Up In Smoke

When it comes to the combined idea of politicians and credibility, we're reminded of the old George Carlin jokes about "jumbo shrimp,", "business ethics" or "plastic glasses.". While the two ideas are not completely mutually exclusive, we can certainly understand how many Americans see the idea of a credible politician as something of a rare species. Many of the people on Capitol Hill who were screeching with righteous indignation for Congressman Anthony Weiner to resign (even though he did nothing illegal) still have little to say about Congressman David Vitter's solicitation of prostitution (which IS a crime), even several years later.

Take a look around - even the former main conductor of the "Straight Talk Express" seems to have once again singed his own credibility, after taking his tongue for a walk right into the tinder-dry thickets of arguably racist comments.

We admit that there's a lot of evidence that speaks again John McCain being a racist, not the least of which is the Senator's adopted daughter, Bridget.  Still, a long-time veteran of the political process like McCain should know that just one unguarded or poorly phrased statement can be misconstrued, inflated, and come to dominate the news cycle. Even things not specifically stated - like McCain's adoption of a daughter from Bangladesh - can be twisted to make a political figure appear to be something they're not, as Karl Rove did to McCain back in 2000.

Unfortunately, just being aware of the pitfalls of a media environment that is constantly salivating for more juicy content isn't enough to protect someone from sometimes triggering a media feeding frenzy - which is exactly what Senator McCain has done over the last few days.

At a press conference last weekend, Mr. McCain made some comments about both wildfires and immigrants that - frankly - may have appeared racist to people who only saw clips of the press conference, or even read his main quotes. Those comments could easily be interpreted as inflammatory by a media consumer who isn't fully informed about the problems that affect the Senator's home state of Arizona, or even those who may not have seen the entire press conference.

The problem with Sen. McCain's credibility on this issue is that his media assistants seem to have forgotten how charged and primed the media environment surrounding his state is, with respect to any racial comment. The fallout created by SB 1070 still hasn't been settled, nor have the immigration challenges facing border states. These are all things that Mr. McCain is well aware of.

Sadly, in today's media environment, facts cannot always extinguish the blaze of inflammatory comments taken out of context in a 140-character world. That may have once been the case - and we still believe wholeheartedly in basing our viewpoints on facts. But going on the Today Show and saying that he was, "…puzzled ... that there should be any controversy," didn't help Mr. McCain's credibility. In fact, it may have hurt him, as some people now see him in the same light that they see Grandpa Simpson - old and out of touch.

We have family in Arizona - and we understand that what the Senator was saying may have some embers of truth to it. After all, fires in the desert are used for all the things he said immigrants use them for - as signals, to keep warm, and as diversions - by both immigrants and citizens alike.

The real burn for Mr. McCain - not to mention his staff - seems to be the inability to put out this kind of media firestorm.

Public figures take note: when you spark a flame with an offhand, easily misunderstood comment, apologize, and walk away. You may indeed have the facts on your side, but as one of our staff members has been known to say, "Do you want to be right, or do you want to get your message across?"