The rapid response by Obama to Bush’s statement in the Israeli Knesset and to McCain’s follow-ups is reassuring.
No doubt soon the MSM will criticize this back-and-forth as nothing but “name-calling”. They’ll comment regretfully on how this only serves to lower the tone of the campaign.
And to a certain extent, you’ll have to sympathize with them. Someone from our side responding forcefully to the trash-talk coming from the other side? It’s something new! How dare we?
Of course we have a model for this — and it’s not the rarefied boudoir male that the Media perennially tries to paint our candidates as.
Rather, it comes from Harry S. Truman, FDR and countless liberals before and after. It’s a tradition that doesn’t let cheap shots like “limousine liberal”, “tax and spend”, “cut and run”, and yes “appeasement” go unanswered.
It’s exhilarating to see Obama embracing this tradition. It’s about time we all did. It’s the only way we can create a more balanced environment where liberal values stand a chance of succeeding.
