McCain/Palin is Working Both Sides Against Us

From The Washington Monthly


A PROMISE MADE TO BE BROKEN...I don't much care that John McCain has given up on his promise to voters about balancing the federal budget in his first term. It was a stupid promise that would have been impossible to keep, so it makes sense that he'd break his word now, as opposed to later.

What annoys me, though is the constant dishonesty and flip-flopping.

At a rally in York, Pennsylvania yesterday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continued to declare that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and her would "balance the federal budget by the end of our first term." "Now a promise like that, you can trust that John McCain and I will keep our promises," added Palin.

The "promise" came less than 24 hours after McCain's top economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, told Fox News that that McCain would not be able to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term.

For those keeping score at home, McCain and aides started the campaign promising to balance the budget in four years.

Then they said they couldn't actually do this.

Then they said they could.

Then they said they couldn't.

Then they said they could.

Then they said they couldn't.

Then they said they could.

Then they said they couldn't.

This back and forth didn't occur over the course of years; the campaign has managed to contradict itself, repeatedly, in just the past few months.

Notice the wording of the vow from Palin on eliminating a half-trillion-dollar deficit in just four years: "Now a promise like that, you can trust that John McCain and I will keep our promises."

How is that even possible when the campaign has taken both sides of the same promise over and over again?