John McCain needs to speak out immediately against anyone exploiting Barack Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment. We all know that the comment wasn't directed at Governor Palin and we all deserve a campaign that lives up to the best values of each candidate.
Barack Obama spoke out quickly and forcefully against the personal attacks directed at Ms. Palin just as her stellar convention performance was doing real damage to the Democrats. Obama could have stood silently by as his minions did their worst to unfairly smear Palin, instead of focusing on the real differences about our future which her nomination demonstrates. He did not. And neither should John McCain.
I just returned from a dinner with philanthropic and political leaders in Jerusalem. Among the topics of conversation: their disappointment in a candidate that the majority of them support, for his willingness to capitalize on Obama's statement. One of them remarked that if Americans actually believe that Obama's words were directed at Sarah Palin, then "they are as foolish as the voters here in Israel". Another said that "McCain not standing up and ending this indicates that he is not the man we think he is".
These people do not speak for all Israelis, who seem to favor McCain by a very slight margin. But as citizens facing the likely criminal indictment of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the coming days, they are keenly aware of politicians behaving badly. And the one thing that they all agreed on was that they had hpoed both candidates as examples of new and better politics. And so do I.
Whoever wins this election will need to lead the entire nation. Their ability to do so effectively will be directly proportional not only to the policies they put in place, but in the rhetoric and behavior that brings them to the White House. That's why McCain needs to speak up now.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
Rabbi-
You see the trees instead of the forest. A remark by Obama about lipstick was, indeed, a playback to Palin's remark. The fact is, in politics you have to not only do better; you have to destroy your opponent. Gore and Kerry did not do this. The Republicans won.
If you are judging a candidate by how well he fits with Israel, unfortunately you are stuck in a quagmire. NO CANDIDATE CAN POSSIBLY SPEAK OR ACT AGAINST ISRAEL. Israel is protected on the Democrat platform by Jewish liberals, and on the Republican platform by Evangalists and Orthodox. The lobby for Israel is the envy of all other lobybing groups. The United States sees Israel through several different prisims:
1. Moral and ideological--a land and safe haven for Jews. The Holy Land where Jews must re-establish themselves.
2. Political--a bastion of democracy in a sea of Oriental despotism.
3. The best source of espionage.
4. A natural partner in the War against Terror.
Therefore, in reality, there can be no difference between Obama and McCain IN REFFERENCE TO ISRAEL. The momentum and the cement are too strong to break or reverse. However, the Palestinian issue has inflamed the Arab world. Arabs equate the United States and "Zionism," rightly or wrongly, and the world is becoming an ever-increasing dangerous place to live because of that issue. NOTHING unites the Arab world as a reference to the Palestinians. They may be misinformed, wrong, or pigheaded, but THEY ARE INFLAMED.
SOMEHOW, SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE has to end this problem that is causing a cancerous growth throughout the world.
Lucy
The purpose of making false charges against a candidate like Obama is that it shows that he's a weenie. That's why they also put out the ad saying that warning children about predators was sex education for kindergartners. That's why this morning there is an Ad out calling Obama a liar.
The more outrageous the lie, the more sickly Obama appears. Maybe Obama should know about Hillel? "If I am not for myself, who will be?"
If Obama falls to their low level, they are prepared for that also. They will then attack him for being negative and waste all the media time with this garbage so no one can explain why Lehman Bros is about to fail or why Bear Stearns did fail and why the taxpayers have to bail out Fannie and Freddie.
Kerry did not lose because the Republicans Swiftboated him and painted him as effeminate. He lost because his behavior gave truth to those characterizations.
The Independents may dislike the Karl Rovers, but the Independents also know that a weak man cannot lead the country. If Obama hasn't figured out how to counter the Karl Rover hate machine after 8 years, then the Dems nominated the wrong person.
If you think Obama wasn't taking a jab at Sarah Palin you simply don't have the ability to undersand nuances, as Obama supposed does. It was a direct follow up to her comment that hockey moms are like pit bulls with lipstick. It was nasty.
Dick
OK LETS GET THE JEST OF THIS. A SIMI-BLACK MAN IS MAKING FUN OF A WOMAN WHO HAS THE COURAGE TO STAND UP TO WHOEVER! lET ME ENLIGHTEN A FEW MISS GUIDED PEOPLE. THE QUOTE BEGIN VERY DIFFERENT WITH A VERY DIFFERENT AGENDA. AS MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME AND MINE MANY TIMES THE TRUE QUOTE IS "A PRAYING WOMAN IS LIKE A BULLDOG WITH LIPSTICK. SO LETS EXAMINE THIS, A PIG IS ONE A SWINE, SLOPPY, OVER INGEST ANYTHING IN FRONT OF IT, AND WALLOWS IN THE MUD. NOW A BULLDOG WELL HE IS STRONG, CONFRONTATIONAL, YET ENDURING AS MANS BEST FREIND. SUPPOSE SOMEONE SHOULD EDUCATE THE EDUCATED BAMA WHO CONSTANTLY GETS HISTORY WRONG AND HAS A NASTY ATTITUDE WITH THE ENTICEMENT OF "THE FALLEN ANGEL", ANYBODY GETTING THIS, OF COURSE THIS "VERY BRILLANT, SMOOTH TALKING, UNCERTAIN ANCESTORY PERSON WAS OUT TO DEMEAN A VERY CAPABLE WOMEN WHO SCARES HIM, AND HE SHOULD BE, WE WOMEN ARE PROUD TO HEAR OUR WORDS SPOKEN JUST AS WE ARE, FORCEFUL, LOVING, AND SINCERE WITH A NO NONSENSE REFRESHING EXAMPLE FOR ALL OUR UP COMING DAUGHTERS! AND HEY TO CALL IT A BLUR AS DICK MORRIS (WHOM I HAVE NO BEEF WITH), IS SOOOO RIDICULOUS. DID ANYBODY SEE HIM ATTACH HILLARY? WELL YOU SHOULD BE TAKING ATTENTION AFTER ALL THE TERRIOST WHERE KNOWN BY NEIGHBORS OF THE UPMOST RESPECT, EDUCATION, AND THEY NEVER EVEN SAW IT COMING. NOW LETS LISTEN TO THE ISSUES, McCAIN/PALIN TICKET HAS THE FORWARD ISSUES, GOING BACK TO "TALKING" IS GOING TO CAUSE A CIVIL WAR IF PUSHED BECAUSE I HAVE TALKED WITH MANY WHO ARE FEED UP WITH WELL SPOKEN, AMERICAN EDUCATED (BY YOU AND ME BY THE WAY), TRAITORS, EITHER BAMA HUSSEN! IS A TRAITOR TO THIS NATION OR THE FAR LEFT ZELOTS ON THE LEFT OR AN AMERICAN CHAMPION FOR OUR DECENCY, LIBERTY AND YES FREEDOM FOR ALL, HE IS FREE TO BE STUPID IN A SUIT, BUT NOT TO OVER LOOK OUR BEST INTEREST. SO PALIN WEAR YOUR LIPSTICK WE ARE LOVING IT BUT STAY TRUE TO YOUR VALUES, AND AWAKEN THE BRILLANCE OF US WOMEN TO THE WHITE HOUSE, PLEASE INCLUDE THE BOTOX MAMA, PELOSKI, WHO HAS DONE NOTHING ALONG WITH HER CLONIES, LETS GET RID OF THEM ALL AND TAKE BACK THIS NATION! ANY TAKERS? fAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD, A SIMPLE MAN IN A SIMPLE CLOTH, WITH SANDALS, BLOOD STAINED HANDS, AND LAST WORDS, LORD FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!
JOYCE
Holy cow, Joyce,
DO YOU ALWAYS YELL WHEN TRYING TO MAKE A POINT?
Have you heard of "lower case"?
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.