A Tale of Two Campaigns: How a Call for Change Degenerated into Nixon-esque Deception

Look into my eyes. You know this love is real.

Obama was for Change. Then McCain was for change. Then Obama was for lowering taxes for the middle class. Then McCain was for fixing Warshington [sic], which clearly was/is "broken." Then Obama was for teaching that old dude (his opponent) how to use the internets. Then McCain was for keeping pornography out of our kindergarten classrooms.


I had such high hopes for this campaign. Obama, with his astounding Horatio Alger-esque story and his nuanced, undilluted answers to difficult questions, made me think that perhaps this country has retained its fabled upward mobility. I thought that, with him in power, this country could once again be run by a pragmatic, utilitarian individual unfettered by ideology. And McCain, a war hero with an undisputed strength of character and a moral compass that no person or group could tamper with ensured that, even if Obama lost, the country would be in much better hands than it was during the previous eight years.


But this campaign has, to varying extents, made beasts of both these men. They have both been responsible for departing completely from the issues this country faces, opting instead to create an atmosphere of destructive, infantile personal attacks and lies on issues such as sexism (Mccain) and racism (Obama) in the campaign, and immigration (both). Obama has publicly quoted McCain as "always [being] for less regulation," which was disproven here. And McCain said that Obama's "one accomplishment" in the field of education was to support comprehensive sex education to kindergarteners, which was disproven here.


The pattern here seems to be that the campaigns have been wildly skewing the nature of commentary given by pundits, government officials, and their opponents to the point that the message percieved by the public is radically different than the reality of what was said. So the obvious next step would be to just completely fabricate speeches, conversations, bills, votes, or events. Given what's being said by both camps, it doesn't seem that far off.


I was watching a Jim Lehrer PBS Documentary on past Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, and the debates of the past looked quaint and civil compared to what is going on now. Scum-merchants like Rupert Murdoch have rotted our brains so much that we can't handle a debate on the issues anymore. We are becoming a headline-only nation. Welcome to FOX country. Leave your intellect at the door.