Time and time again, we see in national polls that more Americans agree with Democrats than with Republicans on key issues that face the country today. Iraq, health care, the economy, education, and so on. In fact, there are relatively few issues where the progressive position is largely out of step with majority American opinion, for example the death penalty or gay marriage.
So Democrats see this, and they decide to stick to the issues. Republicans see this, and decide that they need to make the election about something, anything else if they want to have a prayer. Thus, character issues.
We saw this process happen in 2000 and 2004, and we know what the result was. My question to you is: why aren't we giving the Republicans a taste of their own medicine?
Me personally, I don't have a huge problem with people weighing perceived character when they judge who to vote for. I know I do it: one of the reasons I support Obama instead of Hillary is the fact that he had the courage to stand up and say "no" when it wasn't popular to do so, and Hillary cast exactly the vote that Bush and the DLC wanted her to. To me, the actions a politician takes is to some degree a reflection of character, and the actions of Hillary and her campaign have given me deep reservations about her character.
Now, a responsible voter balances character with the issues, and does their own research before judging a cadidates' character either negatively or positively. A character question that is backed by verifiable and strong evidence is legitimate; one that is based on innuendo and unverified sources is illegitimate.
We already know that John McCain and the conservative movement in general is going to do everything in their power to make character an issue in this election, and to smear Obama as much as they can. They already got some help early on from Hillary with the "Bitter" comments, the Rev. Wright issue, and other instances. But, they will continue to just fine at this without her help once she is gone.
Why can't we hit right back at McCain with character? I see multiple paths to do this, and each of them has the added benefit of actually having some substance behind them.
- John McCain has a problem with women. John McCain called his own wife a "cunt" and a "trollop", in public, in the presence of journalists who remembered the event many years later. He has made no real protest of the Tennessee GOP's running an ad attacking not Barack Obama, but rather his wife. He laughed when one of his supporters asked, "How do we beat the bitch?". Why not go to the American people and ask them: is this your idea of family values, American vales? Is that how you were raised to behave towards women?
- John McCain is disloyal. John McCain's first wife, Carol Shepp, waited for many years for his return while he was a POW in North Vietnam, never giving up hope that she would see her husband again. How did John McCain demonstrate his loyalty to his wife? By starting an affair with a wealthy and significantly younger beer heiress. He divorced his first wife in 1980 so he could marry his new mistress. A man who is unfaithful to his own wife is not someone you can trust to be faithful to a person he doesn't even know, like you, American voter.
- John McCain is willing to say and do anything to get elected. The John McCain of 2000 fought against lobbyists in government, denounced religious fanatics like Jerry Falwell, and refused to vote for Bush in 2000 out of principle. The new John McCain is funded and advised by lobbyists, kisses up to Jerry Falwell and John Hagee, campaigned for Bush in 2004 and denies he ever said he didn't vote for Bush (despite multiple people contradicting him), and has essentially become everything he said he was against in order to placate his party and win the nomination.
So we as Democrats ought not abandon talking about the issues, but when Republicans start making the false character attacks, hit them right back with some true attacks of our own. To not do otherwise will rightly be perceived as weak.
Some have the belief that to ignore character attacks against oneself is a sign of true strength. I think it the worst thing to do, because if you don't have the courage to stand up for yourself in the face of a bully and a liar, why should anyone believe that you will stand up for them?