A "Calvinball" Campaign For The Repugs?

(For those unfamiliar with “Calvin and Hobbes,” I mean that the Repugs want to make up the rules as they go along, in their favor of course.)

It didn’t take long for “Senator Honor And Virtue” to wave his military record at Barack Obama, did it (as noted here)…

WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain, a Vietnam War hero, blasted likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama for never having served in uniform as the two took aim at each other in yet another sign that the presidential race is rapidly moving toward their general election matchup.

Of course, MSNBC doesn’t even bother to provide context here or refute the sheer idiocy of McCain’s attack; the presumptive Repug nominee takes personal offense of course to Obama’s principled disagreement over McCain’s refusal to support the Webb-Hagel G.I. Bill.

And it’s a funny thing, but, as noted here by the ever-reliable Media Matters, McCain told his friend John Kerry not to play up his military service when running for president four years ago (if anything, Kerry may have overplayed that hand, but not responding immediately to the Swift Boat liars and other attack groups is what did him in first and foremost, a lesson Obama seems to have learned).

So…it’s not OK for Kerry to do that when running against an incumbent who certainly didn’t see combat duty, but when the roles are reversed, that’s “in play” once more?

Please.

And we have a local example of that in the contest for the PA 8th District U.S. House seat held by Patrick Murphy against Repug challenger Tom Manion (who apparently is still out talking to residents or something, since he has been strangely quiet and in what I would call a reactive mode at this point).

See, when Patrick was running against the beloved incumbent Mikey Fitzpatrick (now solicitor for the Morrisville, PA school board, as noted here), Patrick’s Bucks County residency was determined to be an issue since he wasn’t a “lifelong resident,” even though that seems to be OK for Manion now based on this.