The infighting that first surfaced at the end of the 2008 McCain campaign reared up again this week in response to a Palin hit piece in Vanity Fair. I’ll spare you the details of this DC powder puff prizefight (see: Politico, Washington Times, and CBS News). If you’re a Democrat, you probably don’t need a round-by-round recap. You’re just happy that the gloves are coming off. And if you’re a Republican, you won’t let an old sparring match distract you from the momentous heavyweight battles that are going on right now. Either way, I understand if you have no interest in the petty disputes of Beltway elites, but I do wonder what this story says about the state of our political leadership.  

For as long as we’ve had elections, political professionals have played the post-election blame game. People who make their living within the political arena have never had a great reputation for honesty.  Nevertheless, it seems like honor, integrity, and character are at an all time low among our political elites, even as the stakes keep getting higher. Whatever happened to honor among thieves? I don’t expect former McCain campaign staffers to be angels, but I do expect them to “man up” when they lose, and I mean that in a non-gender specific way.   

Take these quotes from a former McCain campaign operative (from the Washington Times article linked above):

“While the Palin camp is surely marshalling the torches and pitchforks and baying for blood by now, my hope is that somehow – against the odds – Palin is able to draw some sort of lesson out of all this that helps her find a way to exist peacefully in the public space. It can’t be easy to spend every day under this kind of withering fire and I know that it is brutal on her family, who are generally good people that never asked for this,” the political operative wrote.

“You’d think that at some point, even Palin’s formidable armor of self-deception would so loudly clang against reality that she’d be forced to change. I doubt that though. Introspection doesn’t seem to be her strong-suit. But people can change. I hope she can too . . . for her sake and for our party’s.

When I spoke by phone this morning with the same official, he said the VF article was not “contrived” and that it did, in fact, give an accurate portrayal of Palin.

“It’s more sad for me because I think she is a great political talent and could have a future or some sort of role, but she has these demons that she can’t shake, and I think it’s unfortunate she has this ability to disconnect herself from reality when things go wrong and she has this total lack of introspection,” he said.

Several DC insiders are speculating that the above quotes came from the same guy who leaked damaging material on Palin back in fall 2008. I don’t know if that’s true, but it would mean that this amateur psychoanalyst is attempting to deflect blame away for his role in running a dysfunctional campaign by accusing Palin of not being able to take blame for her weaknesses. Well, if the McCain campaign had had a bunch of introspective, stand up guys and gals to begin with, these leaks never would have happened in the first place. Okay, let me take my turn at playing armchair therapist for a moment: the above quote is a classic example of psychological projection. Moreover, the elite political class appears to be suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder – blame everybody but myself. I’m only half joking.  

Another McCain campaign staffer said (from National Review): “What people were talking about was how deeply flawed Palin was, rather than how deeply flawed the handling of Palin was, which was [the leakers'] strategic goal.”  

The truth is, we all need to look in the mirror and ask: How did we reach this state of affairs? Our political class – elected officials, aides, operatives, journalists – often leads us in new directions, but it also reflects society at large. How much value do people in general now place on traditional notions of integrity, honor, fair play, personal responsibility? Like our political class, many of us can be quick to point fingers at our parents, bosses, leaders, etc. for mistakes. Don’t get me wrong: millions of Americans are hard-working, honorable folks who take personal responsibility very seriously; but are they swimming against the tide? On balance, voters have not been rewarding politicians who have prioritized values such as fiscal conservatism and limited government, which go hand-in-hand with taking responsibility for one’s own actions. If anything, constituents have tended to demand more of the cradle-to-grave nanny state policies that provide short-term benefits to constituent groups but over time erode traditional individualistic values throughout society. It will take a sea change in society for that to change. Playing the blame game and pointing fingers will get us nowhere.