GOP Debate in Retrospect: When Vicious Character Attacks and -isms are “Legitimate” Politics

Whomever your favorite candidate is, be it Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul or even Mike Gravel or Hillary Clinton…I hope the following passage should causes you to shirk from horror that it passes of decent and dignified public discourse.The Weekly Standard wrote the following virulent attack:

“The media will probably award a win to Mike Huckabee, the easy listening music candidate at home in any crowd, fluent in simpleton speak and the one man on the stage tonight who led the audience to roaring cheers by boasting that he had a special qualification to be president that none of the second-raters on the stage could match: A degree in Bible Studies from Ouachita Baptist University of Arkadelphia, Arkansas.”

To me, this attack is infinitely worse than Willie Horton. (ok…leagues worse) Huckabee is being attacked for being a good, honest, and ethical guy. Isn’t this the exact moment in time and moment in history that we need people of good and decent ethical qualities in the Whitehouse. And when I say ethical, I don’t mean Christian or Bible follower. I mean genuinely good and decent human being. Period.

I’m sorry if such hateful attacks make me literally sick inside–its the low grade, cheap shot, (snake oil) politics that brought on the laughable attack ads Fred Thompson used at the debate. And PS. he’s far from a simpleton rating as one of the top 5 governors in the nation. He’s a smart, smart policy maker. Apparently small town America is fundamentally incapable of producing great men and women and great presidents. Can’t our press refrain from attacking someone based on their geographical place of birth and relying on the poisonous discourse of -isms that reify lines of us vs. them?

I would hope for higher standards in the press or blogosphere. You might have an “Audacity of Hope”, but you apparently have to be calculating and Machiavellian neo-realist in IR. Would you prefer a Gary Hart over a Jimmy Carter? Can nice guys and gals win in politics? Or will they be chewed up in our hyper-skeptical sound bite media culture?

So much for Mr. Smith going to Washington:

Instead Mr. Smith will be castigated, criticized, and left for dead. We should all want and hope for more in our public discourses, offices, and policies.This is about our future as a nation and who we deem appropriate to take the oath of office. If that oath of office is to mean anything at all, don’t our public officials have to maintain a fundamental ethical core for their activities to be in line with campaign promises and for foreign leaders to trust their resolve.

A Look Inside the Heart of the Media and America:
The question remains: who do we as a nation want in the hallowed halls of politics? What kind of character do we want them to have? Is human dignity and respect, or cold calculation our higher value? If they can’t come from small towns like Hope Arkansas, where can they come from? If our politicians can’t be ethical, what are they supposed to do exactly? Do we want a politics behold to the dollar, lawyers, and lobbyists or do we want to again be a nation that regains its respect as a city on a hill?

Concluding Thoughts and Our Collection Future:
A beacon for the good and the right, and a haven for those who can’t find shelter, rights, and protection elsewhere?We should all remember the spirit and words of John F. Kennedy, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” May those echo in our hearts, our minds, and our politics of a better tomorrow.

(image credit: Ping News)