One theme that has reared its ugly head since the beginning of the Presidential cycle is that of questioning the patriotism of particular candidates. More often than not, the subject of this theme has been Democratic Presidential nominee, Barack Obama.
The most recent example of this was brought forward by Senator Jim Inhofe (R – OK). While it should not be surprising that Inhofe, a Global Warming denier and serial legislation blocker, would attack a Democrat in such a brazenly partisan way, it illustrates one of the hurdles that Obama faces in the last 57 days of the campaign.
One thing that both McCain and Obama have stressed for weeks now is that neither questions the other’s love of America. There has been, from the principals in both campaigns, a certain level of reverence reserved for each other in terms of the other’s love of country. Yet, it seems that Republican surrogates for McCain have, and will continue to try to call into question, Obama’s devotion to a nation that has given him the opportunities, probably unavailable anywhere else in the world.
This line of attack illustrates a disconnect, that no one in the media seems willing to acknowledge; How can one spend two years of their life running for the top job in the nation without loving their country? Would someone dedicate themselves and their future to a campaign to lead the United States without a certain level of patriotism?
This is the most ridiculous line of attack out there, and one that the media could and should debunk easily with this simple line of logic…one that seems fleeting in an environment that has the media on it’s heels, defending itself from attacks of bias from the right, despite it’s continual exultation of McCain as the consummate patriot.
Questioning patriotism, like calls of media bias, are distractions from the real issues of the campaign. As voters, it’s time to reject these distractions and focus on where the candidates intend to take us if they are elected. Without that focus, electing a President who is accountable to us, the electorate, is virtually impossible.