Mired in the muck

I am amazed at the depths to which the McCain campaign has so quickly sunk. Really, its descent into blatant deceit, wedge politics, false victimhood and frivolity has been dizzying. Plainly put, both McCain and Palin are lying their asses off one on hand and bitching that the press is unfair to them on the other. The bullshit Lipstick on a Pig episode is but the latest example. It is one hell of a trick and, despite the nasty tone of their message, it might just be working. At least it appears that the press is finally willing to call them out on this nonsense, which is better than nothing. From the WaPo:

IT'S HARD to think of a presidential campaign with a wider chasm between the seriousness of the issues confronting the country and the triviality, so far anyway, of the political discourse. On a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the government's rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Sen. John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Sen. Barack Obama for using the phrase "lipstick on a pig" and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read.

[Snip]

John McCain is a serious man who promised to wage a serious campaign. Win or lose, will he be able to look back on this one with pride? Right now, it's hard to see how.

I would totally agree except for the “serious” remark; the Palin choice revealed the incredible shallowness and ego of John McCain. Anyone that would choose someone so manifestly unqualified or operate such a foul campaign can be called many things (nefarious, dishonest, self-serving, fill in the blank...) but serious is not one of them. Promises be damned.