Back in 2004, conservatives from all corners of the media attacked John Kerry as a "gigolo" who never earned a dime in his life and owed everything to his rich, heiress wife. Well, now that the tables are turned -- and a Republican is the one who owes his entire political existence to his rich, heiress wife -- is it unfair to use the same line of attack against John McCain? Salon's Glenn Greenwald examined this in a great blog post titled:
The right and men who live off their second wives' inherited wealth
[A]fter running his campaign based on depicting Barack Obama as an out-of-touch elitist and himself as the all-American Everyman, McCain lives a life that is about as far removed from the Average American as one can get, and has done so for decades. What's notable is how McCain was able to live that way. McCain himself isn't actually rich. He just lives off the inherited wealth of his much younger former mistress and now-second-wife -- for whom he dumped his older and disfigured first wife -- and who then used her family's money to fund McCain's political career and keep him living in extreme luxury (after insisting that he sign a prenuptial agreement, which would make McCain the first U.S. President to have one).
There needs to be a lot more focus of this sort on John McCain's "character," given that, from now until November, no matter what Obama does, the Rovian disciples managing John McCain's candidacy will ensure his campaign is about little other than these sorts of slimy, personality-based, Freak Show attacks on Obama. It's what the GOP does and it's what the media is capable of disseminating.
Glenn provides about a dozen examples, all of which could apply to this election if you replace "John Kerry" with "John McCain." Take this one for example:
Now, having a wife who provides you with a private jet and eight multimillion-dollar vacation homes provides for a comfortable life. But is this the right preparation for becoming president? . . .To be sure, that does not mean McCain never did an honest day's work in his life. But even while he did these jobs, his wives' wealth always gave him a safety net. He was going to be taken care of whether he succeeded professionally or not. . . .
Whether McCain wins or loses the presidency, he will still be living like a king.
Works perfect, no?
Oh wait, I forgot... Kerry was never a POW. It's only fair to accuse non-POWs of mooching off their rich wives. Nevermind.
