Our editor says that polls are the “crack of political reporting,” but they’re more like powdered cocaine: hard to get, expensive, a quality high that gets spread around the whole party. The real crack of political reporting are political catfights: cheap, fast, generally leading to poor decision making and lost teeth. [Swampland does not encourage the use of actual crack or cocaine, but if you’re wondering where we’re going with this drug thing, hold on…]
Today’s cheap thrill comes from the rapidly escalating war of words between Obama and McCain over the Iraq spending bill.
It started with this, from Obama:
Governor Romney and Senator McCain clearly believe the course we are on in Iraq is working, but I do not. And if there ever was a reflection of that it’s the fact that Senator McCain required a flack jacket, ten armored Humvees, two Apache attack helicopters, and 100 soldiers with rifles by his side to stroll through a market in Baghdad just a few weeks ago.
Then McCain hit back with this:
“While Senator Obama’s two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation’s security.
“By the way, Senator Obama, it’s a ‘flak’ jacket, not a ‘flack’ jacket.”
But saved the real heavy artillery for an anonymous aide who said this:
“Obama wouldn’t know the difference between an RPG and a bong.”
And that’s where they’re wrong! Obama knows ALL ABOUT bongs. Didn’t anyone at McCain HQ read his book?
UPDATE: I don’t want to get too chicken and egg, but one correx to my original post: McCain had the first release to even tickle the other side.
“I was very disappointed to see Senator Obama and Senator Clinton embrace the policy of surrender by voting against funds to support our brave men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This vote may win favor with MoveOn and liberal primary voters, but it’s the equivalent of waving a white flag to al Qaeda.”