In the Arena

Patriotism 101

Maybe this doesn’t need to be said, but:

Anyone who talks about the “pro-American” parts of the country is making an anti-American statement.

Anyone who talks about the “real” parts of Virginia doesn’t understand that all of Virginia is real–just not the reality as fantasized by the sort of people who see some parts of the country as more “pro-American” than others.

Anyone who describes one part of the country as “most patriotic” has lost all sense of what patriotism means.

(And any congressman who describes his own constituents as “rednecks” and “racists” probably doesn’t have much of a future in politics, no matter how much pork he hauls home. I’m talking about you, John Murtha.)

But, seriously, you have to wonder why John McCain has spent so much time questioning the patriotism of others, especially his opponent, in this campaign. Is it because he once signed a prison “confession” that he considered treasonous? If so, please know that we don’t blame you. You’re a patriot, Senator, and a hero…at least, you were until you started questioning the patriotism of others–by saying things like they’d rather win an election than a war, and by implying that they’re soft on terrorists. Then you became something else entirely. And it hasn’t worked very well, has it?

Related Topics: Uncategorized
  • Latest on Swampland

    Pete Souza / The White House via Getty Images

    Political Picures of the Week, May 18-25

    TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures of the past week from the Beltway and beyond.

    Obama Administration Blocks Global Health Fund To Fight Disease In Developing NationsHuffPost Politics

    From left: AP; ABACAUSA

    The Phony War: Obama and Romney Are Debating Character, Not Policy

    More than five months from Election Day, the back-and-forth about Mitt Romney’s record at Bain already feels played out. Unfortunately, there’s good reason to expect the campaign continues in this vein indefinitely. Neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney are terribly interested in dwelling on policy platforms. Romney’s plan to slash spending and keep taxes low on the wealthy isn’t especially popular, at least not at any level of detail beyond a blithe promise to shrink the deficit. Meanwhile, Obama’s signature first-term achievements, like health care, the stimulus and Wall Street reform, are all unpopular or tricky to sell. (The Dodd-Frank bill is the most popular of these, but hyping it means offending wealthy donors.) So what we’re getting instead is a superficial duel about character–and, worse, one that’s based on the largely false premise that the better man can better “manage” the economy back to health.

blog comments powered by Disqus