Anatomy Of A Smear

There is no doubt that Senator Joseph Lieberman has that believable favorite uncle thing going for him. I listen to him because he presents his case with an apparent degree of intelligence yet in a no nonsense and practical manner that is surprisingly rare in politicians. In my opinion they should be smart but not inclined to aspire to the level of philosopher or other pursuit of brilliance that inevitably becomes overkill given the job at hand. Give me a smart straight-shooter that I can trust any day.
There are others that share similar qualities like Senator Joe Biden who I have always liked and think would be Senator Obama's perfect choice for vice president.
But there are also politicians who project those same qualities but use them to exert agendas that I'm anything but in favor of. Vice President Cheney comes to mind.
Unfortunately Senator Lieberman's political role in the McCain campaign is to defeat his opponents at any cost with an apparent low regard for the truth. In a recent interview, Wolf Blitzer points out in response to a Hamas spokesman who apparently would like Senator Obama to become president, that Senator Obama also labels Hamas a terrorist organization making his position the same as Senator McCain's. Lieberman says, "That's true, he clearly doesn't support any of the values and goals of Hamas." But then adds, "But the fact that the spokesperson for Hamas would say that he would welcome the election of Senator Obama really does raise the question why? And it suggests the difference between the two candidates."
It raises the question why in the same pointless and unproductive way that anyone wonders how someone thinks and won't say. And it says absolutely nothing about the differences between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. This was a cleverly calculated smear that Senator Lieberman's skills are now being used for. I predict that in the end Senator Lieberman will do more harm than good in attempting to put Senator McCain in the White House.