I could only stand to watch a few minutes of the debate because there's something about McCain that sums up what bothers me about the last few years. He has that stench of entitlement to him, that arrogance that comes from living a life where no matter what happened in the past, the present becomes this insulated cushion against the outside world. And I'm the outside world he wants to be isolated from.
And please stop with that war hero stuff. No true hero wants it used as a political or other means of manipulation. I was raised by a war hero. He, like McCain, was forever destroyed as a human being by his war experiences. He nearly killed me several times as I was growing up because his war experiences only taught him how to go off and not how to stop. He was never able to ever fit into the normal world again. He was too messed up, too destroyed by what he had to do to stay alive. He was about as fucked up a human being as there is in this world, but the one positive thing I can say about him is never in his life would he allow his war experiences, his medals, his wounds to be used in the political arena. He would have rightly felt that sullied what was left of his honor. That's something that really creeps me out about McCain, how he allows what little honor he has left to be used up and frittered away as if it was meaningless.
And another point. I knew the man who raised me was messed up. He knew he was messed up. Everyone he met knew he was messed up. No one in their right mind would ever want him making a decision for them. There wasn't enough left in him that wouldn't go off on its own and start some shit somewhere. He had this look in his eyes, that look people get when they've had all the proof they can stomach that human beings sometimes really suck at being human beings. I see that look in McCain's eyes, that disgust, that barely disguised hatred of human beings.
And the man who raised me had another trait I saw tonight, he couldn't look anyone in the eyes either. He looked at them sideways like McCain did to Obama. Never once did McCain look Obama in the eyes. It was that evasive I hate humanity glance that revealed how little compassion the man truly has for anyone. The only consolation is that he probably hates himself equally. If not, then he really should. At least the man who raised me made no secret that he hated people. He felt he had earned that right. And there was no one he respected enough to look in the eyes. He was an equal opportunity hater. "I hate everyone equally," he was fond of saying.
So when I saw McCain I saw a man who was unfit for most of the things in life that require a level head, an ability to reason outside of emotion, and compassion for fellow human beings. These are qualities that make a leader and McCain didn't show anything that I perceived as leadership. He came off as mean, evasive, sloganistic, and part of a political machine that cares about nothing except the win.
For a few minutes I felt sorry for him and then I realized how frightening it was to feel that way about him because he truly does represent his party. It's not inconceivable to me that he would vote to bail out rich cronies who gambled and lost and then justify it as saving the country, and yet at the same time refuse to extend unemployment benefits and the means to save their homes for the very victims of those whose hands he would fill with unaccountable tax dollars from me and you. He's cruel that way just as his party is cruel that way. It's all a money game to them and people are shit.
But what I also saw in his eyes was a stark ruthless win at any cost mentality that is so much a part of the Rovian politics he embraces. He and his party are dangerous because they care nothing about people, about law, about the country, about the constitution. It's all about them, about winning, about rewarding each other with keys to the piggy banks filled with our hard earned dollars. I don't doubt they will do everything in their power to disrupt the voting process, to disenfranchise voters in districts that won't go as Republican as they demand. That's why this year it is more important than ever to register to vote NOW and then get out and vote. There's too much at stake to let the bad guys win again. It's time for good to triumph over evil or the world gets out of balance forever.
And please stop with that war hero stuff. No true hero wants it used as a political or other means of manipulation. I was raised by a war hero. He, like McCain, was forever destroyed as a human being by his war experiences. He nearly killed me several times as I was growing up because his war experiences only taught him how to go off and not how to stop. He was never able to ever fit into the normal world again. He was too messed up, too destroyed by what he had to do to stay alive. He was about as fucked up a human being as there is in this world, but the one positive thing I can say about him is never in his life would he allow his war experiences, his medals, his wounds to be used in the political arena. He would have rightly felt that sullied what was left of his honor. That's something that really creeps me out about McCain, how he allows what little honor he has left to be used up and frittered away as if it was meaningless.
And another point. I knew the man who raised me was messed up. He knew he was messed up. Everyone he met knew he was messed up. No one in their right mind would ever want him making a decision for them. There wasn't enough left in him that wouldn't go off on its own and start some shit somewhere. He had this look in his eyes, that look people get when they've had all the proof they can stomach that human beings sometimes really suck at being human beings. I see that look in McCain's eyes, that disgust, that barely disguised hatred of human beings.
And the man who raised me had another trait I saw tonight, he couldn't look anyone in the eyes either. He looked at them sideways like McCain did to Obama. Never once did McCain look Obama in the eyes. It was that evasive I hate humanity glance that revealed how little compassion the man truly has for anyone. The only consolation is that he probably hates himself equally. If not, then he really should. At least the man who raised me made no secret that he hated people. He felt he had earned that right. And there was no one he respected enough to look in the eyes. He was an equal opportunity hater. "I hate everyone equally," he was fond of saying.
So when I saw McCain I saw a man who was unfit for most of the things in life that require a level head, an ability to reason outside of emotion, and compassion for fellow human beings. These are qualities that make a leader and McCain didn't show anything that I perceived as leadership. He came off as mean, evasive, sloganistic, and part of a political machine that cares about nothing except the win.
For a few minutes I felt sorry for him and then I realized how frightening it was to feel that way about him because he truly does represent his party. It's not inconceivable to me that he would vote to bail out rich cronies who gambled and lost and then justify it as saving the country, and yet at the same time refuse to extend unemployment benefits and the means to save their homes for the very victims of those whose hands he would fill with unaccountable tax dollars from me and you. He's cruel that way just as his party is cruel that way. It's all a money game to them and people are shit.
But what I also saw in his eyes was a stark ruthless win at any cost mentality that is so much a part of the Rovian politics he embraces. He and his party are dangerous because they care nothing about people, about law, about the country, about the constitution. It's all about them, about winning, about rewarding each other with keys to the piggy banks filled with our hard earned dollars. I don't doubt they will do everything in their power to disrupt the voting process, to disenfranchise voters in districts that won't go as Republican as they demand. That's why this year it is more important than ever to register to vote NOW and then get out and vote. There's too much at stake to let the bad guys win again. It's time for good to triumph over evil or the world gets out of balance forever.
