Actions are stronger than words

I read this morning that John McCain promised to "end constant partisan rancor". Is he on glue?? After the speeches of Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin, he can't possibly make that claim with a straight face.

The overall tone of Guiliani's speech was hideously vicious and cruel - and Palin's "pit bull" moment was anything but "ending rancor". It seems to me that McCain is using the model of dysfunctional marriages, and poor presidents, everywhere. Hide your aggressive and nasty proclivities behind a rancorous spouse. Bush had Cheney, and McCain has Palin to be the "pit bull" while they can look middle of the road.

It is an old tactic and very effective because we want to believe that people are essentially who they say they are. But when one member hides their vicious tendencies behind a more vocal partner, the deceit is real. If we buy into the McCain/Palin bait and switch, we are in for four more years of extended Bush. As John Dickinson said the first continental congress of the Declaration of Independence, "It may bear Virginia's stamp, but it is Adams, Adams, and more Adams". A McCain administration may bear the name "McCain, but it reeks of Bush, Bush and more Bush!

Let's be honest, the nasty edge of the RNC doesn't bode well for "ending partisan rancor". If that were true, there would have been a more decorous tone. The key is to look to those who McCain authorizes to speak for and with him - that tells the truth. Actions really are stronger than words.