Why is McCain Giving Voice to Hamas?
Wow, McCain has a lot of chutzpah! That’s what I’ve been thinking recently as I’ve heard McCain repeatedly tell audiences from the campaign trail to Jon Stewart that voters should beware of Obama’s endorsement by a Hamas advisor. It is true that a Hamas adviser did express support for Obama. But it’s also true that Obama has absolutely denounced Hamas and their endorsement. Nevertheless, John McCain enjoys insinuating that Hamas knows Obama would be friendly to them. McCain recently defended his decision to raise this issue by saying: “It’s indicative of how some of our enemies view America. And I guarantee you, they’re not going to endorse me.”
I find McCain’s behavior disturbing on many levels. For starters, why should he be giving voice at all to Hamas? I find it offensive that we are going to allow a Hamas leader to play any role whatsoever in our electoral process. Does McCain want us to make up our minds on this election based on the views of a terrorist?
Second, why in the world would we trust that a Hamas leader is saying what he actually believes? Perhaps he is saying he supports Obama because he wants McCain to win the election and thinks such an endorsement will help McCain. After all, he could not possibly think his support would help Obama.
Finally, it seems obvious to me that Obama is actually Hamas’ worst nightmare. Obama will end the war in Iraq. He will rebuild America’s relationship with the international community. And he will move the U.S. off dependence on oil. These combined policy changes will undermine Hamas’ recruitment tools and the governments that support them. At the same time, Obama will strengthen our alliance with Israel.
John McCain promised us a better politics. But from quoting Hamas to endorsing a foolish gas tax holiday, he has not delivered. I’m still waiting for the straight talk.
I’m of two minds. On the one hand, I think McCain has a right to note that some unsavory foreign groups have called for an Obama victory. While unnecessary, the statement is not exactly unfair since Obama and his supporters very clearly argue that an Obama presidency would win new allies and supporters around the world. Hamas isn’t likely to be one of them, but it’s not unreasonable to consider the full range of international reactions to Obama’s candidacy–even the shudder-inducing ones. On the other hand, this dispute reminds me more than a bit of the media and political overkill surrounding the Rev. Wright comments. It’s perfectly legitimate to report that an unsavory person or group has endorsed a candidate, and to examine their reasoning in so doing, but it’s more than excessive to imply that such an endorsement gives the lie to the candidate’s own clearly stated position. Here, I think Seth has it right–a US foreign policy that rebuilds our international relationships and reduces US dependence on foreign oil will hurt Hamas much more than it could ever possibly help them. McCain would be well advised to focus on his own ability to implement those key foreign policy changes to the detriment of America’s enemies, rather than giving them more press.
Comment on May 15, 2008 @ 7:35 am