Is There No Honor (or Loyalty) Among Thieves (or Politicians)? Or, is it Just Sour Grapes?

Written by Roberta Biros (a.k.a. “Roberta in Mercer”)

As a conservative, when a liberal does something out of line, I’m glad to point it out. However, in addition to being a conservative, I am also honest. In honesty, when a Republican does something out of line, I feel it is only fair to point that out with equal contempt.

Today I’d like to share with you the interesting details of a recent interview with John McCain. On Sunday, December 14th, John McCain was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos. While I did not see the interview at the time, it was brought to my attention the following morning on Fox News. I thought it was worth sharing here with those of you that did not hear of it.

George Stephanopolis brought up the topic of Sarah Palin and the idea of her running in 2012. When asked by Stephanopolis if Palin could count on McCain’s support, he stated:

“Oh, no, Listen, I have the greatest appreciation for Governor Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them. She invigorated our campaign. “

He continued with:

“But I can’t say something like that. We’ve got some great other young governors.”

He closed his comments with:

“At this stage of the game, My Corpse is Still Warm.”

(if you’d care to watch this segment of the interview, it is posted on YouTube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NudpkLw0uPI for your viewing enjoyment)

Now, is it just me, or do some of you also just wish that he could have said something like “Sarah Palin was great, and it was a great joy to know them. She invigorated our campaign. I wish her all the best, and I would be honored to support her in the future.” That is what I wish he said, but he didn’t. Instead, he finds it necessary to posture himself for some “next move”.

As a non-politician, I find this behavior confusing as well as infuriating. Is it just politicians . . . or is there no loyalty between people any more? Is it just politicians . . . or is it all just “every man for himself”? Is it just politicians . . . or does no one put their neck on the line for someone else?

Believe me, I understand that it can’t be easy. Just the little bit of loyalty that I’ve shown to a few candidates lately has earned me nothing but headaches in the form of nasty comments and personal insults. I’ve gained nothing, but I still continue to do it. Why? I’m not quite sure anymore, but I’m sure it will come to me. Anyway . . . back to my point. . .

In light of the fact that many conservatives (like myself) only supported John McCain BECAUSE of Sarah Palin, I find John McCain’s statement to be curious. What does it mean?

• Is he now jealous of Sara Palin’s continued popularity?
• Is he positioning himself to run (perhaps against her) in 2012 (yikes)?
• Is he distancing himself because he has decided to move from the “right” and reposition himself BACK in the “middle” where he is more comfortable?
• Is he suffering from a bad case of “sour grapes” with the prospect that she might actually win if she wasn’t tethered to him?
• OR, has he finally just lost his marbles?

Perhaps none of these is true. Perhaps it is some combination of these that explains the truth. Or, perhaps it is all of the above. We will never know.

What I do know is that many of us appreciated what Sarah Palin brought to the campaign in 2008. We were invigorated by her energy and honesty, and many of us continue to look forward to seeing her in the future politics of this Nation for years to come. There are many of us, too, who will be glad to see John McCain fade away into obscurity . . . apparently without his loyalty intact.

It is a sad close to a disappointing campaign year, but does this say something more significant about politics in general? GOSH, I hope not. I hope that this is just an isolated example of a cranky old man with a bad case of “sour grapes”.

As always, just my opinion.

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