Civility on the Campaign Trail

By: hikingAUT
Published On: 9/15/2008 5:41:50 PM

For those wishing for an enlightened campaign focused on the issues, reality struck swiftly last week to dissuade us from such wishful thinking. Some may still hope that man's better nature will prevail and the issues will be hashed out and elucidated so by election day we have an informed citizenry with an understanding on where each party and candidate stands on the monumental issues of the day. As an editorial in the New York Times put it, the next administration will confront a "world populated by Al Qaeda, terrorists, a rising China, epidemics of AIDs, poverty and fratricidal war in the developing world and deep economic distress at home."  In such a world the sane among us desperately want a campaign where policies are delineated and discussed substantively. My wife Cathy expressed the following sentiments:

Obama's campaign manager, Linda Douglass, took great pains to explain on Morning Joe that the "lipstick on a pig" is a term very commonly used in the South, and that it had nothing to do with Sarah Palin.  She explained the entire context leading up to the point where Obama actually used the expression.  This was all in response to Scarborough's question: "But aren't you going to fight back against the people who are trying to smear Obama with this?"  He was implying that if she took the high road Dukakis-style and tried to brush it off and deal with more important matters, Obama would pay the price later.

Unfortunately, considering the success Republicans have had in their campaigns, Scarborough is right. But HOW do you fight back against something this trivial and childish without becoming equally trivial and childish yourself?  We are turning (or being forced to turn) into a nation of CHILDREN instead of dealing with ADULT matters like the economy, gas prices, and health care!!!  If Democrats allow themselves to get caught up in this irrelevant bullshit, they won't be worth voting for. You know, maybe we should have another Great Depression. It might force the United States to grow up!

Now that it is understood that the McCain/Palin campaign will be waged from the gutter where smears, distortions and accusations about Obama teaching kindergarten students sex education will become common place, should Democrats or any of us on the liberal/left even attempt to maintain the pretense of civility on the campaign trail. Leon Wieseltier in the New Republic asks the following question:

Why is civility so essential? Is negativity not one of the conditions of criticism? The aim of politics is not to be sweet but to to be right, and then win.
At the risk of disagreeing with my wife and  tolerating childish behavior, the time has come for Obama to take the gloves off and hit back hard. This is how politics is played and won in America of the 21st century.

Comments



Agreed. (JPTERP - 9/15/2008 6:48:08 PM)
This is what civility gets you:

This may be one of the worst response ads in the history of modern politics.  A real cautionary tale.  Dukakis should have ignored the Bush attack and instead gone for the jugular with some more visceral attack.

There are some lessons here for Obama too.  Enough b.s. about how my opponent is an "honorable man".  If he acts like a scumbag, well then, it's fair to conclude that he is an untrustworthy scumbag.

Hammer him on his honesty; hammer him on his policies; and his advisers.  The McCain's candidacy is a target rich environment without even having to make stuff up!

A great frame too for the final stretch run: "McCain-Palin '08 a Bridge to Nowhere".  If they want to make the Bridge to Nowhere a focal point of their election effort, take advantage of that opportunity to remind people about the GOP and McCain-Palin "Thanks, but no thanks".



In 2008 Civility is almost extinct...... (buzzbolt - 9/15/2008 10:11:32 PM)
America may have had a "polite society" at one time but I fear that it is behind us.   I would like to think that there are more intelligent, rational, polite individuals today than say 50 years ago when I was in high school but members of my own family prove the opposite.

If I count the entire group of people who are related to me by blood or marriage it comes to about 32.  All but 2 were born after World War II.  Of the 32, I can only honestly identify 7 who I would label as decent, civil, intelligent, and rational citizens. (If I remove myself and my wife, only 5 remain!)  I could shrink the survivors a little more by putting more weight on rational intelligence.

My point is that Democrats seem to hold to the notion that polite, intelligent, rational discourse will win the day against deceitful gutter negativism.  Republican strategists have learned again and again that they can influence more voters with shameless "slash and burn" campaigns because the bulk of the electorate (including 84.3% of my family) can be won!