Thought: “Real” Candidates

Today I read an article on John McCain that made me cringe a bit. Then, the thought of the article itself made me cringe a bit more. Its no wonder that people are reluctant to through their support and hearts behind a candidate when at every opportunity people are trying to cover them with slander and spotlight parts of their lives which somehow serve to show the “real” selves they are. The fact is, as people may or may not choose to take note of, these people are public servants. These people have ALREADY been elected to government positions and you have the opportunity to look at their voting records to see if any of these stupid allegations translate to their actions. 

The article quoted this from a new book on McCain: 

“Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain’s intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain’s hair and said, “You’re getting a little thin up there.” McCain’s face reddened, and he responded, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.” McCain’s excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.” 

It also later quotes the book as follows:

What should voters make of this pattern? In February 2008 Tim Russert succinctly described McCain on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. A devilish grin spread from ear to ear as Russert, no McCain hater, leaned forward and spoke in a whisper, “He likes to fight.” Russert got it right. But the big question isn’t whether McCain likes to fight: it’s who, when, and how.

The point of the article was to paint him as  this fighter with a horrible temper. Now, I’m no McCain supporter and I definitely don’t approve of these actions if the allegations are correct… but I do have a horrible time understanding how this would reflect him as a president. Look, I don’t think he would be an extraordinary president and he’s not the candidate of my choice by any means, but there are more concrete things that actually relate to the presidency that are known about this man… additionally, there is such a thing as the House in this country as well as the Supreme Court. We have something known as the “Checks-and-Balances” system and we also have something known as “impeachment”. If we really do elect some kind of Manchurian Candidate or a tempered bigot or whatever other ridiculous dirt is being dug up and emailed out to brainwash voters, then I have news for you voters: we can correct mistakes. People have forgotten this, because nobody would challenge George W. Bush but the President cannot do whatever he wants, he doesn’t have full say over anything, and he certainly can be ‘fired’. Its a job like any other job… we’re not electing our mediator with a divine entity, we’re electing a public official. Granted, its the most executive public official, but we are the public and he works for us.