Monday, August 11, 2008

So McCain's adultery in the military isn't relevant but the sex lives of gay service members are?

John Aravosis (DC), AmericaBlog.com: When John McCain had his adulterous affair with Cindy, he was an officer in the military. Adultery is against military rules. Just like having gay relationships is against the rules. Why is McCain's illicit sex life as an officer not relevant but McCain thinks the "illicit" sex lives of gay service members are? Both are violations of the rules. (Oh, and if you think the adultery isn't proven, read below.)
Yes, I know, my friends in the corporate media, it makes you woozy having to deal with anything "negative" about your good friend John McCain. But he's running for president, and he deserves a bit more scrutiny than you bringing him his favorite donuts. So, again, why is McCain's sex life in the military off limits but the sex life of gay service members is very much on limits per John McCain? Is McCain going to argue that his adultery didn't affect morale and cohesion, but gay relationships do? McCain was a pretty famous POW. He met Nixon. His campaign is always telling us what a military leader he was. His fall from grace certainly would have been noticed by fellow members of the military, and that has the potential to affect morale and cohesion when a leader falls.
And there's another problem. I'm not sure about this one, but I'm going to guess that in the 1970s, bigamy wasn't allowed under military rules either. From the LA Times:
McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.
Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.
Until McCain filed for divorce, the Reagans and their inner circle assumed he was happily married, and they were stunned to learn otherwise, according to several close aides.
Again, I get it. You folks in the media like John McCain. That doesn't change the fact that lots of Americans, the very Americans on the right who John McCain is courting, have a serious problem with both adultery and bigamy. McCain can't woo the religious right and then pretend that his lack of adherence to their values is not relevant to this campaign. Talk to anyone on the religious right and they'll tell you: Adultery is a big deal to them. And I can only imagine how they feel about bigamy.
And: Why is ABC so fixated on John Edwards' affair but not John McCain's own adultery? John McCain has given just as many conflicting explanations of his adultery that he committed with his now-wife Cindy against his first wife. Yet, ABC isn't exploring those apparent lies. Instead, ABC is focusing on John Edwards' inconsistencies when explaining his extramarital affair.
ABC says they're doing this because the details surrounding Edwards' affair are "hardly in keeping with the high moral tone Edwards set during his run for President." Really? And John McCain hasn't set a high moral tone? His campaign hasn't repeatedly called him an "American hero"? That's not a high moral tone? Of course, it is, but ABC just doesn't want to cover McCain's adultery because, well, their reporters like him and "know" that he's a good guy. So they choose to not report the news about the GOP presidential candidate, but do report the same news about the Democrat who isn't a presidential candidate at all.
Let's review:
1. John Edwards. Not a presidential candidate. Hasn't criticized other people's sex lives. Doesn't believe the government should interfere with your sex life. And not wooing the votes of "Christian conservatives" who care about such things as adultery.
2. John McCain. Is a presidential candidate. Has said that gay people aren't as good of parents as straight people. Believes it is acceptable for the government to treat people as second class citizens based on their sexual orientation. And is wooing the very religious conservatives who frown on the very things that John McCain has done.
Putting aside the unanswered questions about Vicki Iseman - such as whether people at her firm, years ago, suspected that her relationship with McCain was looking a tad too close - and putting aside the question of just where is Vicki Iseman right now - John McCain has been just as not forthcoming as John Edwards, when it comes to affairs.
McCain's explanation of his break up with his first wife doesn't correlate to the actual facts. McCain claimed that his affair with Cindy didn't overlap with his marriage with his previous wife. According to the LA Times, that's untrue. And that would mean that McCain lied about committing adultery. And even weirder, the LA Times basically alleges that McCain committed bigamy, while denying it.
So, ABC thinks it's relevant that John Edwards MAY have lied about committing adultery, but ABC doesn't think it's relevant that John McCain DID LIE about committing adultery and possibly bigamy.
Do you need any more proof as to how conservative, how right-wing, how so wanting-to-please-the-Republicans our media has become?

1 comment:

Trey said...

Just thought I should let you know that the media is almost completely left-wing, and if you think they were nice to McCain, did you see how supportive they all were of Obama?