27 Aug 2008
McCain vs. the World
With the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, the general election is now in its official full swing. As such, in order to detract from the DNC fanfare, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain is going on the offensive against Obama.
That is to be expected, but it is the grounds on which McCain is attacking Obama that worries me.
McCain said Obama has not challenged criticism from other countries about America’s greatness, and he ridiculed the Democrat’s call for “a world that stands as one” in his Berlin speech last month.
First of all, what does any of that mean? I understand that the McCain campaign is going back to the “Obama hates America” message, but what is he actually suggesting?
Let’s pull this apart. “Obama has not challenged criticism from other countries about America’s greatness.” So McCain is telling us that we should demand that all countries of the world bow before our infinite wisdom, and if they do question us? We isolate, sanction and/or invade them. Yes, we truly are the righteous and moral superpower.
Next, he “ridicules” Obama for saying that “there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.” What exactly does he take issue with in that quote? Facing challenges, multilateralism, unity?
In his address to the veterans, McCain said that Obama was “the picture of confidence” in Berlin, but that “confidence itself and confidence in one’s country are not the same.”
What does any of that mean? Regardless, after that comment, McCain’s speech took a frightening turn.
McCain said oppressed nations look to the United States for leadership and hope. “When they talk about our country, it is not with distrust or disdain, but with respect and affection. They do not resent or resist America’s democratic influence in the world — they thank God for it.”
All Hail the Emperor.
I’m not sure which countries McCain considers oppressed, but I would assume that list includes China, Iran and Russia. During the Olympics the Chinese clearly showed their pride for the state, balking at any and all criticism of their internal practices. And while I don’t claim intimate knowledge of Iran’s world view, I sincerely doubt many Iranians wake up and thank Allah for the America. What I do know is Russia, and although Russians are enticed by our clothes, movies and music, they are all Russian first. And when they see imperialist American policies working against the interest of their country, you’d better believe they curse “America’s democratic influence” attempting to weaken and isolate their popular government.
The statements made in McCain’s VA speech are terrifying. They not only represent a harder line on foreign policy than even George W. Bush espoused, they are blatantly nationalistic. The idea that it is in the best interest of the world to impose American influence absolutely everywhere is the same tyrannical ideology championed by historical villians like Hitler, Stalin, Togo, and Mussolini.
Furthermore, to make the case that attempting to approach world problems through multilateralism is un-American is historically false and damagingly jingoistic.
I hope that this is hackery. I hope this is part of the continuing Republican smear aimed at making Obama out to be scary liberal Black man that hates America. I hope McCain does not actually believe what he is saying. Otherwise, given the most recent polls, America now has a 50-50 chance of being the newest in a string of greedy empires set on world domination — or at least subjugation — and perhaps the instigator of a world conflict from which humanity would not recover.