McCain: No Room for Debate

When you're in a political campaign, and you have an opponent or two, a reasonable expectation is that you and your opponent(s) will have a debate.
Debates help voters by letting them know where you stand on issues they care about, and how your stances are similar to or different from other candidates. They show you not as an abstract name in a newspaper campaign story, but as a face, a voice, a physical presence. In a nation whose government is based on the exchange of ideas, debates in campaigns for elected office make sense.
Unfortunately, one of our longer-serving elected officials, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, seems to think he is above such practices. McCain has refused to debate J.D. Hayworth, his opponent in this year's Republican primary, the New York Times reports.
The senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee has been short on explanations, other than telling one voter, "I have a day job," and his campaign staff has also proven reticent. One might guess that McCain's resistance to debate stems from the vigor of his opponent, a man with a radio and TV background who has made the campaign competitive. The senator may just dislike debates, period: He also tried to back out of a presidential debate with his then-colleague in the Senate, Barack Obama, in 2008, claiming to be preoccupied by the economic crisis.
I'm no fan of Hayworth, whose extreme views make him as big of a snake as the diamondbacks that swarm Arizona's deserts, but McCain looks pretty bad himself with his no-debate decision. It suggests he has no confidence in his ability to defend his record in public, and an unseemly fear of his opponent that ill befits McCain, a man who survived years of imprisonment during the Vietnam War.
Sadly, McCain isn't alone in dissing debates these days. My home state of Massachusetts has provided several examples of how to keep debates from the public eye. In this year's special election for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, the three candidates -- Republican Scott Brown, Democrat Martha Coakley and independent Joseph Kennedy -- held one of their debates not on a major TV network, but on ... a Springfield public-television station. (It was rebroadcast on WGBH.) More recently, the three hopefuls for governor in the Bay State -- Democrat incumbent Deval Patrick, GOP challenger Charlie Baker and independent Tim Cahill -- debated for the first time ... on a radio station at 7 a.m. last Wednesday. When you hold debates as people are still drinking their morning coffee or commuting to work, or on stations most state viewers can’t watch, it’s as good as staging no debates at all.
What, exactly, makes debates so scary for politicians? They fret so much about mistakes they might make, but they don’t remember that debates can help them as well. For all his faults, Ted Kennedy understood this. In 1994, he was the one being challenged for a Senate seat by a younger, more telegenic opponent, Mitt Romney, before his inspired performance in a debate gave Kennedy the momentum he needed to win.
It's time for politicians to start taking debates more seriously. Talk may be cheap, but it's priceless for voters seeking to make a campaign decision. McCain needs to realize this.

McCain and Frankenstein Republicans

Halloween may be over, but one of its enduring legends – the tale of Frankenstein – is still with us for the 2009 election season.
Last year, Sen. John McCain played the role of Dr. Frankenstein when he ran for president. He entered the election as a maverick, famous for defying George W. Bush in 2000 and for embracing compromise with the “Gang of 14” in 2005. But like Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's story, McCain tried an audacious experiment. He attempted to create new life in a party that found RINOs like himself unappealing by choosing hard-core Republican Sarah Palin as his running mate.

McCain apparently forgot that the Frankenstein monster ends up turning against his hapless creator. Palin aptly titled her upcoming autobiography “Going Rogue,” for she drew criticism for not staying in lockstep with McCain during the campaign. And while the McCain-Palin ticket lost the election, the right-wing specter McCain created is more powerful than ever.

Consider what happened, appropriately enough, on Halloween. New York Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the choice of her state party establishment to run for Congress, pulled out of the race. Conservative critics charged that the pro-abortion Scozzafava was not right-wing enough. Their support of an alternative candidate, Doug Hoffman of the Conservative Party, prompted Scozzafava's withdrawal.

Scozzafava is the latest sign of the power of the Frankenstein Republicans against their establishment creators. One of McCain's fellow RINOs, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, defected to the Democrats earlier this year after facing stiff intra-party opposition from right-wing candidate Pat Toomey.

We shall see whether the Republican establishment can control its creations better than Dr. Frankenstein ever could.

God endorses Obama

God Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

It's Election Day, and a process that started going into motion two years ago is approaching its end. For this historic occasion, I've brought together two experienced pundits -- namely, God and Satan -- to talk about the final stages of the campaign and, of course, which candidate they prefer. Find out more in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

"The Devil Made Me Blog It" is now a comic book!

THE DEVIL DEBUTS IN BOSTON AREA!
 
Just in time for Halloween and Election Day, Rich Tenorio's Web comic "The Devil Made Me Blog It" has made its print debut as a comic book. "The Devil Made Me Blog It" has appeared in print form in five locations in the greater Boston area -- and potentially more! 
 A compilation of Tenorio's weekly blog postings plus heretofore-unseen samples from his sketchbooks, "The Devil Made Me Blog It" chronicles the 2008 presidential saga to date -- from Barack Obama and John McCain choosing their vice presidents to the subsequent presidential debates to the accompanying dramas of the Iraq War and the economic crisis.
 "The Devil Made Me Blog It" is currently sold at the following locations:
 Hub Comics, 19 Bow Street, Somerville, MA 02143 / (617) 718-0987 / hubcomics@gmail.com
Comicazi, 407 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA 02144 / (617) 666-2664 / thebadkidsinc@yahoo.com
The Million Year Picnic, 99 Mt. Auburn Street (downstairs), Cambridge, MA 02138 / (617) 492-6763
New England Comics, 14A Eliot Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 / (617) 354-5352
Harrison's Comics & Collectibles, 252 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970 / (978) 741-0786
 Read "The Devil Made Me Blog It" each week at http://richardtenorio.blogspot.com. For more info, please email rich.tenorio@gmail.com.

Volunteering for McCain -- I'm Lovin' It

McDonald's Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

McCain and McDonald's -- these are the two themes Satan tries to tie together, using his liberal friend's fondness for both the Arizona senator and a No. 2 value meal (Quarter Pounder with cheese) in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"! Merci to my muse for suggesting a Red Sox connection as well. I got the poll numbers from RealClearPolitics.

PS - On a serious note, my best wishes go out to Barack Obama for his grandmother's health.

McCain's fix-it man

Joe the Plumber Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

John McCain has a new buddy, Joe the Plumber, whom the senator talked about so much at the last presidential debate with Barack Obama on Wednesday. Does Joe translate into working-class appeal for McCain? Find out in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

A red October for McCain

Foliage Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

Autumn is a season of change, and Lucifer likes the latest change in Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. Yet is McCain's seeming abandonment of negative politics for real? After all, it was only a few days ago that he made his latest careless remark about Sen. Barack Obama. Find out more in a foliage-themed episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

Obama tru$tworthy on economy?

Obama Economy Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

In the presidential debate with Sen. John McCain on Tuesday night, Sen. Barack Obama came across as compassionate in discussing the economic crisis with members of the audience. Does this qualify him to lead our nation? Mephistopheles thinks not in the latest episode of "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!

McCain impresses on foreign policy

Sen. John McCain closed his presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday night on a strong note, sounding experienced, realistic, and occasionally witty on foreign policy.
"(You) have to temper your decisions with the ability to beneficially affect the situation and realize you're sending America's most precious asset, American blood, into harm's way," McCain said. "I know those situations. I've been in them all my life. And I can tell you right now the security of your young men and women who are serving in the military are my first priority right after our nation's security."
McCain preached pursuit of Osama bin Laden and congratulated himself for supporting the surge in Iraq -- neither a surprising stance. Yet he also showed thoughtfulness. When moderator Tom Brokaw asked whether he thought Russia under Vladimir Putin was an evil empire, McCain replied, "Maybe," then clarified: "Depends on how we respond to Russia and it depends on a lot of things. If I say yes, then that means that we're reigniting the old Cold War. If I say no, it ignores their behavior."
Humor and nuance, both welcome. Obama, by contrast, sounded naive at times, such as when he said, "I believe that we should have direct talks -- not just with our friends, but also with our enemies -- to deliver a tough, direct message to Iran that, if you don't change your behavior, then there will be dire consequences."
Economic issues are dominating the headlines lately. Yet if you think that foreign policy, and not ecomonic, issues will dominate the term of the next president, McCain looked like the better candidate on Tuesday night.

McCain's Brain

Brain Cartoon
Originally uploaded by rbtenorio

New developments in the worlds of politics and science this week. The research community learned that 12 athletes had decided to donate their brains to science. Meanwhile, presidential-race watchers witnessed Sen. John McCain suspend his campaign due to his concern over the economy and desire to work toward a solution. McCain also requested that his debate tonight with rival Sen. Barack Obama be postponed. That didn't happen ... but Lucifer sure liked the way McCain's mind works. Read more in ... "The Devil Made Me Blog It"!