On National Public Radio, I heard this afternoon that Senator McCain was a big supporter of “regime change” in Iraq back in the 1990s. At that point he saw a U.S. invasion as too hard to generate support for. Days after 9/11, much sooner than the Bush Administration and their allies did publicly, McCain called for an invasion of Iraq as a response to 9/11. His argument was apparently more sophisticated than what we eventually heard from Vice President Cheney and the Bush Administration. What McCain apparently argued was that – given that Al-Qaida had started to push around the United States (through the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings) – we needed to show the world and adversaries actual and potential that we couldn’t be pushed around – so why not go after an old adversary, the Hussein regime in Iraq – whether or not this regime had anything to do with 9/11. Within a couple of months, McCain was addressing soldiers stationed near the Middle East, telling them he’d see them in Baghdad.
Ultimately, when the Bush Administration took up the cause, they had to submerge this argument and dress it up with false claims about Iraq’s responsibility for 9/11 (something that Vice President Cheney still repeats today) and about Weapons of Mass Destruction – because they feared neither Americans nor potential allies would buy the argument that we just had to strike out at someone to prove our mettle.
One of the scariest parts of Wednesday night (when - at its high point - with Governor Palin - the Republicans had almost as big a TV audience as Senator Obama did last Thursday night - 37 million) was not so much the dripping sarcasm of Governor Romney and Mayor Giuliani (both of whom I dislike, though Romney was a solid moderate Republican governor), as well as that of Governor Huckabee and Governor Palin (who at least mixed it with some good humor – and, in Huckabee’s case – actually mixed with a recognition of the historical moment of the Obama candidacy, partly as a culmination of the civil rights movement - towards Senator Obama and the Democrats) – including, at its most irritating moments – making fun of community organizing (and the jeers this inspired) – as if only politicians and government (and for-profit businesses) can make a difference in people’s lives (They stopped short of making fun of religious congregations and religious leaders.) This scary part was the times that Republicans there broke into spontaneous chants – two in particular – “USA! USA! USA! USA!” – I remember it most after discussion of Muslim extremism – as if we were cheering on a more bloodthirsty version of our home team against infidels – and the even more scary “Drill, baby, drill!” – supposedly about oil, but seemingly more generally about the environment and broader. Whether Alaska’s moose or polar bears, listeners could almost imagine the chant morphing into “Kill, baby, kill!” and uniting with the “U.S.A.!” chant about Muslims, polar bears, or whoever.
I thought the most effective part of the otherwise somewhat awkward Thursday night speeches by Cindy McCain and Senator John McCain were two moments during John McCain’s speech: when he conceded something I’ve heard no Republican say on the convention floor this week: the Republicans (who after all have been in charge of the White House for the past eight yeas and of Capitol Hill for 14 of the past 16 years) (and Democrats) lost the public trust by blowing up the budget and deficit and putting power over principle (on torture). Also: when he talked about something he never used to talk about publicly but which others at the convention have talked about ad nauseam – but not as effectively as he did: particularly – even more than others – talking about how as a pilot he was self-centered and then how as a POW he depended on others and became more enamored with service to others and our country. (He also confessed – vaguely – about giving in to torture at one point (when he participated in some North Vietnamese anti-U.S. propaganda films). ) After so many St. Paul speakers talked as if the only way to serve the country was through military service, McCain belatedly gave a pitch for service – through military service, teaching, elected office, caring for others (and perhaps - dare I say it - community organizing?). Here – and when he talked about leading a government of Republicans, Democrats, and independents and ideas from all also – he sounded perilously like Senator Obama last Thursday night and his many speeches. Like Obama (though not as much), McCain did a little detail on economic policies, etc. McCain tried – but I don’t think he was as successful at it as the Clintons and even Obama (especially with the addition of the actual regular people speakers last Thursday night) – of incorporating the stories of regular people individuals in his narratives.
-- Perry
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