I Know You Are, But What Am I?

Digby says:

I wrote about this before, but I think it's worth reiterating. The "special
relationship" between John McCain and the press is particularly dangerous in
one respect: he is not held accountable for his words on the stump, (while
Democrats' are used against them as if they'd carved them in stone from Mt
Rushmore) and he's not held liable for his gross and obvious panders and
policy shifts. I'm not sure I've ever seen a politician have this kind of
industrial strength teflon before.

Update: Classic Somerby...

"It’s all about Nam, [Chris] Matthews said. McCain served there, and we multimillionaires didn’t. “That gives him a moral edge over of us,” Matthews said. And then, the key part of his statement: That gives him a moral edge—and we show it. Shorter Matthews: We refused to serve during Vietnam. And because we feel so guilty about it, we refuse to serve today too."

Nam is an excuse; they'd fawn over him anyway, because whether they like it or not, he is theirs. If the Inner Circle rejects him, they are nobodies. How many times have we seen this? It's not exactly a surprise.

Forget the merits, pro and con, of the individuals. It is Republicanism that is corrupt and unworkable, the same way communism was unworkable. They vow to destroy the government, eradicate the common good, and establish their own religion as the state religion. If you waste your time denouncing their candidates, don't be surprised when they are easily replaced and you have to start all over again from the beginning.

And we have to treat Democratic candidates with the same skepticism and scrutiny. Why is everyone quiet about both candidates' vow to stay in Iraq? How valid are elections that ignore the will of the vast majority of the people of the nation?

Our national identity doesn't matter. Our need for belonging doesn't matter. Democrats don't matter. Stopping the crimes we are committing is all that counts.