Knock it off - Treat Me with Respect

Conservative author Frank Schaeffer laid a heavy burden on McCain in his "Letter to McCain" as published in The Huffington Post. An excerpt follows:

"John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations. Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever. We will hold you responsible."

I agree.

The tone at the McCain rallies, this week - has been frightening. Campaign and debate experts suggest, that this man appears to be "uncoachable".

University of Kansas debate coach Scott Harris agrees with his colleagues, saying that “the whole maverick renegade image 'McCain' portrays makes him hard if not impossible to coach because he wants to be his own man and do what he wants to do.”

McCain is not acting alone...

Governor Palin does not even think about or anticipate the consequences of her rhetoric, as she points and winks and casually suggests that Barack Obama associates with terrorists. Is she not receiving advice? Or does she ignore the advice as well, because she cannot separate her ignorance from her ego. Palin accepted the candidacy of the Vice Presidency of the United States. Does she actually believe that, in this role, she has no responsibility to prepare for it, or to respect the safety, well being and intellect of her constituency. She is an embarrassment to herself and to the U.S. Worse her ignorance and complete lack of effort to appropriately serve this role is bordering on dangerous.

Regarding seeking and considering advice..

Do we really need 4 more years of an elected official who dictates? McCain like Bush appears to be the only expert in the room. And although he has invited experts to advise and guide, he has and will consistently discount the advice his experts offer, on countless, important, game changing issues. If elected, he will make domestic and global decisions that are self serving, narrow and possibly with complete disregard for the greater good of the American people, our country and our friendly global neighbors. McCain is erratic, driven, stubborn, angry and wounded. He is unfit to lead civilly. He gravitates toward, and is comfortable with conflict.

We have one more debate. Election Day is 24 days away. If the voters are to have their final say, America, McCain and Obama need to get there safely. The McCain campaign has crossed the line between unproductive negative campaigning and inciting rage. Or at the very least not taking effective proactive steps to diffuse the hatred. Each day the mob is louder and grows more animated. This is not trivial. The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to control the room and calm his crowd.

If I were Obama, I would open the debate, by stepping out and in front of my podium, look the people in the eye and do that for McCain....I would take this message to the people. I would recognize the anger, understand the fear and re-focus the emotion on productive collaboration. I would raise the playing field to where we as American voters want it to be. Where we deserve it to be. I would encourage each person to listen with their hearts and with their minds. Work to grasp the challenges and vote for the person they can trust to stand beside them, and to stand for them. That is what the office of the presidency is about. No single human being has all of the answers but our leader should be devoted to seeking perspective and making decisions for the greater good and in representation of the fair majority. .. Then, I would suggest that the debate begin and move toward a civil discourse in an environment where the candidates can earn our vote. A tool to help us decide on who is the better person to rebuild the strength of our country, protect it, and best "serve" the hard working and passionate people of America.