No Greater Slander

There have been some truly despicable actions and accusations by the Democrats and various sundry Leftist groups concerning General Petraeus' statements before Congress.

John McCain called on leading Democrats to condemn these actions, especially the vile ad placed by MoveOn.Org in the New York Times. They either did nothing or equivocated. Here is John's response to this cowardly silence:

I remain deeply disappointed by the failure of leading Democrat presidential candidates to personally and publicly denounce the smear tactics used against General Petraeus by MoveOn.org. There is no greater slander to a soldier than an accusation of betrayal to his nation. I do not understand why those seeking to be commander-in-chief have yet to forcefully denounce, in their own words, this McCarthyite attack on our commander. I hope they would reconsider their silence and not let this slander of an exceptional American stand."

Hillary Clinton fired off a cheap shot at the General, and Senator McCain, a distinguished veteran, didn't let her get away with slandering an American who has served America faithfully for over 30 years:

Senator Clinton said that believing General Petraeus' testimony requires a 'willing suspension of disbelief.' I think it willingly suspends disbelief to not repudiate an advertisement run by a radical left wing organization that impugns and dishonors the integrity of a man who has served his nation with dedication all of his life. If you're not tough enough to repudiate a scurrilous, outrageous attack such as that, then I don't know how you're tough enough to be President of the United States.

I am disgusted by the Democrat's actions, but not really surprised. The level of civil discourse in this country has been falling for years, and Leftist groups like MoveOn.Org have been prime movers in that unfortunate trend. I see this only getting worse as the election draws ever nearer. When people ask me if I could support a Democrat for national office, I always respond that I could, if that person was willing to take an action against groups like MoveOn.Org. Sadly, I don't see that happening anytime soon. Of all the national level Democrats, only Joe Lieberman has consistently taken stands like that, and in response Leftists grouped up to defeat him in the primary, forcing him to run as an independent. I suspect that '08 will the ugliest election since 1860 or 1864.