Pundits And Writers Start Hitting McCain For Non-Stop P.O.W. References

By Greg Sargent - August 22, 2008
TPM

As all you regulars know, the McCain camp's constant evocation of his P.O.W. past as an all-purpose shield against any and all criticism is a singular obsession of this blog.

So it's gratifying to see that pundits and writers at the news orgs are really starting to turn the screws on McCain over this.

Newsweek's Howard Fineman, for instance, says that the McCain camp is in danger of "trivializing" McCain's sacrifice.

"I think they are going to it way too many times," Fineman told MSNBC, adding that "you can't help but have admiration and respect for the guy" but that "it's become a crutch in the campaign."

"I think he is in danger of trivializing it," Fineman continued. "By the time they get to the convention in St. Paul, there might not be much of it left to use."

Ouch. Time magazine's Ana Marie Cox was even harsher, writing that the constant P.O.W.-past spewing is "weird" and "bordering on irrational."

"It's a head-spinning non sequitur, designed to distract us from something mildly troubling with the assertion of something impressive," Cox wrote of the McCain team's use of the P.O.W. stuff to deflect criticism of the houses gaffe.

"It does seem like they're flirting with Giuliani/9-11 territory here," opined Politico's Ben Smith, "in which a subject that seems utterly immune to humor, used as a first resort, suddenly becomes a running joke among your political enemies and your late night comic friends."

Another way to put this is that if you print too much currency, it devalues it. The McCain campaign is cranking out all these bills with a little "McCain as P.O.W." logo on it and is trying to use them to buy their way out of every controversy that comes along. Pretty soon the McCain team's money won't be good anywhere.