HOME | BIO | MUSIC | JOURNEYS BY DJ | STUDIO BLOG | POLITICAL BLOG | BOOKING INFO | CONTACT

So today was the day of John McCain's big speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, and via Andrew Sullivan, here's the full text. Sully is all atwitter over the speech. I'm impressed, to be honest far more than I expected to be. In many ways its very Reagan-esque (and yes, that is meant as a compliment). But as good as the speech is, its still falls very far short.

The speech was long on calls to national sacrifice and tolerance, but coming as it did from a podium at Falwell's Liberty University, those calls did not in my opinion go nearly far enough. McCain once called his host "an agent of intolerance," a characterization of Falwell that was and still is dead on. But today, McCain's calls for a national reconciliation did absolutely nothing to address the issues on which Falwell and his followers have helped divide the nation. Instead he talked at length about the Iraq war and its role in splitting the nation. Except, of course, that the war did no such thing. The administration that he supports, on the other hand, did.

The division in this country is not an accident. It was a deliberate choice made for political gain. This nation once was unified, just a few short years ago. But in his quest for a long-term political advantage, Rove, Bush, and yes, even McCain, decided it was better to divide and rule than unite and lead. No matter how much he might like to, McCain cannot simply walk away from the choices he has made. And by giving this speech in this location, he's made it quite clear that he has no intention of doing so either.

UPDATE: Heh. I missed the part where he took a swing at bloggers.