The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Milking our veterans?

Today's Prowler column mentions an Obama advisor promising to milk Biden's deployed son for all he's worth: "Biden is very well aware that his son's deployment is going to be a big part of what we do in October. It's part of our narrative and we're going to milk it for all it's worth," says one of the Obama advisers. "Republicans would do the same."

Actually, they're not. From the Gazette in Iowa:

McCain's son, Jimmy, 18, a Marine Corps enlistee, is now serving in Iraq, where more than 6,000 Marines have been injured and about 650 killed.

McCain, however, has said precious little about Jimmy's deployment. He did mention it to Linn County Republicans on Tuesday night, telling them his son has been promoted to lance corporal.

It's unusual for McCain to talk about it, and Chuck Larson, senior adviser to McCain's Iowa campaign, doubts he will make a habit of it. [emphasis mine]

This isn't the first time Obama's campaign has exhibited symptoms of projection bias -- the psychological defense mechanism where the subject attributes his own unacceptable tendencies to others. The Democrats have repeatedly addressed the "Republican Attack Machine" (let's call it R.A.M. from now on) as though the Democrats (let alone Obama) have no idea who Mayor Daly or the Clintons are. They also have accused the McCain campaign's obvious race-baiting (subconscious and non-existent though it may be).

The bright side is that defense mechanisms are meant to reduce anxiety. I guess Biden really isn't the cure for what ails ya.

topics:
Iraq

About the Author

J.P. Freire is a senior communications strategist with New Media Strategies. Previously, he was an editor at The Washington Examiner and The American Spectator.