Big time Bush/Cheney eCampaign guru, Michael Turk has
two posts on the absurd "suspension" of McCain eCampaign staffer Soren Dayton that echo
my own thoughts... A couple of samples:
Soren did not create the video. The message was not sent from the campaign systems. It was a personal note. He was not a spokesman, he was a private citizen working on a public campaign and using a personal address.
One thing about this incident sends a chill down my spine. Many people are afraid to run for public office because they fear the rectal probe that is our electoral process. They fear the media scrutiny and the potential that some past indiscretion - no matter how small - will make them a public spectacle.
Do political operatives now have to fear that their private communication will become tomorrow’s news story? Do the people that give selflessly in political campaigns have to dread every workday wondering if they will be the campaign’s latest black eye?
How many e-mails did you send today that, taken out of context and publicized on the news, could be an embarrassment to you or your employer? How many of your personal notes contain jokes about the office, your company’s competitors or some other matter best kept private?
If we have rewritten the political rules so every piece of personal communication sent by campaign staff is now fodder for political advantage, we will further degrade our political process.
...
We have actually now set a more dangerous precedent than I originally realized.
When politicians screw up and bang interns under a desk, for instance, we give them a free pass and say, “It’s his private life. We should not even care.” Unless they break the law, we excuse any stupid act committed in private.
With Soren’s suspension, we have now said that same standard does not apply to the politician’s staff. A personal thought that had nothing to do with McCain that he shared using a private account, has now been judged as worse than a secretarial BJ. It really is sad.
McCain has seriously blown it on this one but I don't expect that he will ever repair the damage or even recognize what he's done. Typical John Sidney McCain if you ask me...
