Obama Ad Mocks McCain Disability

Those sly rascals at the Obama campaign thought they had come up with a great ad.   See it at HERE so you too see why “we just can’t afford more of the same” today.  And compare the 1982 images of McCain in Washington, D.C. as a congressman, with large, boxy cellular telephones, record turntables, outdated boxy computers, and the Rubiks Cube (R).

Amongst the the purported high crimes of 2008:

“Doesn’t know how to use a computer.”

“Can’t send an email.”

Image courtesy of http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/category/childrens-gadgets/page/4/.

Now let’s take a look, at this ridiculous assertion that obviously never got a fact check by any intelligent and dutiful editor, but did get Obama’s, “And I approved this message” stamp.

Boston Globe March 4, 2000,

McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain’s severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He’s an avid fan – Ted Williams is his hero – but he can’t raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.

Forbes, May 29, 2000,

In certain ways, McCain was a natural Web candidate. Chairman of the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and regarded as the U.S. Senate’s savviest technologist, McCain is an inveterate devotee of email. His nightly ritual is to read his email together with his wife, Cindy. The injuries he incurred as a Vietnam POW make it painful for McCain to type. Instead, he dictates responses that his wife types on a laptop. “She’s a whiz on the keyboard, and I’m so laborious,” McCain admits.

Hot Air September 12, 2008 , explores McCain’s Disabilities, and his use of the internet, with a couple of web sites and family blogs he looks at regularly,

New York Times July 13, 2008,

Q: But do you go on line for yourself?

Mr. McCain:They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need – including going to my daughter’s blog first, before anything else.

American Thinker September 12, 2008, similarly reviewed the prisoner of war torture that has led to McCain’s physical handicaps.

Image courtesy of http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account.html.

Uppity Woman September 12, 2008,

Among the people the charismatic leader felt were useless were the disabled and the handicapped.

If the history of charismatics has taught us one lesson, it’s that a charismatic can lead his worshippers straight to hell.

The Obama messiah-nic campaign owes an apology to McCain, and seriously needs to think before they attack so carelessly, particularly a former veteran and POW.

**UPDATE**

Slate February 11, 2000,

Six months ago, no one would have pegged McCain as the most cyber savvy of this year’s crop of candidates. At 63, he is the oldest of the bunch and because of his war injuries, he is limited in his ability to wield a keyboard. But McCain’s job as chairman of the Senate commerce committee forced him to learn about the Internet early on,…

Newsbusters September 14, 2008,

I can already hear naysayers who want to cite McCain’s acknowledged non-use of the Internet. A July 13 New York Times article quotes him as saying, “I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself.”

Those critics don’t understand the difference between doing and managing. McCain’s acknowledged tech-savviness in 2000 enabled him to understand, manage, and direct what others were doing on his behalf without him having to do it, or even being able to do it, himself.

Political issues have always been fodder for campaign ads anywhere in the United States, and this is no exception.  Voters expect to see ads based on party platforms.  This is not about the political points of the ad.

The premise of the article is that Obama ad writers are sufficiently uninformed about McCain’s physical problems, as they portray McCain as computer illiterate and less than tech savvy, and incorporate that into an attack ad on political issues.  The timeline that other media journalists clearly identified McCain’s difficulties with using a computer, go as far back as 2000 (Boston Globe, Forbes, Slate), and therefore that information can easily be found through search engines.

Nevertheless, it is common knowledge McCain suffered very serious injuries from being shot down in Hanoi, in addition to the torture inflicted during his stay at the Hanoi Hilton. So much so, that he cannot raise his arms past his shoulders, he walks with a limp, and he has trouble using a keyboard because of his fingers. At the minimum, that could have been considered before creating the ad, for it might have triggered a second thought before proceeding in making it.

For the persistent critics, who may feel at ease managing a keyboard and a host of other electronic gadgetry, more power to you. Bear in mind however, physical limitations will always impede anyone’s ability to master a process that requires physical input, if they suffer from some disability that interferes with completing the multiple steps of said process. Upper extremity chronic problems can limit the extent and duration of any activity that requires their use, directly or indirectly, shoulder to fingertips.

Notice this article is not about mental/intellectual capability or will. Intent is clearly stated, as McCain admits, “I am learning how to get online.” And he does. To the extent he is physically capable. He has others who can maneuver more deftly in shorter periods of time, thereby hastening the completion of whatever cyber tasks are at hand. McCain does not complain about his limitations. He continues to plow forward in spite of them, while enlisting the assistance of others to facilitate the process when necessary.

Obama notwithstanding, at minimum tacitly condones the attack, because he approved the ad, even though he may not have actively/directly participated in its creation. As they say in the corporate world, the buck stops with the dude at the top, for he alone must take the responsibility for his employee’s actions. That is of course, if he indeed is responsible enough. Otherwise, he will pass this off as something insignificant, and thus give the appearance that it has no merit to justify action or intervention.

See:
1.  Barack Obama Campaign Ad at You Tube (Still) [aka, 1982], September 11, 2008, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2I0t_Twk0.

2.  Mary Leonard at Boston Globe (McCain Character Loyal To A Fault), March 4, 2000, http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/McCain_character_loyal_to_a_fault+.shtml.

3.  Richard Rapaport at Best Of The Web at Forbes (Net vs. Norm), May 29, 2000, http://www.forbes.com/asap/2000/0529/053_print.html.

4.  Ed Morrissey at Hot Air (Why can’t McCain e-mail?  Boston Globe explained it in 2000; Update: So did Forbes.), September 12, 2008, http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/12/why-cant-mccain-email/.

5.  Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper at New York Times (Transcript interview with John McCain), July 13, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/us/politics/13text-mccain.html?_r=4&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin.

6.  Thomas Lifson at American Thinker (Obama Campaign Mocking A Disability) September 12, 2008, http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/09/obama_campaign_mocking_a_disab.html.

7.  Uppity Woman (Obama Makes Fun of McCain’s Disabilities In An Ad), September 12, 2008, http://uppitywoman08.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/obama-makes-fun-of-mccains-disabilities-in-an-ad/.

8.  Jacob Weisberg at Slate (McCain’s Web Explosion), February 11, 2000
http://www.slate.com/id/74812/.

9.  Jonah Goldberg at The Corner of National Review Online (Wondering no More), September 12, 2008, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTliMTNiZjg5ZDEwZWNiZDYwZWFjN2JlNjNjNjkxZmM.

10.  Andrew Malcom at Top Of The Ticket at LA Times, Oops (Obama ad mocks McCain’s inability to send e-mail. Trouble is, he can’t due to tortured fingers), September 13, 2008, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/obama-ad-email.html.

11.  McNorman (John McCain disabilities, injuries and emails. Calling on Sen. Obama’s campaign to pull this very, very rude ad.), September 13, 2008, http://mcnorman.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/mccains-release/.

12. Tom Blumer at Newsbusters (More on Obama ‘Cant’ E-mail’ Attack Ad: McCain an Internet Pioneer, Per Dem Internet Pioneer), http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/09/14/more-obama-cant-e-mail-attack-ad-mccain-internet-pioneer-dem-internet-pi.

13. Jake Tapper at poplitical Punch at ABC News (Why Doesn’t McCain Use a Computer?), http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/why-doesnt-mcca.html.