I was uncomfortable with the way John Kerry was introduced at the convention in 2004. The whole “reporting for duty” thing felt hammy and over the top. It also challenged the narrative about Democrats and Kerry himself in ways that were too sudden. In other words, repeating the claim of Kerry’s war service and the fact that he is a war hero should and could’ve started earlier and more consistently.

So, keeping that in mind (that it’s OK to reference your war service to build an image of your patriotism, etc.), the McCain campaign’s use of McCain’s POW experience as a universal defense of all criticism is weird and uncomfortable. Just listen to their latest response defending McCain for the can’t-remember-how-many-houses-he-owns gaffe:

“This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

For those of you who haven’t kept track, the McCain campaign just recently cited McCain’s POW years in explaining away the Miss Buffalo Chip gaffe, and in dealing with the allegation that he broke the rules and listened in on Barack Obama during the Rick Warren forum.

I have no idea what that even means in the context of how many houses McCain owns.

So, let’s recap: He’s so rich he doesn’t know how many houses he owns, he is the son and grandson of Navy admirals, and went to the Naval Academy, which isn’t exactly the local community college. After being freed, McCain has been in Congress for 30-some years. He then divorced his first wife, and then married a very rich woman in Cindy McCain.

But, Obama is the one that the press reports as elitist. Obama was raised by a single mom who moved a decent amount. He went to college on a scholarship, and made his money by writing books that people actually bought and enjoyed.

There’s nothing wrong with McCain’s life story. There’s nothing wrong with being rich, and with being the son of powerful men. That’s not what bothers me. What bugs me is these guys (McCain’s campaign) can’t just embrace it (or ignore it) and stop lying about Obama.

Then again, after hiring most of Karl Rove’s team to run his campaign, lying and dishonesty shouldn’t really be a surprise, I guess. Which is why I’m just tired of all of this. Can we get to October already and have debates and stuff?