It seems that the phrase "reaching across the aisle" is very in vogue with both parties' candidates. How can we take Obama seriously when he claims that he and his running mate will do that, that they are truly great leaders who will listen to everyone. After all, didn't Biden extol the virtues of compromise (likely on the part of conservatives) when accepting his place on the ticket?
Obama's camp can't have it both ways: trying to stress McCain's lack of conservative support (and therefore proving him not convervative) AND painting him as a Bush clone (and therefore calling him an arch conservative) which is a completely ridiculous idea as anyone who pays any attention to politics knows.
Isn't it McCain who is pals with former Dem-turned-Independent Liebeman, who championed campaign finance reform alongside Russ Feingold, who broke step with Republicans on immigration (a Bush idea which I am sure Obama would never mention every time he says McCain voted with Bush "95% of the time!"), and who asked Sarah Palin to be his running mate? And isn't it Sarah Palin who overtook the Alaska Republican party politics and who has gotten in trouble for stepping out of line by praising Democrats and inviting them and Independents to participate in goverment? Who's Lincoln now, Obama?
The following is an article from today's New York Daily News regarding the Kennedy legacy and bipartisanship in this year's elections:
John McCain, not Obama, is following in the Kennedy family footsteps
Party loyalty, nostalgia and the allure of a glamorous, slender figure promising a better world to a roaring crowd might mislead us into confusing the magic of Barack Obama with the reality of the two Kennedy brothers we have lost. Denver's theatrical staging enhanced this evocation, presenting a groundbreaking youthful candidacy passing the generational torch and completing the American Dream.
But if substance guides us rather than style, if character is more important than audacious ambition, then we should recognize that this time the mantle of genuine American leadership rests on a truly bipartisan figure: John McCain.
Like Jack Kennedy, McCain is grounded by heroic service as a naval officer. His patriotism requires no parsing. Like JFK, McCain understands that you cannot conduct foreign policy without understanding history. No person of that background could suggest a unilateral strike on Pakistan, as Obama did last year, apparently forgetting that this United States ally has nuclear weapons. Calling Obama's threat to Pakistan "misguided" at the time, Sen. Joe Biden also said the freshman Illinois lawmaker was unprepared to lead America. Calling McCain "my hero," Biden has stated that he would be delighted to share a ticket with the Arizona senator, whom he has suddenly begun to denounce.
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