Meltdown

The frustrations he must have felt this week have brought John McCain's famous volatility to the surface. Barack Obama spent the week demonstrating his ability to operate with discretion, ease, maturity, flair, and open-mindedness in diplomatic circles. Iraq's leader endorsed Obama's timetable for redeploying the US troops from his country. Even Bush undermined McCain by agreeing to a "time horizon" for leaving Iraq and by negotiating with Iranians. McCain's campaign has floundered. A few more weeks like this and you can remove the "l" -- his campaign will founder! It is understandable that McCain is unhappy.

So McCain goes ballistic and accuses his opponent of evil motive.

This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.

-Senator John McCain

McCain's meltdown was a very angry, partisan, uncontrolled, undiplomatic, unpresidential moment at the very time Senator Barack Obama has shown himself the very epitome of dignity, bipartisanship, diplomacy, and calm.

Time Magazine's Joe Klien noticed:

This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered. I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency. How sad.
(Read the rest of Klien's article here.)

I have sometimes seen McCain, in calmer moments, be very polite toward those with whom he strongly disagrees, as he was only yesterday when an voter took issue with him at a "town hall" meeting. I hope Senator McCain will apologise for his appalling insult of Senator Obama.