typical Republican hypocricy given that McCain engages in the same type of campaign tactics.
Despite the fact that Obama is for "hope" and "change," his call for a new style of politics does not involve Kumbaya. The means to an end does not remove 'negative campaigning' insofar as the end result highlights the clear difference between the candidates. And if there is just a smidgen of 'distortion' on Obama's part? Well, clearly the McCain campaign is engaged in the politics of usual so why should Obama be held do a different standard in this regard.
As fundamental as the change message is to Obama, a young politician with less experience than his rival, it is clear why Republicans are signaling they will quickly slink into defensive mode. McCain is down 15% according to Newsweek. It is likely that "Obama is like any other politician" will be a standard Republican talking point as the campaign continues to take shape.