Marc Ambinder points out helpfully that John McCain's latest attack ad is not true.
But he can't quite bring himself to call the presumptive Republican nominee a liar, preferring instead to describe it as McCain just "having a little fun."
A new McCain ad claims that Barack Obama voted to raise taxes on folks earning more than $42,000 a year. Technically, the claim stands up-- Obama voted for a budget resolution that would have restored the 25% tax bracket to 28%, which, in theory, might mean more taxes paid by those earning as little as $42,000. But Budget resolutions aren't bills; they're broad targets... so the McCain folks are having a little fun here.This is right in line with McCain's own defensive spin regarding the consistently negative tone that his campaign has taken.
“I don’t think our campaign is negative in the slightest,’’ Mr. McCain went on. “I’m, we think, it’s got a lot of humor in it, and we’re having fun and enjoying it. And that is what campaigns are going to be like, that’s what every campaign that I have been involved in. I am going to enjoy it and I’m the underdog. And we will continue to fight and scrap all the way till November the fourth.’’So, yeah, let's just pretend that when McCain lies about his opponent, he's just having a mavericky good time. No blood, no foul.
There's nothing dishonest about claiming that Obama plans to raise taxes on middle-class families, when he actually plans to reduce them. There's nothing improper about insisting that Obama's entire energy plan consists of keeping your tires properly inflated when you know that isn't true. And there is certainly nothing shameful about saying that Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election. That's not slander. It's just fun!
Just make sure that no Democrat ever suggests that McCain's time as a POW does not in and of itself make him the superior choice as Commander-in-Chief. Right-wingers and McCain's media base think that's no fun at all.
