Obama Gets Tough, Shoots Self In Head

I’ve always thought that Barack Obama is unqualified for the office of President–he isn’t qualified to be a Senator, either–but I’ve never thought he was particularly mean-spirited. Until now. Obama said he was going to get tough, and put out this ad, which is offensive in a number of ways:

McCain “can’t send an email?” That’s true, actually, as Jonah Goldberg explains:

The reason he doesn’t send email is that he can’t use a keyboard because of the relentless beatings he received from the Viet Cong in service to our country. From the Boston Globe (March 4, 2000):

McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain’s severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He’s an avid fan – Ted Williams is his hero – but he can’t raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.

Obama’s attack has unleashed a torrent of outrage; Glenn Reynolds has a roundup here. This excerpt from a 2000 Forbes article about McCain’s pioneering web-based campaign is noteworthy:

In certain ways, McCain was a natural Web candidate. Chairman of the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and regarded as the U.S. Senate’s savviest technologist, McCain is an inveterate devotee of email. His nightly ritual is to read his email together with his wife, Cindy. The injuries he incurred as a Vietnam POW make it painful for McCain to type. Instead, he dictates responses that his wife types on a laptop. “She’s a whiz on the keyboard, and I’m so laborious,” McCain admits.

I guess now we’ll find out whether Barack Obama is capable of shame.

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