From an article entitled McCain's Risky Turn
Here are some excerpts:
Frank Keating, the former governor of Oklahoma and a McCain surrogate went on television this week and played the race card, saying Obama should own up to the fact that he was once a "guy of the street" who used cocaine...
Keating's comments were inexplicable, though the former governor has had a reputation for popping off. Whether he was freelancing or had been encouraged by the McCain campaign to raise Obama's drug use -- which the Illinois senator wrote about in his autobiography -- isn't known. Injecting this into the campaign now seems designed to add to the GOP portrait of Obama as a sinister figure who does not share the values of middle America...
Beside the former Governor playing the race card, despicable, the comments are, as Mr. Balz says "designed to add to the GOP portrait of Obama as a sinister figure who does not share the values of middle America," but what is ironic is that middle America thrives on meth labs (42 in Wasilla, Alaska by the way) so anyone in the crowd who has ever known anyone who has done drugs and is still a friend is essentially hypocritical.
The drug argument is tired and has no bearing. President Bush was a full blown alcoholic, in recovery. Bill Clinton, obviously, had a problem with sex, and Senator John McCain certainly has a problem when he gambles.
This do anything to win on the part of the GOP, if successful, will be a sad day for the United States and not because Senator Obama didn't win. What does it tell the people of this country, the children of this country? If you say enough bad things about a person, no matter how untrue, you'll always win. A sad message stemming from a supposed man of honor.
This campaign won't be over soon enough.
