THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK: McCain’s Disingenuous Campaign

Karl Rove’s Rules of Politics #1: Accuse your opponent of doing what you are doing before he has a chance to accuse you.

It is the political equivalent of a preemptive strike: If you charge the opposition with placing the interests of the nation below the politics of the moment (even as you do the same), it takes the sting out of the countercharge. It makes the opposition seem small-minded and politically motivated no matter how the facts would betray you.

It is a tactic that served George W. Bush well and one that is clearly present in the stumbling campaign of John McCain.

Cliché or not, there are some phrases that are worth retaining because they express a concept so well. One such saying has been banished for multiple violations of the code of civil behavior as well as for its archaic qualities. Today, in this hypersensitive and often ridiculous world of social niceties, we can no longer use the words "pot" or "black" in mixed company regardless of context.

It is unfortunate because if I were Barack Obama (he who must use the word sparingly), I would be tempted to use one expression often and forcefully: That’s the pot calling the kettle black. (Note: In days gone by a pot was a kettle and it was invariably black.)

When John McCain accused Obama of injecting politics into the bailout negotiations that was the pot calling the kettle black. It was McCain who made a great show of suspending his campaign (though his campaign never got the memo) to rush back to Washington and save the day but instead only muddled the works.

When the McCain camp accuses Congressman John Lewis of injecting race into the presidential campaign that is the pot calling the kettle black. We have all witnessed the scurrilous tactics of Republican operatives on the web, on the radio, on the stump and in television ads implying that Obama is foreign or Muslim or a radical sympathizer who hangs out with known terrorists. If Obama were white, would they use the same tactics?

When McCain charges Obama with changing his position in response to the polls that is the pot calling the kettle black. It does not square with the facts.

While Obama has illuminated his proposals with a calm and steady hand, McCain has been all over the map trying to reverse his plunge in the polls. From a starting position that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" he has seemed to be arguing opposing sides simultaneously: The angry populist versus the loyal free market fundamentalist. To this day is anyone certain where he stands on the biggest bailout in history?

When McCain accuses Obama of running against the policies of his past ("What he promises today is the opposite of what he has done his entire career.") that is the pot calling the kettle black.

To the extent that McCain has given economics more than a passing thought he has adopted whole-heartedly the policies and philosophy of the free market fundamentalists. His economic mentor was none other than former Senator Phil ("A Nation of Whiners") Gramm and literally no one in Washington has done more for the cause of deregulation than Gramm.

So when McCain says "We’re going to get government…back in the business of responsible regulation," he is running counterpoint to his entire career, his record in Congress and his economic philosophy.

When McCain suggests that Obama’s proposals would create a capital outflow from the markets that could trigger a collapse that too is the pot calling the kettle black. Included in McCain’s economic emergency proposals is one of the oldest on the corporate wish list with a new twist: A dramatic cut in the capital gains tax (from 15% to 7.5%) with a two-year statute of limitation. To be clear, this tax cut is radically tilted to the wealthiest Americans and the two-year limit would provide incentive for a massive sell-off before the statute expires.

Next we’ll be hearing McCain charge that Obama’s proposals are not well thought out.

As if that were not enough, McCain would increase the tax write-off for investment losses from $3,000 to $15,000. The proposal might have merit if it was limited to small businesses and individual investors of relatively modest means but there should be no doubt that it would increase the flow of capital away from the marketplace.

In short, McCain’s proposals amount to the same old one-tune Charlie approach of the Bush administration: A tax cut for every occasion. He adds a little pandering to the unemployed and elderly but neither should take heart.

The unemployed should note that McCain is anti-labor, anti fair trade, has opposed raising the minimum wage and has been erratic at best on extending unemployment benefits even in trouble times.

Senior citizens should recall that when McCain was pressed for meaningful reductions in spending, the only examples he could come up with were earmarks and Social Security. He supported the Bush plan for partial privatization of Social Security that fortunately failed.

With apologies to those who might find it offensive, the phrase is undeniably applicable:

When John McCain looks into the camera and tells us with a straight face that his is the steady hand that can be trusted to look after the ordinary working people while Obama is erratic and unreliable, that is the pot calling the kettle black.

Jazz.

Random Jack
Jack's Blog, Random Voices